What’s the past tense of “do”?
When is it correct to use do, does, did or done? Phrased differently, what’s the past tense of the verb do? Let’s go ahead and do our best to learn the proper usage of this particularly irregular verb form.
What does “do” mean?
To define the word, when you do something, this means you “perform, take part in, or achieve something: that was a really silly thing for me to do”.
When to use “do” or “does”?
Do is an irregular verb since its past tense conjugations do not end in the standard “-ed” that regular verbs take on. Additionally, do changes depending on whether the subject is in the first-person singular or third-person singular.
We use does for all third-person present singular subjects, such as the pronouns he, she, and it; e.g., She does the shopping on Wednesdays.
We use do, on the other hand, for all first-person singular subjects: I’m about to do the laundry.
| Present | Past | Future | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple | I do | I did | I will do |
| Continuous | I am doing | I was doing | I will be doing |
| Perfect | I have done | I had done | I will have done |
| Perfect Continuous | I have been doing | I had been doing | I will have been doing |
Irregular verbs like do, did, done
| Base verb | Past tense | Past participle |
|---|---|---|
| have or has | had | had |
| do or does | did | done |
| go | went | gone |
| lead | led | led |
Did vs. does
Compare how the tenses of ‘do’ work in both sentences:
He does his schoolwork when he gets home from school.
He did his schoolwork when he got home from school.
Did and does are simply two different tenses that we use to denote either the past or present time. The simple past tense of do is did for all subjects. The past participle form is done, also for all subjects.
Thus, the difference is did denotes the past, and do/does is in the present (in the first person/third-person singular).
Did vs. done
He did his homework.
He had done his schoolwork when he got home from school.
“He did a lot of homework today” is the simple past tense, and simply mentions an action that took place at a time before now.
The second sentence with ‘he had done’ includes the past participle ‘done’ and the auxiliary had, in the past tense, form the past perfect tense. The past perfect, also called pluperfect, is a form of the past that describes a completed action, often taking place before another past action. The past perfect emphasizes the order in which past events take place.
‘Do’ as an auxiliary verb
To do is one of the three auxiliary verbs, along with to be and to have (not including modal auxiliaries). When ‘do’ is used in sentences with another verb, it’s probably taking on an auxiliary role:
We use do to make negatives (do + not), to make question forms, and to make the verb more emphatic.
I didn't see you at the concert tonight.
Do you know if the store is open yet?
“Do” / “does” / “did” / “done” in sentence examples
| Verb form | Example sentences |
|---|---|
| do / does (present) |
Do you play cricket? No, I don't. He does his chores every day after school. I do my laundry once a week. He does enjoy swimming, but only when the water is warm. |
| did / done (past and participle) |
I’ve done it again! I did my homework already. She's done eating. I have done all that I could. |
“Don't” / “doesn't” / “didn't”, in sentence examples
| Contraction | Example Sentences |
|---|---|
| don't (do not) |
I don't like spiders. They don't live here anymore. We don't have to leave just yet. You don't understand the instructions. |
| doesn't (does not) |
He doesn't play the guitar. She doesn't want to go to the movies tonight. It doesn't seem right to me. The shop doesn't open until 9 AM. |
| didn't (did not) |
I didn't hear the phone ringing. He didn't tell me he was leaving town. She didn't like the book I recommended. We didn't realize how late it was. |
Origin of the verb do
“To perform, execute, achieve, carry out, bring to pass by procedure of any kind,” etc., Middle English do, first person singular of Old English don “make, act, perform, cause; to put, to place,” from West Germanic *doanan.
Practice: Do, did, does, done
My sister always _____ her homework after school.
We _____ our chores yesterday.
They _____ their best every time.
She has _____ all the work already.
Which sentence uses 'do', 'does', or 'did' correctly for present or past tense, based on the examples in the post?
I not understand the lesson yesterday.
We our best to win the game.
She not like broccoli.
By the time I arrived, they had already _____ their homework.
He a lot of work yesterday.
FAQs
Q: What is the past tense of “do”?
Q: How does “do” differ from “does”?
Q: What’s the difference between “did” and “done”?
Q: When is the past perfect tense used with “do”?
Q: Is “I have knew” grammatically correct?
Origin of the verb do
“To perform, execute, achieve, carry out, bring to pass by procedure of any kind,” etc., Middle English do, first person singular of Old English don “make, act, perform, cause; to put, to place,” from West Germanic *doanan.
Practice: Do, did, does, done
My sister always _____ her homework after school.
We _____ our chores yesterday.
They _____ their best every time.
She has _____ all the work already.
Which sentence uses 'do', 'does', or 'did' correctly for present or past tense, based on the examples in the post?
I not understand the lesson yesterday.
We our best to win the game.
She not like broccoli.
By the time I arrived, they had already _____ their homework.
He a lot of work yesterday.
FAQs
Q: What is the past tense of “do”?
Q: How does “do” differ from “does”?
Q: What’s the difference between “did” and “done”?
Q: When is the past perfect tense used with “do”?
Q: Is “I have knew” grammatically correct?
Yash, D. "How to Use Do, Did, Does (Irregular Verb Conjugations)." Grammarflex, Sep 27, 2025, https://grammarflex.com/do-did-does-or-done/.
