Do vs. Did — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman — Published on January 1, 2024
"Do" is the present tense of the verb, while "did" is the past tense. "Do" is used in the present and future, while "did" is used to refer to actions that have already occurred in the past.
Difference Between Do and Did
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Do (Present Tense): "Do" is a verb used in the present tense. It is versatile and can function as the main verb in a sentence. In the present tense, it indicates actions that are happening right now or habitual actions. For example, "I do my homework every day."
Did (Past Tense): "Did" is the past tense of the verb "do." It is used to describe actions that have already been completed in the past. It can also be used to form questions and negatives in the past tense. For example, "I did my homework yesterday."
Do: Used in affirmative sentences and questions in the present tense, e.g., "I do my work," "Do you like pizza?" Did: Used in affirmative sentences in the past tense, e.g., "She did her job," and in past tense questions and negatives, e.g., "Did you finish the book?"
Do: Indicates actions in the present or future. Did: Refers to actions completed in the past.
Do: "I do yoga every morning." (present tense) Did: "She did her homework yesterday." (past tense)
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Comparison Chart
Tense
Present
Past
Usage
Present and future actions
Past actions and forming past questions/negatives
Examples
"I do my work daily."
"He did his chores yesterday."
Function
Main verb in present tense sentences
Past tense of "do"
Questions
Formed with auxiliary verbs (e.g., "Do you like it?")
Formed by adding "did" before the base verb (e.g., "Did you enjoy it?")
Compare with Definitions
Do
Do is a versatile verb used in the present tense.
I do my homework every evening.
Did
Did is used to create past tense negatives.
She did not attend the meeting.
Do
It indicates actions happening now or habitual actions.
They do yoga for relaxation.
Did
Did is the past tense of do, indicating completed actions.
He did all the work yesterday.
Do
Do can be the main verb in affirmative sentences.
She does an excellent job.
Did
Did is commonly used for actions in the past.
I did my best in the exam.
Do
Do is used for future actions as well.
We do plan to visit next week.
Did
It forms past tense questions by adding did before the base verb.
Did you see the movie last night?
Do
It forms questions using auxiliary verbs.
Do you have any questions?
Did
It refers to actions that have already occurred.
They did a great job last year.
Do
To perform or execute; carry out
Do one's assigned task.
Do a series of business deals.
Did
Past participle of do
Do
To fulfill the requirements of
Did my duty at all times.
Do
To perform the tasks or behaviors typically associated with (something), especially as part of one's character or normal duties
That talk show host just doesn't do subtle.
Do
To participate in (a meal or an activity) with another person
Let's do brunch on Sunday.
Do
To produce, especially by creative effort
Do a play on Broadway.
Do
To play the part or role of in a creative production
Did Elizabeth I in the film.
Do
To mimic
"doing the Southern voice, improvising it inventively as he goes along" (William H. Pritchard).
Do
To bring about; effect
Crying won't do any good now.
Do
To render; give
Do equal justice to the opposing sides.
Do honor to one's family.
Do
To put forth; exert
Do the best you can.
Do
To attend to in such a way as to take care of or put in order
Did the bedrooms before the guests arrived.
Do
To prepare for further use especially by washing
Did the dishes.
Do
To set or style (the hair).
Do
To apply cosmetics to
Did her face.
Do
To have as an occupation or profession
Have you decided what you will do after college?.
Do
To work out by studying
Do a homework assignment.
Do
Used as a substitute for an antecedent verb or verb phrase
He can play the piano, and I can do that, too.
Do
To travel (a specified distance)
Did a mile in four minutes.
Do
To go (a specified rate)
Did 80 mph on the highway.
Do
To make a tour of; visit
"[He] did 15 countries of Western Europe in only a few days" (R.W. Apple, Jr.).
Do
To be sufficient in meeting the needs of; serve
This room will do us very nicely.
Do
(Informal) To serve (a prison term)
Did time in jail.
Did five years for tax fraud.
Do
(Slang) To cheat; swindle
Do a relative out of an inheritance.
Do
(Slang) To take (drugs) illegally
"If you do drugs you are going to be in continual trouble" (Jimmy Breslin).
Do
(Slang) To kill; murder.
Do
To behave or conduct oneself; act
Do as I say and you won't get into trouble.
Do
To get along; fare
Students who do well at school.
Do
To carry on; manage
I could do without your interference.
Do
To make good use of something because of need
I could do with a hot bath.
Do
To serve a specified purpose
This coat will do for another season.
Do
To be proper or fitting
Such behavior just won't do.
Do
To take place; happen
What's doing in London this time of year?.
Do
Used as a substitute for an antecedent verb
Worked as hard as everyone else did.
Do
Used after another verb for emphasis
Run quickly, do!.
Do
Used with the infinitive without to in questions, negative statements, and inverted phrases
Do you understand? I did not sleep well. Little did we know what was in store for us.
Do
Used as a means of emphasis
I do want to be sure.
Do
A statement of what should be done
A list of the dos and don'ts of management.
Do
(Informal) An entertainment; a party
Attended a big do at the embassy.
Do
A commotion.
Do
A hairdo.
Do
Chiefly British Slang A swindle; a cheat.
Do
(Slang) Fecal matter; excrement.
Do
The first tone of the diatonic scale in solfeggio.
Do
A hairdo.
Do
(auxiliary) A syntactic marker.
Do
(auxiliary) be.}}
Do you go there often?
Do
(auxiliary) A syntactic marker in negations with the indicative and imperative moods.
I do not go there often.
Do not listen to him.
Do
(auxiliary) A syntactic marker for emphasis with the indicative, imperative, and subjunctive moods.
But I do go sometimes.
Do tell us.
Do
(pro-verb) be, though it can be in AAVE.}}
I play tennis; she does too.
Do
(transitive) To perform; to execute.
All you ever do is surf the Internet. What will you do this afternoon?
Do
To cause, make (someone) (do something).
Do
To suffice.
It’s not the best broom, but it will have to do;
This will do me, thanks.
Do
(intransitive) To be reasonable or acceptable.
It simply will not do to have dozens of children running around such a quiet event.
Do
(ditransitive) To have (as an effect).
The fresh air did him some good.
Do
(intransitive) To fare, perform (well or poorly).
Our relationship isn't doing very well;
How do you do?
Do
To fare#Verb well; to thrive; to prosper; (of livestock) to fatten.
Do
To have as one's job.
What does Bob do? — He's a plumber.
Do
To perform the tasks or actions associated with (something).
"Don't forget to do your report" means something quite different depending on whether you're a student or a programmer.
Do
To cook.
I'll just do some eggs.
Do
(transitive) To travel in, to tour, to make a circuit of.
Let’s do New York also.
Do
(transitive) To treat in a certain way.
Do
(transitive) To work for or on, by way of caring for, looking after, preparing, cleaning, keeping in order, etc.
Do
To act or behave in a certain manner; to conduct oneself.
Do
(transitive) To spend (time) in jail. (See also do time)
I did five years for armed robbery.
Do
(transitive) To impersonate or depict.
They really laughed when he did Clinton, with a perfect accent and a leer.
Do
(with 'a' and the name of a person, place, event, etc.) To copy or emulate the actions or behaviour that is associated with the person or thing mentioned.
He did a Henry VIII and got married six times.
He was planning to do a 9/11.
Do
To kill.
Do
To deal with for good and all; to finish up; to undo; to ruin; to do for.
Do
(informal) To punish for a misdemeanor.
He got done for speeding.
Teacher'll do you for that!
Do
(transitive) To cheat or swindle.
That guy just did me out of two hundred bucks!
Do
(transitive) To convert into a certain form; especially, to translate.
The novel has just been done into English;
I'm going to do this play into a movie
Do
To finish.
Do
Used to form the present progressive of verbs.
Do
(stock exchange) To cash or to advance money for, as a bill or note.
Do
To make or provide.
Do they do haircuts there?
Could you do me a burger with mayonnaise instead of ketchup?
Do
To injure (one's own body part).
Do
(transitive) To take drugs.
I do cocaine.
Do
To exist with a purpose or for a reason.
What's that car doing in our swimming pool?
Do
A party, celebration, social function; usually of moderate size and formality.
We’re having a bit of a do on Saturday to celebrate my birthday.
Do
Senseid|en|hairdo}}(informal) {{clip of hairdo
Nice do!
I don't like to spend time on my hairstyle, so I usually just wear a do-rag.
Do
Something that can or should be done.
Don't forget the dos and don'ts.
Do
Something that has been done.
"How come you quit?" "I'm moving to London." "Fair dos."
Do
(archaic) Ado; bustle; stir; to-do; A period of confusion or argument.
Do
A cheat; a swindler.
Do
An act of swindling; a fraud or deception.
Do
A homicide.
Do
(music) A syllable used in solfège to represent the first and eighth tonic of a major scale.
Do
(archaic) ditto
Do
The cardinal number occurring after el and before do one in a duodecimal system. Written 10, decimal value 12.
Do
A syllable attached to the first tone of the major diatonic scale for the purpose of solmization, or solfeggio. It is the first of the seven syllables used by the Italians as manes of musical tones, and replaced, for the sake of euphony, the syllable Ut, applied to the note C. In England and America the same syllables are used by many as a scale pattern, while the tones in respect to absolute pitch are named from the first seven letters of the alphabet.
Do
Deed; act; fear.
Do
Ado; bustle; stir; to do.
A great deal of do, and a great deal of trouble.
Do
A cheat; a swindle.
Do
To place; to put.
Do
To cause; to make; - with an infinitive.
My lord Abbot of Westminster did do shewe to me late certain evidences.
I shall . . . your cloister do make.
A fatal plague which many did to die.
We do you to wit [i. e., We make you to know] of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia.
Do
To bring about; to produce, as an effect or result; to effect; to achieve.
The neglecting it may do much danger.
He waved indifferently 'twixt doing them neither good not harm.
Do
To perform, as an action; to execute; to transact to carry out in action; as, to do a good or a bad act; do our duty; to do what I can.
Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work.
We did not do these things.
You can not do wrong without suffering wrong.
Do
To bring to an end by action; to perform completely; to finish; to accomplish; - a sense conveyed by the construction, which is that of the past participle done.
Do
To make ready for an object, purpose, or use, as food by cooking; to cook completely or sufficiently; as, the meat is done on one side only.
Do
To put or bring into a form, state, or condition, especially in the phrases, to do death, to put to death; to slay; to do away (often do away with), to put away; to remove; to do on, to put on; to don; to do off, to take off, as dress; to doff; to do into, to put into the form of; to translate or transform into, as a text.
Done to death by slanderous tongues.
The ground of the difficulty is done away.
Suspicions regarding his loyalty were entirely done away.
To do on our own harness, that we may not; but we must do on the armor of God.
Then Jason rose and did on him a fairBlue woolen tunic.
Though the former legal pollution be now done off, yet there is a spiritual contagion in idolatry as much to be shunned.
It ["Pilgrim's Progress"] has been done into verse: it has been done into modern English.
Do
To cheat; to gull; to overreach.
He was not be done, at his time of life, by frivolous offers of a compromise that might have secured him seventy-five per cent.
Do
To see or inspect; to explore; as, to do all the points of interest.
Do
To cash or to advance money for, as a bill or note.
Do
To perform work upon, about, for, or at, by way of caring for, looking after, preparing, cleaning, keeping in order, or the like.
The sergeants seem to do themselves pretty well.
Do
To deal with for good and all; to finish up; to undo; to ruin; to do for.
Sometimes they lie in wait in these dark streets, and fracture his skull, . . . or break his arm, or cut the sinew of his wrist; and that they call doing him.
Rarely . . . did the wrongs of individuals to the knowledge of the public.
My brightest hopes giving dark fears a being.As the light does the shadow.
Do
To act or behave in any manner; to conduct one's self.
They fear not the Lord, neither do they after . . . the law and commandment.
Do
To fare; to be, as regards health; as, they asked him how he did; how do you do to-day?
Do
To succeed; to avail; to answer the purpose; to serve; as, if no better plan can be found, he will make this do.
You would do well to prefer a bill against all kings and parliaments since the Conquest; and if that won't do; challenge the crown.
Some folks are happy and easy in mind when their victim is stabbed and done for.
Do
An uproarious party
Do
The syllable naming the first (tonic) note of any major scale in solmization
Do
Doctor's degree in osteopathy
Do
Engage in;
Make love, not war
Make an effort
Do research
Do nothing
Make revolution
Do
Carry out or perform an action;
John did the painting, the weeding, and he cleaned out the gutters
The skater executed a triple pirouette
She did a little dance
Do
Get (something) done;
I did my job
Do
Proceed or get along;
How is she doing in her new job?
How are you making out in graduate school?
He's come a long way
Do
Give rise to; cause to happen or occur, not always intentionally;
Cause a commotion
Make a stir
Cause an accident
Do
Carry out or practice; as of jobs and professions;
Practice law
Do
Be sufficient; be adequate, either in quality or quantity;
A few words would answer
This car suits my purpose well
Will $100 do?
A 'B' grade doesn't suffice to get me into medical school
Nothing else will serve
Do
Create or design, often in a certain way;
Do my room in blue
I did this piece in wood to express my love for the forest
Do
Behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself;
You should act like an adult
Don't behave like a fool
What makes her do this way?
The dog acts ferocious, but he is really afraid of people
Do
Spend time in prison or in a labor camp;
He did six years for embezzlement
Do
Carry on or manage;
We could do with a little more help around here
Do
Arrange attractively;
Dress my hair for the wedding
Do
Travel or traverse (a distance);
This car does 150 miles per hour
We did 6 miles on our hike every day
Common Curiosities
How are questions formed with do?
Questions with do are formed using auxiliary verbs, e.g., Do you like ice cream?
Can do be the main verb in a sentence?
Yes, do can function as the main verb in present tense sentences, e.g., I do my job.
What is the primary difference between do and did?
Do is used in the present tense, while did is the past tense form of do.
What is the function of did?
Did is used to refer to actions that have already been completed in the past.
When should I use do?
Do is used to describe actions happening now, habitual actions, and future actions.
Can do be used for future actions?
Yes, do can indicate future actions, e.g., We do plan to visit next week.
Is did used in negative sentences?
Yes, did is used to create past tense negatives, e.g., They did not attend the event.
Give an example of did in a past tense question.
Did she complete the assignment?
When do you use did to talk about completed actions?
Did is used when referring to actions that have already occurred, e.g., I did my homework.
Can you give an example of do in a present tense question?
Do they go to the gym regularly?
Provide a sentence using do to describe a habitual action.
They do their exercises every morning.
What is the past tense of do in a negative sentence?
She did not finish the book.
What type of actions does did typically describe?
Did is used for actions in the past, e.g., She did her homework yesterday.
How do you create past tense questions with did?
You add did before the base verb, e.g., Did he finish the project?
How does did differ from do in terms of tense?
Do is in the present tense, while did is in the past tense and refers to actions already done.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
