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Irregular verb

do

/duː/

Base
do
Past simple
did
Past participle
done

Usage

did reports a completed action; done only appears with have/has/had, as in have done.

Meaning

  • to perform an action or activity

Example

I have done all my homework.

She did the dishes before leaving.

They did their best in the final round.

Teaching note

Do supplies the past form did in questions and negatives, while done is its participle and normally needs an auxiliary such as have or be.

Common mistake

The sentence ‘I done the exercise’ is nonstandard in careful written English because done lacks an auxiliary.

Correction: Write ‘I did the exercise’ for simple past, or ‘I have done the exercise’ to emphasize the completed result.