The Verb to do: do, does and did
The words do, does and did often cause confusion in the English language.
They are all forms of the verb to do.
The verb to do can be used as an action verb and also as an auxiliary verb.
to do as an Action Verb
In some cases, to do is used as a verb that expresses an action (just like the verb to walk).
Subject/Verb Agreement Using to do as an Action Verb
Subject | Forms of to do in each Tense | Rest of Sentence | |||
Present | Past | Perfect Form | Continuous Form | ||
I / You / We / They | do | did | have/had + done | am/are/were + doing | a good job |
He / She / It | does | did | has/had + done | is/was + doing | homework |
Spelling Tip
In Present Simple 3rd person (he, she, it), add an es to a verb that ends in ‘o’:
do > does / go> goes
Examples
- Pete always does his taxes on time.
- Volunteers do a lot of work around the town.
- Gil did a great job on his history report for school.
- You have done nothing all morning!
- I am doing the best I can!
The verb to do as an auxiliary verb
It is also common to use do, does and did as auxiliary verbs (or helping verbs) together with another verb in its base form. This is used to create negative sentences, questions, or for adding emphasis.
Negative sentences with do not, does not and did not
When creating negative sentences, we usually use shortened forms: don’t, doesn’t and didn’t together with the base form of the verb.
Note: Save the long forms (do not, does not and did not) for when you want to create emphasis. When speaking, you would put an accent on the ‘not’.
Subject | Auxillery Verb to do Present or Past |
Verb in Base Form | Rest of Sentence | |
I / You / We / They | don’t (do not) | didn’t (did not) | sleep | late |
He / She / It | doesn’t (does not) | didn’t (did not) | sit | out in the sun |
Spelling Tip
When shortening the 3rd person (he, she, it) negative, just remove the o in not and add an apostrophe (‘)
does not > doesn’t
Examples
- Your client doesn’t understand the contract.
- You don’t need to worry about me.
- Your friends didn’t get the e-mail.
Yes/No Questions with Do, Does and Did
To create a question that will be answered with a yes or no, start the question with Do, Does or Did, (Doesn’t, Don’t, Didn’t) for a negative question) then add a subject (the person or thing that does the action) followed by the base form of the verb and only then add the rest of the sentence.
Auxiliary Verb ‘To Do’ | subject | verb in base form | rest of sentence | |
Present | Past | |||
Do | Did | I / you / we / they | drink | enough water |
Does | Did | he / she / it | eat | meat |
Don’t | Didn’t | I / you / we / they | write | to them |
Punctuation Tip
Always begin a sentence, question and wh-question with a capital letter:
He always does good work.
Do you like me?
What did they bring you?
Examples:
- Do you want to go to the party?
- Does your dog live outside or in the house?
- Does your sister always talk so much on the phone?
- Did you catch the bus this morning?
- Don’t you ever visit your parents?
- Didn’t Mr. Albertson call you?
Note: Time Expressions:
- You may add a one-word time expression, such as always, usually, or often between the subject and the verb.
- You may use a negative question with a time expression such as ‘ever’.
Wh-questions with do, does and did
Wh- questions are questions that require more information in their answers. Typical wh- words are what, where, when, why, who, how, how many, how much.
To create a wh-question, start with the wh-word, then add do, does or did, then the subject (a person or thing that does the action), followed by the base form of the verb and only then add the rest of the sentence.
Wh-Word | Auxiliary Verb ‘To Do’ | Subject | Verb in Base Form | Rest of Sentence | |
Present | Past | ||||
Where | Do | Did | I / you / we / they | get | the maps |
Why | Does | Did | he / she / it | sit | out in the sun |
Examples
- Where do you want to send the package?
- Why does she always scream like that?
- How much do these earrings cost?
- Why don’t you ever clean up your mess?
- When did they arrive home?
Exercises for the Verb To Do
Fill in the correct form of the verbs as in the examples:
- Mark and Dylan do volunteer work at the homeless shelter twice a week. (do)
- Sheila didn’t do the dishes last night. (not do)
- Does Gillian usually meet clients so late at night? (meet)
- ________ John often _____ together with his friends on the weekends? (get)
- Sivan ____________the post every day. (not collect)
- _______ the computer ____________ again yesterday? (break down)
- ____________ work __________ he _______ every month? (how much/do/do)
- _________ you ________ your laundry now? (do)
- In general, the dogs ____________ on the beds in his house. (not sleep) They _____ last night though. (do)
- How many copies of the document_______ you _________? (need)
- I ________ ever___________ the street on a red light! (not cross)
- ________ Adam always _________ the lights off when he leaves the office? (turn)
- _________ she ________ her homework yet? (do) It’s due tomorrow.
Answers:
- Does/get
- doesn’t collect
- Did/break down
- How much/does/do
- Are/doing
- don’t sleep/did
- do/need
- don’t/cross
- Does/turn
- Hasn’t/done
Examples – do, does, did
Positive
- Pete always does his taxes on time.
- Volunteers do a lot of work around the town.
- Gil did a great job on his History report for school.
- You have done nothing all morning!
- I am doing the best I can!
Negatives
- Your client doesn’t understand the contract.
- You don’t need to worry about me.
- Your friends didn’t get the e-mail.
- I do not want to go with you!
Yes/No Questions
- Do you want to go to the party?
- Does your dog live outside or in the house?
- Does your sister always talk so much on the phone?
- Did you catch the bus this morning?
- Don’t you ever visit your parents?
- Didn’t Mr. Albertson call you?
Wh-Questions
- Where do you want to send the package?
- Why does she always scream like that?
- How much do these earrings cost?
- Why don’t you ever clean up your mess?
- When did they arrive home?
DO – DOES – DID – DONE
The word DO appears a lot in English.
This is because it can be a verb, as in the verb TO DO which can be conjugated as Do and Does in the present tense, Did in the past tense and Done as a past participle.
DO can also be an AUXILIARY verb in the form of Do / Does to make questions in the present tense and Did to make questions in the past tense.
Let’s look at each one in more detail. We will start with the verb TO DO.
As we have seen, the verb TO DO has four forms: Do / Does / Did and Done
Lets look at its form in the simple present tense.
TO DO – Present Tense
With the verb TO DO in the Present Tense…
We say: I do / you do / we do / they do
But we say: he does / she does / it does
Let’s look at some example sentences:
- I do my laundry on Saturdays.
(Do my laundry means I wash my clothes, well, I put in the washing machine)
- They do their chores when they arrive home.
(Chores is the housework you need to do like washing the dishes, doing the vacuuming, etc.)
- He does nothing all day. (That’s right… he is quite lazy, he does absolutely nothing.)
- She does charity work when she has time. (People that do charity work are superheroes)
TO DO – Past Tense
The simple past tense of DO is DID for all subjects:
I did / you did / we did / they did / he did / she did / it did
Notice how there is only one form of the verb in the past tense…. DID.
- He did a magic trick. (Yes, and everyone was amazed… wooow!)
- The baby did a fart. (Yes, and the smell made everyone cry. How can such a cute thing produce something so rotten.)
- I did my homework in record time. (Yes, it only took me 5 hours instead of 10)
- She did ballet after school last year. (This year she is doing something different)
TO DO – Past Participle
The past participle of DO is DONE. Remember that past participles are accompanied by a conjugation of the verb TO HAVE or TO BE (which means it is in the correct tense according to the subject)
In general Have + past participle is used with a perfect tense and BE + past participle is with the passive voice.
Let’s look at some examples:
- I have done my homework.
- He has done a good job.
These two sentences are in the present perfect tense because they have have or has before the past participle done.
- The video will show you how it is done.
- The report was done on time.
Here we used a conjugation of the verb To Be before the past participle done.
TO DO – To replace a verb
We sometimes use the verb DO to replace a verb when the meaning is clear or obvious. This replacement is more common in informal spoken English:
- Have you done the dishes yet?
(Here done means washed)
- I’ll do the kitchen if you do the lawns
(The first do means clean – The second do means mow)
Sometimes Do, Does, and Did are used as auxiliaries to make questions in English.
Let’s start with DO and DOES:
DO / DOES – For Questions
To make a question in the simple present tense in English we normally put the auxiliary Do or Does at the beginning of the question before the subject.
After the subject is the verb in its base form which means the infinitive without TO at the beginning.
Look at this affirmative sentence:
- You speak English.
How can we make this a question? We add DO at the beginning so it becomes:
- Do you speak English?
You will see that we add DO at the beginning when the subject is I, you, we or they.
But look at this affirmative sentence:
- He speaks Arabic.
To make this a question we say:
- Does he speak Arabic?
You can see that we add DOES at the beginning when the subject is he, she or it.
Notice how the letter S at the end of the verb in the affirmative sentence (because it is in third person) disappears in the question. That is because the verb is in the base form of the infinitive.
NOTE: We DON’T use Do or Does in questions that have the verb To Be or Modal Verbs (can, must, might, should etc.)
DID – For Questions
Let’s look at the auxiliary DID.
To make a question in the Simple Past Tense in English we normally put the auxiliary DID at the beginning of the question before the subject.
And just like in the present tense, After the subject is the verb in its base form which means the infinitive with TO at the beginning.
Look at this affirmative sentence:
- You lived in Spain.
How can we make this a question? We add DID at the beginning so it becomes:
- Did you live in Spain?
We use the verb form Live and NOT lived because the auxiliary DID show that the question is in the past tense.
Did is also used with He, She and It. So with this affirmative sentence:
- She lived in Japan.
To make it a question in the past tense we say:
- Did she live in Japan?
Again we use DID for questions in the past EXCEPT with To Be and Modal Verbs such as Can.
Compare these questions:
- Do you speak English?
- Did you speak English?
The only difference between a question in the present tense and the past tense is the first part… DO or DID.
And look at these two questions
- Does he speak Italian?
- Did he speak Italian?
The only difference between a question in the present tense and the past tense when it refers to third person (he, she, or it) is the first part… DOES or DID.
Auxiliary and Verb together
Look at this question:
- Do you do exercises every day?
Why are there two DOs in this question?
The first DO is necessary because we are making a question in the simple present tense.
The second DO is from the verb TO DO. You DO exercises.
What happens if instead of YOU we are asking about another person?
- Does she do exercises every day?
We use DOES because it is necessary for simple present tense questions for third person, in this case for SHE. Does she….?
Again DO appears because you DO exercises. It appears as DO and not DOES because the verb needs to be in the base form of the infinitive.
Of course in the past tense you would say:
- Did you do exercises yesterday?
Did is an auxiliary which is needed to make a question.
Do is from the verb To Do.
DO and DOES – For Emphasis
Sometimes Do / Does / Did are used in positive sentences to give special emphasis that what you say is true, despite what the other person thinks. Note that when speaking, the word (do/does/did) is stressed.
- I do want to go. (We put stress on the word DO to emphasize that we really want to go, even if you think it is not true.)
- I did study for the test. (Contrary to what you may believe… yes, I studied)
Notice that Did is used for positive sentences in the past tense and that the main verb is in its base form.
- Yes, he does like broccoli. (You may be surprised but yes, he likes broccoli)
- You do need tickets for the event. (I am emphasizing that fact that tickets ARE needed despite what you think.)
Summary Chart
Asked by: Malinda Emmerich
Score: 4.6/5
(73 votes)
The Emphatic ‘Do’ in English Grammar. The emphatic do is a particular use of the verb do (do, does, or did) to add emphasis to an affirmative sentence. … Unlike ordinary auxiliary verbs, which are typically unstressed in speech, the emphatic do is almost always stressed.
Did and do emphasis?
In the present simple, the auxiliaries do and does (in the third person singular) followed by the bare infinitive form of the main verb can be used in affirmative sentences to express emphasis. In speech, the auxiliary is stressed: We do want to help you. Diego does work hard.
Do and did for emphasis examples?
DO — For Emphasis
- I do want to go. ( We put stress on the word DO to emphasize that we want to go)
- You do need to take an umbrella.
- He does like spinach. ( You may be surprised but yes, he likes spinach)
- I did study. ( Contrary to what you may believe… yes, I studied)
Do verb emphasis examples?
do / does : emphatic use
We do not normally use do or does in affirmative sentences, Ali, but we can use them for emotive or contrastive emphasis when we feel strongly about something: She thinks he doesn’t love her, but he does love her. He really does! You do look pretty in that new outfit!
Do verb examples?
When do is used as a main verb, it can refer to any kind of activity.
- Do your homework.
- He does his work diligently.
- He did his job well.
- I do my homework in the evening.
- Who did this?
- I have cooked the meals, and I will do the dishes now.
15 related questions found
Is did a verb or an adverb?
While it can be enhanced by adverbs, the word ‘did’ is a verb. It is the past tense form of the verb ‘do.
How do you use emphasis in a sentence?
Emphasis sentence example
- There was an emphasis on student participation. …
- The school had an emphasis on collaborative learning. …
- His great emphasis is on the past. …
- There was an emphasis on the importance of full cost recovery. …
- It must not mislead by distortion, undue emphasis or omission.
How do you use emphasize verbs?
- 1to give special importance to something synonym stress emphasize something His speech emphasized the importance of attracting industry to the town. …
- 2emphasize something to make something more noticeable She swept her hair back from her face to emphasize her high cheekbones.
What is the verb for empathy?
: to share the same feelings as another person : to feel empathy I empathize with your situation. empathize. intransitive verb. em·pa·thize. variants: or British empathise ˈem-pə-ˌthīz
What is a cleft sentence in grammar?
Cleft sentences are used to help us focus on a particular part of the sentence and to emphasise what we want to say by introducing it or building up to it with a kind of relative clause. Because there are two parts to the sentence it is called cleft (from the verb cleave) which means divided into two.
What are emphatic sentences?
Emphatic means forceful and clear. Nicole’s mother was emphatic when she told her not to come home late again. When something is emphatic, it imparts emphasis. A sentence is made emphatic by adding an exclamation point, and the word carries with it the important and urgent feeling of that punctuation mark.
What does before verb mean?
We use the auxiliary verb «do/Does» before a verb to add emphasis to a sentence/command.
Do used to emphasize?
The emphatic do is a particular use of the verb do (do, does, or did) to add emphasis to an affirmative sentence. … Unlike ordinary auxiliary verbs, which are typically unstressed in speech, the emphatic do is almost always stressed.
What is difference between do and did?
1. The word “does” is the simple present tense of the word “do” while the word “did” is the simple past tense of the word “do.” … The word “does” is used only when referring to a single person while the word “did” can be used when referring to a single or plural number of persons.
What is emphasize example?
The definition of emphasis is special attention put on something to give it importance. An example of emphasis is bolding the font of a particular word in a document to bring attention to it. An example of emphasis is a woman wearing a low cut shirt in order to bring attention to her cleavage.
What is emphasized word?
When you put stress on something or pay it extra attention, you can describe it as emphasized. … The source of the adjective emphasized is the noun emphasis, «importance or stress.» Emphasis is a Greek word, used in rhetoric to mean «significance» or «indirect meaning,» from emphainein, «let a thing be seen.»
Is emphasis a noun or verb?
noun, plural em·pha·ses [em-fuh-seez]. special stress laid upon, or importance attached to, anything: The president’s statement gave emphasis to the budgetary crisis. something that is given great stress or importance: Morality was the emphasis of his speech.
What is emphasis in grammar?
Emphasis is extra force that you put on a syllable, word, or phrase when you are speaking in order to make it seem more important. ‘I might have known it!’ Miss Burnett said with emphasis. The emphasis is on the first syllable of the last word. Synonyms: stress, accent, accentuation, force More Synonyms of emphasis.
What is an example of emphasis in art?
Usually, it involves contrasting different elements against each other. For example, a bright, red object will stand out amongst a dull gray background. Or a straight line amongst curved lines.
How do you express emphasis in writing?
Still, especially for academic writing, italics or underlining is the preferred way to emphasize words or phrases when necessary. Writers usually choose one or the other method and use it consistently throughout an individual essay. In the final, published version of an article or book, italics are usually used.
Is did a helping verb?
Do/Does/Did are used as helping verbs to form a negative. In these sentences they are used with want. The word not forms a negative response for each sentence. He does not want to go to the zoo.
Is their a adverb?
Their is the possessive pronoun, as in «their car is red»; there is used as an adjective, «he is always there for me,» a noun, «get away from there,» and, chiefly, an adverb, «stop right there»; they’re is a contraction of «they are,» as in «they’re getting married.»
What part of speech did?
The English word »did» is a verb, serving as the past tense form of the verb »do.
DO is the MAIN verb of the English language! Do, did, does
The verb to do is one of the most important verbs in the English language. A very large part of the rules of English grammar is devoted to the use of the verb do. And without knowledge of these rules, communication in English becomes impossible.
Word | Translating to Russian language | Pronunciation |
do | делать | International transcription:[duː]Transcription in Russian letters:[doo] |
The verb do in English means «to perform some action or work.» In most cases, English do is similar to the Russian verb. «do», but there are a number of difficult cases that you need to know and remember.
At first, you need to understand the difference between the verbs to make and to do. Both of these verbs in the dictionary are translated how to do «to do». But remember that:
- to make — Used when performing an action that has visible results.
- to do — used in all other cases.
For example:
I make a sandwich
I’m making a sandwich.
Used by make since there is a visible result — a sandwich.
Secondly, phrases such as:
- to do crosswords — to solve crosswords (not to do crosswords)
- to do an exam — to take an exam (and not to do an exam)
- to do ironing — to iron (in this case, the literal translation “to do ironing” is clear, but sounds clumsy)
shouldn’t baffle you. In such cases, do not limit yourself to literal translation, but look for a word that is suitable in meaning in Russian.
Auxiliary verb DO or 50% of all grammar
The verb do in English is used as an auxiliary verb for building questions and negations. In these cases, the verb do itself is not translated in any way. To ask a question grammatically correctly, you need to put the verb do in front of the subject. For example, we have an affirmative sentence:
You cats.
You love cats.
To get a question from an affirmative sentence, it is enough to put the to do verb at the beginning of the sentence:
Do you cats?
You love cats? (do — auxiliary verb, — semantic)
That is, in the interrogative sentence, the words go in the following order:
- Question word (optional)
- Auxiliary verb do (or one of its forms)
- Subject matter
- Predicate
- Everything Else
We sorted out the questions. Now I’ll talk about how a negative sentence is built. It’s almost as easy. It is necessary to put two words immediately after the subject — «do not».
For example, an affirmative sentence:
I cats.
I love cats.
turn into negative:
I do not cats.
I do not like cats.
The English do not like to talk a lot, so instead of «do not» they use the abbreviated version of «don’t».
I do not cats.
I do not like cats.
You can read more about word order in interrogative and negative sentences.
It should be noted that in some cases, interrogative and negative sentences are formed without using the auxiliary verb do. This happens when one of the so-called strong verbs is used as the subject. Strong verbs include to be and all modal verbs with the exception of to have to.
Verbs to be and to do in English: features of use
One of the most popular language confusion is the use of verbs to be и to do… This refers to the substitution of one verb for another, which occurs as a result of a misunderstanding of the functions and meanings of these words.
We have already covered the verb to be in detail, so now we will focus on comparing the use of verbs in situations in which confusion occurs most often.
Strong and weak verb
There are two broad categories of verbs in English — strong and weak.
Strong verbs include modal verbs and their equivalents, have got, auxiliary verbs (do / does / did) and to be… Strong verbs independently form negative constructs and questions:
Must he go to the dentist? — I must go to the dentist./I mustn’t eat apples.
In the case of weak verbs, we are not able to construct a question or negation without auxiliary ones, avoiding an error:
I live to Paris.
Live you in Paris? — error/
It is correct to say: Do you live in Paris?
He livesNote inParis. — error/
It is correct to say: He doesn’t live inParis.
So, we use the auxiliary do or two of its other forms (does / did) in order to correctly form questions and denials.
A mistake is born when students (by this word we mean all foreign language learners, young and old) begin to use auxiliary verbs for the forms to be:
He is Liza’s brother.
Does he is Liza’s brother? — error
He doesn’t is Liza’s brother. — error
Undoubtedly verb forms to be do not look like their original shape. We believe this is what can be confusing.
Remember: am, is, are, was, were are strong verbs and never use auxiliary do:
Is he Liza’s brother? — right
He is not Liza’s brither. — right
Rђ RІRѕS, do against. By itself how semantic this verb is weak and has a meaning делать… Accordingly, he needs the help of an auxiliary one that matches him in spelling and pronunciation doWhich is not translated into Russian and performs a purely grammatical function:
I do exercise every day.
Do I do exercise every day? — right
I don’t do exercise every day. — right
Do I exercise every day? — error
I do not exercise every day. — error / This sentence is meaningless and will be translated “I don’t exercise every day”. I would like to immediately ask “do not that? exercises»
Auxiliary
The second serious problem sometimes becomes choice of auxiliary verb.
Most of the courses are structured in such a way that acquaintance with English grammar and the language in general begins with the verb to be — to be, to be, to be somewhere.
Students are so used to designs with to bethat for them it becomes completely logical to use them as an auxiliary verb… It actually loses its meaning and sentences of this kind become grammatically equal:
She is inParis.
She lives inParis.
Let’s say that contextually it is possible to translate both of them as “She lives in Paris”. The following happens:
Is she in Paris? — right
Is she live in Paris? — ERROR
To benever will not be used as an auxiliary verb
Source: http://begin-english.ru/article/glagoly-to-be-i-to-do-v-angliyskom-yazyke-osobennosti-ispolzovaniya/
When is does in English and when is do?
Hello friends! Verb do along with other auxiliary verbs, it is one of the most common in the English language. This is due to the fact that it can have many meanings, depending on the situation where it will be used. In this article we will talk about the verb to do (do, perform an action).
As you may have guessed, do and does are forms of the verb to do in Present Simple.
The use of do and does. How not to get confused?
Rule very simple:
in 1 person singular and plural (i, we), as well as in second and third person plural (you, they) → DO
third person singular (she / he / it) → DOES
1. She doesn’t do any tasks (true!)
Here doesn’t already indicate negation and present tense, and do is a semantic verb
2. Does she do any tasks? (true!)
Does at the beginning indicated that this is the question and the present tense for she (3rd person, singular), that’s enough
3. He didn’t do it’s better (true!)
It is important to use the infinitive after the auxiliary verb without the to
Consider a few suggestions:
With the verb do:
- I do teaching for a living. (I teach for a living.)
- We do our job with pleasure. (We are happy to do our job.)
- You do the same thing every week. Why? (You do the same thing every week. Why?)
- They do a lot of different things in their free time. (They do a lot of different things in their spare time.)
And sentences with the verb does:
- He does not exercises every morning. (He does his exercises every morning.)
- She does her shopping every Wednesday. (She makes purchases every Wednesday.)
- We have a multi cooker. It does most of the cooking for us. (We have a slow cooker. She mainly prepares food for us.)
In general, this rule does not contradict the main way of conjugating verbs in English. Usually we add to the verb in the third person singular Present Simple —s.
For example, the
- And sit — He sits (I sit — He sits)
- We live in Moscow — She lives in New York. (We live in Moscow — She lives in New York)
The same thing happens with do, only we add —es:
I do-He does.
The corresponding form of the verb is formed according to the same model to go
I go — He goes
Conjugation of the verb to do
I | DO | He | DOES |
We | She | ||
you | It | ||
They |
Why is it important to learn the conjugation of the verb to do?
The verb to do is a meaningful verb. It will be easier for you to move forward in learning English if after the first meeting with the verb do, you learn (or remember) its conjugation in the simple present.
To do can:
— act as a semantic verb
In principle, we have already seen in the examples above do as a semantic verb (that is, the verb on which the main meaning of the sentence lies).
Here are some more examples:
- Mold youdo me a favor please? (Please do me a favor.)
- He does not his homework every day. (He does his homework every day.)
- In my family my mother does the cleaning. (Mom does the cleaning in my family.)
— be an auxiliary verb (to form an interrogative or negative sentence)
An auxiliary verb is a verb that does not carry a semantic load, but is needed to build a grammatically correct construction.
Source: http://englishfox.ru/kogda-do-does-v-angliskom-yazyke.html
The use of do and does in English, differences
Those who have just started learning English often face difficulties in using the verb to do.
The problem is that in some cases it can act as an independent verb, in others as an auxiliary verb.
Also the verb to do has two forms of present: do и does.
Use do / does often causes difficulties, so this issue needs to be considered in detail. But first you need to figure out in what cases the verb to do acts as semantic, and in which as independent.
To do: semantic and auxiliary verb
So, the semantic verb to do, which translates as «to do», «to engage», «to do something», means a full-fledged action.
For example:
Every day I do my homework. — Every day I do my homework.
I do this work with pleasure. — I do this work with pleasure.
Also, this verb can be used as an auxiliary. With its help, various grammatical constructions are built in English.
For example:
Do you tea? — Do you like tea?
Do they play tennis? — They are playing tennis?
I don’t to read magazines. — I don’t like reading magazines.
When used do, and when does?
Now you should understand the use do и does in English.
Does should be used with 3rd person singular pronouns, i.e. he, she, it.
For example:
She does her homework studiously. — She does her homework diligently.
He doesn’t bananas. — He doesn’t like bananas.
It is important to note one more feature: does can be used both with pronouns and with other subjects, which, according to the context, can be replaced by them.
Helen does her homework studiously.— Helen does her homework diligently.
My father doesn’t bananas. — My father doesn’t like bananas.
Do used with other pronouns or subjects, which can be replaced by them in the context.
I do my homework with ease. — I can easily do my homework.
They do the dishes in turns. — They take turns washing the dishes.
Now you understand what is different does from do and when to use each of them.
The three most common mistakes when using do и does
After we have sorted out the question, how do differs from does, consider what mistakes are most often made by those who are just starting to learn English. Try to keep them out.
- Using does in the past time.
It is worth remembering that does used exclusively in the present tense.
Those who make this mistake are guided by the rule: if the pronoun he, she, it — used does… This is why you can often see a sentence similar to this: He did not do his homework. — He didn’t do his homework. But this is wrong, right like this: He did not do his homework. - Using does in the future tense.
He will do his homework tomorrow. — He’ll do his homework. If you write like this in the test, you will surely get a low score.
It will be right: He will do his homework tomorrow. - Improper use does, do in denials and questions.
When constructing negative and interrogative sentences, a situation often arises when the verb do needs to be used twice as a semantic and auxiliary, and therefore confusion arises.
In this situation, the form does accepts exclusively an auxiliary verb. For example, this sentence is incorrect: Does she do her homework? — She is doing homework?
It will be right: Does she do her homework?
Source: https://lim-english.com/blogs/do-does/
Do or Does? Rule, examples and basic mistakes
Beginners often have difficulty using do и does — forms of the verb to do. In this article, we will look at the rules for their use and common mistakes.
: “Has or Have? Rule and six common mistakes. «
Two important points about the verb To Do
If you don’t know what a «to do verb» is, first read the article «The verb to do in English». But even if you are familiar with the topic, two points are worth recalling.
1. Difference between Do, Does, Don’t Doesn’t
First of all, let’s make it clear that do, does, don’t doesn’t are all forms of the verb to do.
- Do, does — affirmative forms.
- Do not, does not — negative forms.
- Don’t, doesn’t Is short for do not, does not.
2. The verb to do as an auxiliary or semantic
Let me also remind you that the verb to do is used as an auxiliary or semantic verb.
- Auxiliary to do needed to build different grammatical structures. First of all, denials and questions:
Do I jazz? — I like jazz?
I do not jazz. — I don’t like jazz.
- Semantic verb to do it is used in the meaning of «to do, engage, perform» or (less often) to strengthen the meaning of another verb — in the translation, in this case, words like «really» are added:
I do my homework in the evenings. — I do my homework in the evenings.
I do jazz. — I really like jazz.
Let’s move on to the do and does forms.
Do or Does? — the three-point rule
- Does used with pronouns in the singular third person he, she, it, For example:
He does the laundry on Sundays. — He does the laundry on Sundays.
Source: https://langformula.ru/english-grammar/do-does/
Rules of use and forms of the verb do / does, did and done
Since the verb to do is an irregular verb, its form changes during the formation of tenses:
Conjugation Table of the verb to do
Present SimplePast SimplePast ParticipleContinuous
do and does | did | done | doing |
Building sentences
Consider the rules for constructing sentences with to do.
Simple present
The pronouns I / you / we / they use do.
The pronoun he / she / it is does.
For example
For example
I do my homework.
He does his homework.
Simple past tense
Did is used with any pronoun.
They did their homework.
She did her homework.
Past participle
There will always be a done form that follows to have or to be.
We have done our homework.
Peter has done his homework.
Rules for conjugation of the verb to do:
Verb functions
The verb to do in English is one of the most common. This is due to the fact that in grammar it simultaneously performs several functions in a sentence: it acts as a semantic and auxiliary verb, and can also give reinforcement to the verb after it. Let’s take a closer look.
Semantic verb
Used in its direct meaning. The dictionary gives the following translations:
a) do, perform, exercise
For example
For example
What are you doing? — What do you do / what do you do?
I do my work. — I’m doing my job.
b) do, do
For example
For example
He did well to accept my invitation. — He did the right thing to accept my invitation.
What are you going to do in this situation? — What are you going to do / How are you going to act in this situation?
c) create, do
For example
For example
to do wonders / miracles — work wonders.
d) fit, fit, be sufficient, meet the requirements
For example
For example
She has enough money to do her till he end of the month — This money will be enough for her until the end of the month.
that will not do — this will not work, this will not work, it will not work.
Also, the verb to do is phrasal. This means that depending on which preposition is after it, its meaning changes.
do away with | 1) finish 2) finish | That »sa practice that should be done away with. Is there any evidence that she did away with her husband? |
do down | 1) be ashamed 2) speak ill of smb. | There «s no need to do yourself down; you weren «t to blame. He always does everybody down. |
of the in | destroy, kill | The criminals have done in the old man. |
do out | clean up, clean up | The only way to keep the garage clean and tidy is to do it out thoroughly once a year. |
Source: https://eng4school.ru/grammar/speech_parts/verb/6714-do-formy-pravila.html
When do we use do, does, doing, did, done? Scooby Dooby Doo! ⋆ Speakingo
Do, does, doing, did and done are the same English word! When do we use which form, at what time and what kind? And what does Scooby Dooby Doo think of this ?! You will see the songs in the translation!
In this post, you will learn all about the English verb “to do” in its forms do, does, doing, did and done. It is used like:
- «Independent» verb in different tenses
- auxiliary
- way to enhance action
And at the end you will learn the lyrics and translation of the famous song in English from the Mystery Corporation “Scooby Dooby Doo, where are you?”.
Scooby-Doo was originally called «Too Much» (yes, we know), while the leader Fred Silverman, inspired by the song «Strangers in the Night», in which Sinatra sings the meaningless phrase «Scooby-doobie-doo», simply changed the name of the cartoon’s protagonist to » Scooby Doo. » Thank you, Frank Sinatra, for saving us from a universe in which the Mystery Corporation dog is called Too Much.
What does “do” mean in English?
The English word to do means “to do something, to do something”. It is a verb, a word that describes some kind of action. As in the legendary slogan:
(Just do it!)
or
(This is how we do it.)
When to use do and when does?
In general, the English language is simple! In Russian, in the present tense, we would say: I’m doingюyou are doingeat it, she’s doingno, we arerd, are you doingyou arethey dogt;… Different from each person! And different words have different variations!
In English, for all persons it will be the same except for one exception, or rather three (he + she + it = the so-called «third partiesо singular «):
- I do it. (I do this.)
- You do it. (You do it.)
- He does it. (He does it.)
- She does it. (She does it.)
- It does it. (It does it.)
We don’t change anything in the plural:
- We do it. (We do this.)
- You do it. (You do it.)
- They do it. (They do it.)
So the only thing we have to remember is that in the present tense, the present simple, only in the third person singular (he, she, it), instead of “do«Use»does«.
The choice between the verb do or does is very similar to the situation with the choice of the verb have or has, which will be discussed in a separate post:
When do we use did — done?
If we want to say that we have done something, we must use our «do» in the past tense.
Like most of the most common English words, «to do» is an irregular verb, which means that its past tense forms look as they want — sometimes there is not a single similar letter between them (for example, go — go, went — went)!
Source: https://speakingo.com/ru/kogda-ispolzuyem-do-does-doing-did-done-angliyskiy-scooby-doo/
Do does rules — five mistakes everyone makes
At the beginning of learning English, it may be difficult to use the verb to do, since it has many functions and tasks in a sentence and it is easy to confuse its form and place. Below we will look at what do does rules are to be followed, as well as five mistakes that students most often make.
Important facts about the verb To Do
There are two important things to know about the to do verb:
- There are four forms of the verb to do — do, does, don’t doesn’t, where Do, does use in affirmative sentences, DoNote, doesNote used in denial, and Don‘t, doesn‘t these are abbreviations for do not, does not.
- The verb to do in English is used as an auxiliary or semantic verb. We will consider below what role it plays in each case.
The verb to do as an auxiliary or semantic
Как auxiliary verb to do necessary when building various grammatical structures: interrogative and negative.
For example:
- Do you pizza? — Do you like pizza?
- She do not pizza. — She doesn’t like pizza.
How the semantic verb to do takes on the meaning “do, do, do«. Sometimes, with the help of to do, you can strengthen the meaning of another verb, then the word “really«:
- I do my excesses in the mornings. — I do exercises in the morning (do means «to do»).
- I do pizza. — I really like pizza (do as a verb enhancer).
Answered by @ Elo Kasia
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English Grammar Rules
Basic English – How and when to use DO, DOES, and DID
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how to use does doesnt do did and doing
Question Time: How to use “does, doesn’t, do, did and doing”?
@ Saciid Yuusuf , Thank you for your question.
As usual, I will try to explain the difference using simple language and plenty of examples.
The verb “do” can be used in many different ways and has different forms, which can be confusing. There are two ways in which the verb “do” is used in English. First, it is a “helping verb” and we need it to ask questions and make negative statements. Second, it is used as a main or “normal verb”.
Let us have a look at these two different ways.
1. Questions and negative sentences.
Look at these examples first:
- I go to school every day. (Present Simple)
- I went to school yesterday. (Past Simple)
These sentences only have one verb (go, went). If you want to make a question, you need a “helping verb”, “do”, “does” or “did”.
QUESTIONS:
“Do” and “does” are used with Present Simple.
- I go to school every day.
- Q: Do you go to school on Saturday? (do is used for I, you, we, they)
- Q: Does she go to school on Saturday? (does is used for he/she)
We can also have questions with a question word, such as “where”, “what”, “what time”, “why” etc. We just add them at the beginning of the sentence, so we have:
- Where do you go every day?
- What time does he go to school?
- Why did he go to school?
NEGATIVE SENTENCES
We also need a “helping verb” to make negative sentences. We use “do not” = “don’t” and “does not” = “doesn’t” for Present Simple, for example:
- “I don’t go to school.” (I’m at university now.)
- “He doesn’t go shopping.” (His wife does.)
In a similar way, we need a “helping verb” when we want to make questions or negatives in the Past Simple. We use “did” for all persons.
- I went to school yesterday.
- Q: Did you go to school yesterday? and Where did he go yesterday?
X I didn’t go to school yesterday. (It was Saturday.)
2. “Do” can also be a “normal” verb and we can use it in different forms, depending on which tense we need.
Here are some examples:
- I do my homework every day. (Present Simple, which we use for routine actions, something that happens regularly)
- I’m doing the dishes now. (Present Continuous, which we use for actions happening at the time of speaking)
- I did everything I could to help him. (Past Simple, which we use for actions in the past, which are completed)
Make sure you follow our Daily *TT exercises to practise in our ever growing “English Grammar and Speaking Academy“.
Check my other articles here: All English Time Ask Elo – Learning Articles
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DO – DOES – DID – DONE
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The word «do» comes up a lot in English. This is because it can be used in a variety of ways and tenses. Let’s look at each one in more detail below.
TO DO – Present Tense
With the verb «to do» in the Present Tense…
We say: I do / you do / we do / they do
But we say: he does / she does / it does
For example:
- I do my laundry on Saturdays.
- They do their homework when they arrive home from school.
- He does nothing all day.
- She does her best every day at work.
TO DO – Past Tense
The simple past tense of «do» is «did» for all subjects:
I did / you did / we did / they did / he did / she did / it did
- He did a magic trick.
- The dog did a spin.
- I did my homework in my bedroom.
- She did ballet after school last year.
TO DO – Past Participle
The past participle of «do» is «done». It’s important to remember that past participles are accompanied by a conjugation of the verb «to have» or «to be».
In general «have + past participle» is used with a perfect tense and «be + past participle» is with the passive voice.
Let’s look at some examples:
- I have done my homework.
- He has done a good job.
These two sentences are in the present perfect tense because they have «have» or «has» before the past participle «done».
- The video will show you how it is done.
- The report was done on time.
In the two examples above, the conjugation of the verb «to be» is used before the past participle done. This indicates that the sentence is in the passive voice.
TO DO – To replace a verb
Sometimes the verb «do» can be used to replace a verb when the meaning is clear or obvious. This replacement is more common in informal and spoken English:
Have you
done
the laundry yet?
I’ll
do
the kitchen if you do the lawns.
DO / DOES / DID – For Questions
To make a question in the simple present tense in English we normally put the auxiliary «do» or «does» and for questions in the past tense «did» at the beginning of the question before the subject.
Look at this affirmative sentence:
- You speak English.
How can we turn this into a question? We add «do» at the beginning so it becomes:
- Do you speak English?
Another example would be:
- He speaks Korean.
To make this a question we say:
- Does he speak Korean?
For sentences in the past tense, it works very similar:
- You lived in France.
How can we make this a question? We add «did» at the beginning so it becomes:
- Did you live in France?
As you an see, the only difference between a question in the present tense and the past tense is when it refers to third person (he, she, or it) is the first part… «does» or «did».
DO and DOES – For Emphasis
Sometimes «do», «does» and «did» are used in positive sentences to give special emphasis that what you say is true, despite what the other person thinks. Note that when speaking, the word (do/does/did) is stressed with the voice.
For example:
- I do really want to go.
- I did study for the test.
One thing to note here is that «did» is used for positive sentences in the past tense and that the main verb is in its base form.
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Do you know when and how to use the verb to do
? In this basic English grammar lesson, I will explain how do
is used with different verb tenses when you make a negative statement and when you ask a question. Learn how to use this verb in the present, past, and present continuous tenses in all kinds of sentences. DO
you want to watch? Yes, of course you DO
! DID
you click on the lesson yet?
Quiz
Test your understanding of this English lesson
Test your understanding of the English lesson by answering these questions. You will get the answers and your score at the end of the quiz.
LEAVE A COMMENT
Easy Easy Easy Easy Easy Easy Easy Easy Easy Easy Easy Easy Easy
Leftover from the last lesson. I promised we were also going to talk about how to make negative sentences with “do,” “does” and “did.”
You already know you should use “do” and “does” in the present tense (present simple).
You also know that you use “do” with I, you, we, and they.
And that you use “does” with the other pronouns: he, she, and it.
For negative sentences you also add “not.”
Here are some examples:
I don’t want too drink too much.
You don’t read enough.
Eli doesn’t wash the dishes well.
Malika doesn’t play the piano.
The canary bird doesn’t sing anymore.
We don’t have a car.
Our neighbours don’t take care of their garden.
“Canaries were once regularly used in coal mining as an early warning system. Toxic gases such as carbon monoxide and methane in the mine would kill the bird before affecting the miners. Because canaries tend to sing much of the time, they would stop singing prior to succumbing to the gas therefore alerting miners to the danger.” (Wikipedia) Around the former coal mine “Zollverein” in Essen you can find 10 or 12 larger than life canaries that remind of this miner’s practice.
Exercise 1:
You can do this exercise online here:
Change the following affirmative sentences to negative sentences:
Example:
Mia and Gabriel ride their bikes in the park.
Answer:
Mia and Gabriel don’t ride their bikes in the park.
1 I work hard all week.
2 On Friday afternoon I work less.
3 At 4.30 the team stops working.
4 The manager asks his assistant to help with the drinks.
5 We raise our glasses, eat some nuts, and chat.
6 Then we go home for the weekend.
Negative sentences with Did
Same thing here: just put “did” and “not” in your sentence to make a negative sentence.
You use “did” when you want to make a negative sentence in the past tense (past simple).
You can use “did” for all the pronouns (I, you, he, she, it, we, they).
Check out these examples:
I didn’t see the sign.
You didn’t fly to Rio de Janeiro.
He didn’t go to work yesterday.
She didn’t feel well.
The program didn’t finish at 8 o’clock.
We didn’t have rice with our dinner.
They didn’t wear their hats.
Note: An important rule is that when you use “do,” “does,” and “did” you don’t need to change the verb. That means that in sentences with “do,” “does” and “did” you’re using the infinitive (the most basic form of the verb).
Exercise 2:
You can do the exercise online here.
Change the following affirmative sentences to negative sentences.
1 Samir celebrated his birthday yesterday.
2 He took a day off from work.
3 In the morning he slept in.
4 He took his mother out for lunch.
5 He lay on the beach all afternoon.
6 In the evening his friends threw a party for Samir.
7 They danced and laughed until very late.
A quick look at how we stress auxiliaries to add emphasis.
Now with exercises.
Adding emphasis by stressing the auxiliary
When we want to add emphasis to a verb, we often stress the auxiliary (say it louder), shown here by underlining. We do this especially when we want to correct what somebody thinks, or contrast it with something else — (contrastive emphasis).
- Continuous — Why aren’t you going to the party?
- — But I am going to the party!
- — I can’t go to this one, but I am going to the one next week.
- Perfect — You haven’t tidied your room!
- — I have tidied it! I did it this morning.
- — I know, but I have put my clothes away.
- Modal — Is it because you can’t dance?
- — But I can dance! Just look!
- — I can’t dance the paso doble, but I can dance the tango.
Note about contractions — when using these emphatic forms we don’t use contractions in positive forms, even when speaking informally.
But what about simple tenses?
As you know, we usually only use the auxiliary verb do to make the negative and question forms of present simple and past simple tenses, not in positive (affirmative) forms.
I work | He works |
I don’t work | He doesn’t work |
Do you work? | Does he work? |
We worked | She worked |
We didn’t work | She didn’t work |
Did you work? | Did she work? |
So when we want to add emphasis to present simple or past simple tenses, we need to add auxiliary do, remembering to use the main verb in First form. This is sometimes called emphatic do:
- Present simple — She doesn’t like cheese, does she?
- — But she does like cheese! In fact she loves it.
- — I don’t like cottage cheese, but I do like blue cheese.
- Past simple — You said you would phone me!
- — I did phone you! But you didn’t answer.
- — OK, I didn’t phone you, but I did send you a text (SMS).
And when you see forms of the auxiliary do in positive sentences in written English, it is always stressed.
Other times we add emphasis
We also use emphatic auxiliaries (including do) to stress that we feel strongly about something — (emotive emphasis)
- She does look good in that dress.
- He is putting on a bit of weight.
- Her English really has improved an awful lot.
- You really must see this new film.
- I did enjoy that party last night.
- I never did understand what he saw in her.
And we also use emphatic auxiliaries to confirm something we think is true, following it with a question tag.
- He does eat meat, doesn’t he?
- She is coming to the party, isn’t she?
- He has spoken to you about this, hasn’t he?
- You can work late tonight, can’t you?
- You did phone Jenny, didn’t you.
We use also use emphatic do in present simple to strengthen an imperative.
- Do stop going on about it, will you?
- Do try this cake, it’s delicious.
And we can stress do and other auxiliaries in short answers.
- You don’t like cheese, do you? — Yes, I do. Whatever gave you that idea?
- Mark doesn’t eat meat, does he? — Actually, he does nowadays.
- You fancy Mark, don’t you? — No, I don’t! What, me and Mark? Don’t be silly!
- But you’ve been out with him, haven’t you? — No, I haven’t!
- You’re not telling the truth, are you? — Yes, I am.
- But you’re blushing, aren’t you? — No, I’m not.
We also use emphatic auxiliaries after if, when we are in some doubt as to whether the condition will be, or has been, fulfilled. This often happens when replying to someone, in which case short forms can be (and often are) used.
- A: I don’t think I’ll be seeing Paul today.
B: Well, if you do (see him), can you ask him to get in touch with me. - A: I wonder if he’s coming to tomorrow’s meeting.
B: Well, if he isn’t (coming), he should have told us by now. - A: Perhaps he’s left a message with his assistant.
B: If he has (left a message), she hasn’t passed it on.
Negatives — note that with negatives we stress the normal contracted negative form, except in 1st person singular in the present simple of the verb to be, and the present continuous of other verbs, where we stress not: — No, she isn’t BUT No, I’m not.
Trivial information — Because do is not used in all forms of simple tenses, it is sometimes called the dummy auxiliary. And linguists sometimes refer to its use in questions, negatives and for emphasis as do-support.
Putting it into practice 1 — emphatic do
Note that in the following exercises there is not always one single correct answer, as emphasis is up to the speaker. So the ‘answers’ here are my interpretations.
Exercise 1a — Fill the gaps with present simple or past simple forms of the verbs in the box. Where you think it is appropriate, add emphatic do, does or did.
come · decide · do · get · give · go · have · look · meet · offer · see · travel
Dick doesn’t have a car and (1) to work by bus every day. He doesn’t have to wait very long for the bus, but he (2) to change buses once.
On Friday, the bus drivers (3) to go on strike for the day, so there were no buses. Now it was Saturday and Dick was working in his garden. His next-door neighbour Tom, leant over the garden fence.
‘So you won’t have managed to get to work yesterday, then?’ — he said. ‘Actually, I (4) to work,’said Dick, ‘A colleague (5) me a lift.’
Then Tom’s wife Marge came out to call Tom in for tea. ‘Hello Dick’, she said, ‘I must say your garden (6) beautiful now you’ve added the pond and the waterfall. Did you do it all yourself?’ — ‘Well, I (7) most of it myself, yes, but to be honest I (8) a bit of help from my brother, Harry.’
‘Oh, was Harry here? (9) him my regards next time you (10) him, won’t you.’ — ‘Will do’, said Dick.
‘My sister Betty has just popped round to see us, I think you (11) her at our drinks party, didn’t you? We’re just about to have some tea. (12) in and join us.’ said Marge. — ‘Love to’, replied Dick, blushing slightly and hoping that Marge wouldn’t notice.
Random Idea English
http://random-idea-english.blogspot.com
Exercise 1b — Fill the gaps with present or past forms of the verbs in the box. Where you think it is appropriate, add emphatic do, does or did.
enjoy · grow · happen · like (2) · make · need · see · seem · tell · think · want
When they got inside, Betty looked up, surprised. ‘Oh. Hello Dick, long time no see.’ — ‘Yes, it (1) a long time, doesn’t it?’, said Dick. ‘You (2) tea, don’t you Dick? , said Marge, ‘Or perhaps you would prefer coffee.’ — ‘Tea’s fine thanks.’ — said Dick, a bit flustered.
They chatted about this and that for a while. Marge (3) it a bit cold for the time of year and was a bit worried about her tomatoes. ‘Well’, said her husband,’I (4) you not to plant them too early this year, but would you listen to me?’ — ‘Do you grow tomatoes in your garden Dick?’ — Well I (5) them as a rule, but I didn’t have a lot of success last year, so I haven’t bothered this year.’
Marge went through to the kitchen, taking Tom with her, saying she (6) his help with something.
Once they were alone, Betty said quietly to Tom, ‘I (7) our evening out that time after the drinks party, you know. I was sort of expecting you’d call.’ — ‘I (8) to’, said Dick, ‘but then one day I (9) you in town in a Ferrari, with a very rich-looking young man, which I must confess (10) me think that perhaps you were a bit out of my league.’ — ‘Oh, that was my boss, you idiot, no way would I go out with him. He’s OK really, but he (11) to think he’s God’s gift to women! So let’s forget about him, shall we? Now, unfortunately I’m a bit tied up for the next few days, but I (12) to be free on Wednesday evening. What do you say? Dinner at my place?’
Random Idea English
http://random-idea-english.blogspot.com
Putting it into practice 2 — emphatic auxiliaries
Although we tend to talk about emphatic do, we shouldn’t forget that we can emphasise all auxiliaries, including modals.
Example — She‘s bought pasta instead of potatoes — ‘I haven’t bought any potatoes, but I have bought some pasta’.
Exercise 2a — Decide which is more appropriate, the stressed full version for emphasis, or the unstressed contraction. Click on an option to underline it. If you change your mind, just click on the other option.
1. | Hi, Marcia. Wow, you’ve / you have finished your essay already. You’ve / You have been working hard, haven’t you? As for mine, I’ve / I have hardly started writing it yet, although I’ve / I have done all my research. | ||||
2. | Sammy, did you go to Pete’s party last night? — No. I’d / I would have gone, but I’d / I had already agreed to look after Betty’s children so that she could go. | ||||
3. | If you’re / you are not too busy, could you give me a hand with this? — Well, I’m / I am rather busy, actually. Can’t you ask somebody else? | ||||
4. | I’m really / I really am enjoying this soup, it’s delicious! — I’m / I am so glad you like it. | ||||
5. | If you’re / you are not going to finish that cake, can I have it? — Hands off! I’m / I am going to finish it. | ||||
6. | You’re / You are coming to see us at the weekend, aren’t you? I’ll / I will be very disappointed if you don’t. And after all, mum’s / mum has baked a cake especially for the occasion. |
Note — In the second part of Question 4, it is so that takes the emphasis.
Random Idea English
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We can’t always make contractions, in which case we can only stress with intonation.
Exercise 2b — In each question, underline the modal (in gray italics) if you think it would be appropriate to stress or emphasise it. Click on the word to underline it. If you change your mind, just click again to ‘undo’.
1. | I don’t have much time, but I suppose I could do it if it’s really necessary. | |
2. | I can help you with that if you like. | |
3. | I shall be seeing him tomorrow, do you want me to give him a message? | |
4. | Cinderella! You shall go to the ball! | |
5. | But you must remember to leave before midnight. | |
6. | As a rule, drivers must keep to the speed limit at all times. | |
7. | You should ask your teacher if you can have an extension. | |
8. | I should have told you earlier about this, but I forgot. | |
9. | I may have left it at home, but I was sure I had brought it. | |
10. | By the way, I might be a bit late this evening; I’m meeting a client. |
Note 1 — In Question 5, must is used as a strong personal instruction, but in Question 6 it is simply a general rule.
Note 2 — In the last question, if I’m simply talking matter-of-factly about the possibility of being late, I wouldn’t stress ‘might‘. But if I want to say that the possibility is a very real one, then I would stress it, especially if I feel a bit bad about it or am making an excuse.
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Is there such a thing as an emphatic tense?
We don’t use this term in EFL, but I recently came across it while looking at an online grammar glossary. This is a definition from EnglishPlus:
The two emphatic tenses [past and present] receive their name because they are used for emphasis.
But they then go on to say:
More commonly, however, they are used with the negative not and with questions when the normal order is inverted and part of the verb comes before the subject.
So in effect these are simply standard present and past simple tenses when the auxiliary do is present. I have to say the term emphatic tense makes no sense to me, because:
- it seems usually to be used for questions and negatives as well as for purely emphatic use, even though there isn’t usually any particular emphasis in questions and negatives.
- it is only used for present and past simple tenses with the auxiliary do, but as we have seen, we can also emphasise be and have in continuous and perfect tenses in exactly the same way, not to mention modals, the only difference being that we don’t have to add the auxiliary as it is already there.
- it has exactly the same time and aspect as a normal simple tense, so I can’t see how it can be thought of as a separate tense.
So if you happen to come across the term emphatic tense, it’s not some new tense your teachers have forgotten to tell you about, it’s simply another name for standard present simple and past simple when the auxiliary do is included.