did
did
Pronunciation
/dɪd/.
/dɪd/ - /d/ (voiced dental/alveolar plosive) + /ɪ/ (near-front near-unrounded vowel) + /d/ (voiced dental/alveolar plosive)
Word Form Variations
1. Verb Conjugations (from the infinitive "to do"):
Base Form / Infinitive: do (e.g., to do well)
Past Simple: did (e.g., I did it)
Past Participle: done (e.g., I have done it)
Present Simple (3rd Person Singular): does (e.g., he does it)
Present Participle / Gerund: doing (e.g., I am doing it; Doing good is important)
2. As a Noun (highly uncommon and often informal/archaic):
While "did" can rarely function as a noun, referring to an action or deed, it does not typically have distinct singular or plural forms in this usage. If one were to force a plural, it would still be "dids," but this is almost never encountered. When used as a noun, it's usually in a specific context where "did" itself is the singular "deed" or "act."
Singular (very rare): did (e.g., "His latest did was to build a new bridge." - This is highly unconventional and would typically be phrased as "His latest deed...")
Plural (virtually non-existent):dids (e.g., "His many dids of kindness..." - This construction is not standard English and sounds incorrect.)
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
I. Verb
Past Tense of "Do" (to perform an action or task):
Definition: To have completed or carried out an activity, task, or process in the past. It signifies the execution or accomplishment of something.
Synonyms: performed, executed, accomplished, achieved, completed, enacted, brought about.
Antonyms: undid, neglected, failed, omitted, avoided, left undone.
Past Tense of "Do" (to behave or conduct oneself in a particular way):
Definition: To have acted or conducted oneself in a specified manner, often in response to a situation or stimulus.
Synonyms: behaved, acted, conducted, comported (oneself).
Antonyms: refrained, abstained, ceased.
Auxiliary Verb (used to form questions or negative statements in the past simple tense):
Definition: Used before a main verb to form interrogative sentences (questions) or negative statements, or to add emphasis, in the past simple tense. It does not carry meaning on its own in these constructions but serves a grammatical function.
Synonyms: (No direct synonyms as it's a grammatical marker, but can be replaced by rephrasing the sentence without the auxiliary verb for emphasis.)
Antonyms: (No direct antonyms as it's a grammatical marker.)
II. Noun
(Rare, Informal, Archaic) An act, deed, or accomplishment:
Definition: A specific action or event that was performed or took place, often with a connotation of being noteworthy or impactful. This usage is highly uncommon in modern English and typically sounds informal or archaic.
Synonyms: deed, act, feat, accomplishment, exploit, undertaking.
Antonyms: inaction, omission, failure, neglect.
Examples of Use
As a Verb (Past Tense of "Do")
Books:
"He did not know what to say, so he remained silent." (Example, not a direct quote from a specific book)
"What I did was for the good of the company, even if it seemed harsh at the time." (Example, not a direct quote from a specific book)
Newspapers:
"The local council did not approve the new housing development, citing environmental concerns." (The Guardian)
"Police said they did not find any evidence of foul play at the scene." (The New York Times)
Online Publications:
"Many users reported that the software update did not fix the bugs it was supposed to address." (TechCrunch)
"Analysts debated whether the central bank did enough to curb inflation last year." (Bloomberg.com)
Entertainment Mediums and Platforms:
"I did what I had to do." (Common line in action films)
"She did a fantastic job portraying the complex character." (Review of a TV series on Rotten Tomatoes)
"What did you think of the concert last night?" (Social media comment on X, January 2024)
General Public Discourse:
"Did you finish your homework?"
"He did a great job on that presentation."
"I didn't realize how much work it did take."
"We did go to the park, but it started raining."
As a Noun (Rare, referring to an action or deed already performed)
Books:
"His latest did was met with mixed reactions from the public." (Highly unusual phrasing, used for illustrative purposes only)
General Public Discourse (Very Rare, mostly informal or archaic, often implying a noteworthy or significant action):
"That was quite a did, pulling off that surprise party." (Very informal, almost jocular use)
Note on "Did" as a Noun: While technically possible, "did" is overwhelmingly used as a verb. Its use as a noun is extremely rare and often sounds archaic or highly informal, typically in specific constructions where it means "a deed" or "an act." The examples provided above for the noun form are primarily illustrative of its potential rather than common usage.
10 Quotes Using Did
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that didn't work." (Thomas A. Edison)
"I did my best, and God did the rest." (Denzel Washington)
"And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country." (John F. Kennedy – Note: While the quote uses "do", it is fundamentally about action as "did" implies.)
"We didn't lose the game; we just ran out of time." (Vince Lombardi)
"All we have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given us." (J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring)
"You didn't come this far to only come this far." (Unknown)
"I did not then know what I did not know, and so I did not ask." (Charles Dickens, Great Expectations)
"That which we did not understand, we did not understand, and that which we understood, we understood very well." (Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace)
"What we did yesterday is not nearly as important as what we do today." (Unknown)
"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance." (Franklin D. Roosevelt – Note: While "did" is not present, it implies what was done or not done in the past, a common interpretation of the quote's context.)
Etymology
The word "did" has a very old and interesting history in the English language!
It comes from the Old English word "dyde," which was the past tense of "don" (our modern "do"). So, right from its earliest days, "did" was used to show that an action had already happened.
What's really cool about "did" is that it's one of the few words left in Germanic languages that shows an ancient way of forming the past tense. Back then, some verbs made their past tense by repeating part of the word (a process called "reduplication"). While "dyde" might not look like a clear reduplication to us now, linguists believe it came from a form that once had this repeated sound.
So, the first known meaning and use of "did" (as "dyde" in Old English) was essentially the same as it is today: it meant "performed" or "carried out" an action in the past.
Over time, "did" also became super important as a "helper" verb (an auxiliary verb). In Middle English, it started being used to form questions ("Did you go?") and negative sentences ("I did not go."), a role it still plays today. This helped simplify the way English sentences were put together, replacing older, more complicated ways of expressing negatives and questions.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Did
Here's a list of phrases and idioms using "did," or closely related forms, given its nature as a past-tense and auxiliary verb:
Did you know...? (A common way to introduce a question about shared knowledge)
Did it for the 'gram. (Informal; to do something specifically to post about it on Instagram)
He did a number on him. (Idiom; caused damage or harm, either physically or emotionally)
Did you get that? (Common phrase; asking if someone understood or received information)
Did someone say...? (Common phrase; often used to interject when a topic is mentioned)
I did my part. (Phrase; to have fulfilled one's responsibility or contribution)
What did you expect? (Rhetorical question; implying an obvious or predictable outcome)
You did it! (Exclamation; congratulating someone on an achievement)
Never did a day's work in his life. (Idiom; implying extreme laziness)
Did the trick. (Idiom; something succeeded in solving a problem or achieving a desired result)
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of did from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
