Irregular verb in English, past tense of Do: Do - Did - Done

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The verb “Do” is one of the most frequently used words in English. Despite its simplicity, it plays a crucial role in both grammar and communication. As an irregular verb, "Do" does not follow standard past tense patterns. In this guide, we’ll take a closer look at the past tense of Do, how it’s conjugated in all 12 tenses, and explore idioms and phrasal verbs that include “Do”.

I. What is Do?

Before diving into its conjugation, it’s important to understand what "Do" means and how it functions.

Do is pronounced /duː/ and depending on the context, “Do” can refer to performing an action, completing a task, or supporting the formation of questions and negatives when used as an auxiliary.

Part of speech	Usage and meaning	Example
Auxiliary Verb	Used in questions, negative sentences, or for emphasis in the present simple and past simple tenses.	Do you like coffee?
Verb	To perform, execute, or complete a task or action	I do my homework every day.
Noun	An action or activity	The manager asked us to come up with a plan for the do.

II. What are V0, V2, V3 of Do? The past tense of Do in English

What is the past tense of Do? V0, V2, and V3 are abbreviations for the base form, simple past, and past participle of Do. Let’s take a closer look at the V0, V2, and V3 forms of Do in the table below:

Verb form		Example
V0	Do /duː/ Does /dʌz/	I do my homework every evening. She does her homework every evening.
V2	Did /dɪd/	I did my homework yesterday evening.
V3	Done /dʌn/	I have done my homework since 9PM.

Do past tense and past participle are: Do in past simple is Did and Do past participle is Done. Therefore, Do past perfect is Had Done.

III. Conjugation of the verb Do

To use Do in the past tense correctly, it’s important to know how it appears in various grammatical structures. Let’s examine how it is conjugated across the 12 standard English tenses and how it fits into special sentence patterns, including questions, negatives, and passive constructions.

1. Tenses

From simple past to perfect continuous, understanding where “Do” fits in each tense will help you construct accurate sentences.

12 tenses in English	I	He/She/It	We/You/They
Present simple tense	do	does	do
	I do my exercise every morning. She does her homework after dinner. They do their chores on weekends.
Present progressive tense	am doing	is doing	are doing
	I am doing my exercise right now. She is doing her homework at the moment. They are doing their chores at this time.
Present perfect tense	have done	has done	have done
	I have done my exercise today. She has done her homework already. They have done their chores this week.
Present perfect progressive tense	have been doing	has been doing	have been doing
	I have been doing my exercise for 30 minutes. She has been doing her homework for an hour. They have been doing their chores since this morning.
Past simple tense	did	did	did
	I did my exercise yesterday. She did her homework last night. They did their chores last weekend.
Past progressive tense	was doing	was doing	was doing
	I was doing my exercise when you called. She was doing her homework all afternoon. They were doing their chores while it was raining.
Past perfect tense	had done	had done	had done
	I had done my exercise before breakfast. She had done her homework by the time I arrived. They had done their chores before the guests arrived.
Past perfect progressive tense	had been doing	had been doing	had been doing
	I had been doing my exercise for an hour before you came. She had been doing her homework all morning before the power went out. They had been doing their chores for hours before the party started.
Future simple tense	will do	will do	will do
	I will do my exercise tomorrow. She will do her homework later. They will do their chores next week.
Future progressive tense	will be doing	will be doing	will be doing
	I will be doing my exercise at 7 AM tomorrow. She will be doing her homework when we arrive. They will be doing their chores during the afternoon.
Future perfect tense	will have done	will have done	will have done
	I will have done my exercise by noon. She will have done her homework by the time the movie starts. They will have done their chores by the end of the day.
Future perfect progressive tense	will have been doing	will have been doing	will have been doing
	I will have been doing my exercise for two hours by noon. She will have been doing her homework for hours when the guests arrive. They will have been doing their chores for the entire morning by the time lunch is served.

2. In special sentence structures

It is also important to understand how "Do" is used in certain sentence structures, such as the passive voice or with modal verbs. These variations will help you use "Do" more fluently.

Special Structure	I	He/She/It	We/You/They
Conditional Sentences
Second conditional - Main Clause	would do	would do	would do
Second conditional - Main Clause	If I were you, I would do the assignment now. If she had more time, she would do the project herself. If they knew the answer, they would do the task correctly.
Third conditional - Main Clause	would have done	would have done	would have done
Third conditional - Main Clause	If I had known about the meeting, I would have done my research. If she had finished her work earlier, she would have done the presentation. If they had received the instructions, they would have done the job properly.
Subjunctive Mood
Subjunctive expressing present situation	do	do	do
Subjunctive expressing present situation contrary to fact	did	did	did
Subjunctive expressing past situation contrary to fact	had done	had done	had done
Example	If I do my exercise regularly, I will feel healthier. If she did the report, she would have more credibility with her team. If they had done their part, the project would have been completed on time.

IV. Phrasal Verbs with Do in English

Beyond its basic function, “Do” also appears in numerous phrasal verbs. These multi-word expressions often carry unique meanings.

Phrasal verb with Do	Meaning	Example
do away with something	To abolish, eliminate, or get rid of something	John suggested we do away with the old filing system and move everything online.
do someone in	To kill or harm someone, or to make someone extremely tired	Sarah was so exhausted after the marathon that it really did her in.
do someone out of something	To cheat or trick someone in order to take something from them or to prevent them from getting something they are entitled to	Michael believes his colleague did him out of a promotion by spreading false rumors.
do over something	To redo something because the first attempt was unsatisfactory or not completed well	Emma wasn’t satisfied with her essay, so she decided to do it over.
do without something/ someone	To manage or cope without something or someone	David had to do without his phone for a week after it broke.

V. Idioms with Do in English

"Do" is also part of many everyday idiomatic expressions. These idioms carry meanings that go beyond the literal use of the word.

Idioms with Do	Meaning	Example
can't be doing with something	To be unable to tolerate or deal with something because it is annoying or bothersome	Emma can't be doing with this noisy sound.
do as you would be done by	To treat others as you would like to be treated yourself	Sarah believes in the principle "do as you would be done by" and always treats others with respect.
do something/ nothing for/ to someone	To provide a benefit/no benefit to someone	Michael’s new haircut really did something for his confidence.
that does it!	That's enough! (Used when something has reached an unbearable level.)	David shouted, “That does it! I’ve had enough of your excuses!”
that'll do!	That's enough! (Used to ask someone to stop inappropriate behavior or actions.)	That'll do, Anna! Please just sit down and keep quiet.
that's done it!	That's it! (Used when someone or something has caused damage or trouble.)	Tom exclaimed, “That’s done it! Now we’ll have to start all over again!” when he realized the mistake.
what's done is done	What has happened in the past should be accepted and left behind.	Sarah tried to comfort her friend by saying, “What’s done is done, let’s focus on fixing it now.”

VI. Exercises on conjugating the past form of Do with answers

To reinforce what you’ve learned, try completing the following exercises designed to test your understanding of how to use “Did” and “Done” correctly in context. Full answers are provided for easy self-assessment.

1. Exercise: Fill in the correct form of the verb Do in the blanks of the sentences below.

I __________ (do) my homework every evening.
Emi __________ (do) her chores now, so she can’t come to the phone.
They __________ (do) a great job yesterday at the event.
By next week, we __________ (do) all the preparations for the trip.
John __________ (do) the laundry when I called him.
If I had known about the project, I __________ (do) my part on time.
We __________ (do) the report by the end of this week.
Anna __________ (do) her homework for two hours before she finally finished it.
They __________ (do) their chores before the guests arrived.
What __________ (you, do) at this time yesterday?

2. Answers

do
is doing
did
will have done
was doing

would have done
will do
had been doing
had done
were you doing

By the end of this guide, you should have a solid grasp of how to use the past tense of Do. From grammar rules to common expressions, this versatile verb plays an essential role in English communication. Keep practicing with PREP to strengthen your skills and continue expanding your language knowledge!

Chloe

Product Content Admin

Hi I'm Chloe, and I am currently serving as an Product Content Administrator at Prep Education. With over five years of experience in independent online IELTS study and exam preparation, I am confident in my ability to support learners in achieving their highest possible scores.