The word “did” is always followed by a present tense verb.
One of the most common mistakes I’ve heard among Caribbean speakers of the English Language is one that involves the word “did.”
Always remember that “did” is always followed by a present tense verb. Example:
Correct: Did you “go” to school yesterday?
Incorrect: Did you “went” to school yesterday?
But didn’t the action take place in the past? And isn’t “went” the past tense?
That’s correct, but in this case, the auxiliary or helping verb did, which is past tense of the verb “to do,” assigns the past. Here are some more examples:
- Did you see the eclipse?
- Did you eat the apple?
- I did not go to school today.
- I did not drive to work today.
- He did not work yesterday.
- She did not tell her parents what happened.
- I did not arrive in time for work.
- Did they kill the snake?
- She gave him the food, and he did eat it.
- She did bring her pet to school yesterday.
For many of us, this is easily understood. But for those of you who still get caught with this, always remember: “did” is followed by the present tense.
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