do
Pronunciation
changeVerb
change
Plain form |
Plain present |
Third person singular |
Past |
Negative |
Contraction |
Plain present |
Third person singular |
Past |
- (auxiliary) Do is an auxiliary verb. It is used in questions, negative statements, short answers, and for emphasis when there is no other auxiliary.
- Questions
- Where do you live?
- When did you start learning English?
- "Does John live here?"
- Short answer
- "Yes, he does."
- "No, I don't."
- Negative statements
- They don't live here. [don't = do not]
- We do not want to fight.
- Jared did not tell me he had such a pretty sister.
- Emphasis (do not use this too much)
- You think I don't have a brother, but I do!
- She does enjoy swimming in the pool.
- Questions
- We sometimes use do in place of a different verb, such as when we do not know what an activity is, or we do not want to say it again:
- What is he doing?
- Mary eats more than John does.
Verb
change
Plain form |
Third-person singular |
Past tense |
Past participle |
Present participle |
- When you do something, you perform, complete or work on a task.
- Mary is doing her homework.
- We all did the cleaning together.
- I've got a lot to do.
- "What do you do?" - "I'm a baker."
- To succeed or progress
- "How did John do in the tennis match?" - "He lost."
- "How is your leg doing?" - "Oh, it feels much better, thank you."
- To write or draw something, usually in a short time
- He did a picture of a tree.
- He did an essay on Shakespeare.
Usage
changeFor the uses of make and do, see page: make and do