For many people who study English, the role of the do / did / does verbs in the grammar of the English language is not always clear in the first stages. How to use them? Where should they be placed in the sentence? Without answering these questions, it is impossible to learn the language further. To understand this, first you need to find out what types of verbs are divided.
Types of Verbs
In English, there are three large groups of verbs:
- semantic;
- auxiliary;
- semi-auxiliary.
The first group includes verbs that have their own independent meaning. Such verbs are most often used as a predicate in a sentence.
Examples:
The second group includes verbs that do not have an independent meaning, but help in the formation of verb forms. In English grammar, do / did / does belong to this particular group. Their common name is the verbs to do. Besides him, this group includes the verbs to have, to be, etc.
Examples:
- I don't speak English.
- I didn't write a letter.
And the last group includes modal verbs: can, may, must, etc.
Thanks to this classification, it becomes clear what place the verbs do / did / does in grammar occupy.
What is the difference between these verbs?
All these verbs belong to the same group of auxiliary verbs to do. But they have a different shape. What is the reason for this? You can say that to do is the initial form. In the do and does form, this verb is used in Present Simple. And in the did form in the past simple time (Past Simple).
The verb do is used with the pronouns I, You, We, They. With all other pronouns, this verb is used in the form of Does (that is, with the pronouns and nouns of 3 persons in the singular). Did is used with all pronouns equally.
Use as auxiliary verbs do / did / does in English. Grammar
The verbs in question in the English language have several functions:
- In Present Simple, the verbs do / does to form a question mark. The sequence of words is important here. The first place is occupied by the auxiliary verb (its choice depends on the pronoun, which is indicated in the paragraph above). Then comes the subject, predicate, addition, circumstance. The definition is used either before the subject or before the addition, depending on the meaning of the sentence. Example: Do you speak English fluently? / Does he learn English?
- The following word order is used in a negative sentence: Subject, auxiliary verb, predicate, addition, circumstance. Examples: I don't speak English fluently. / He doesn't learn English.
- Auxiliary verbs are also used to form the negative form of the imperative mood. Example: Don't go there. / Do not go there. Don't watch this film. / Do not watch this movie.
Gain value
According to the grammar, do / did / does are also used to enhance the meaning of actions that are expressed using a semantic verb. For this, in the present simple tense, do / does are put before the semantic verb. In the past simple tense, the did verb stands before the semantic verb . When translated into Russian, this amplification can be conveyed by using the same / after particles, or by emphasizing an accent on a specific word.
Examples:
- Why didn't you read the book? - But I did read it (Why didn’t you read the book? - But I did).
- Why don't you like this film? - But I do like it (Why don't you like this movie? - But I like it).
The verb to do as semantic
Very often, but not always, the verb to do is used as an auxiliary. Sometimes it can be used as a semantic meaning to do.
Example:
- Did you do this task? (Did you do this assignment?)
Moreover, in questions and negatives, this verb is used twice. And as an auxiliary, and as semantic.
This is a list of functions that the do / did / does verbs perform in the grammar. The ability to use them is a basic skill in learning English. In colloquial speech, constructions using these verbs are very common. Therefore, it is best to work out these rules very carefully in order to build proposals as quickly as possible, almost automatically.