do
part of speech
verb, auxiliary (do, does, did, done, doing; don't, doesn't, didn't); noun (a do — a party, UK casual)
meaning for a pupil
1) To do is to carry out an action: do your homework. tree →
2) Do helps make questions and «not» sentences: Do you like cats? I don't know. tree →
3) Do can stand for a verb already said: «Who ate it?» «I did.» tree →
4) To do well or badly is to get on well or badly. tree →
5) «Will do» or «That will do» means that is enough or that is fine. tree →
6) (casual, UK, Ireland, Australia) A do is a party: a birthday do. tree →
7) (rough) «Do» can mean hurt or punish: «I'll do you!», «he got done for speeding» (caught by the police); «done in» means very tired. tree →
8) (formal) The exam voice says «perform», «carry out», «execute», «undertake», «complete» where a child would say «do». tree →
sense in the lessons
a helping word in questions («How many cards does Ben have now?»); «I cannot do that»; in class «do a sum», «do the dishes», «do your best»; in everyday life «How do you do?», «That will do» (that is enough), «do up» (fasten), «do without»; in casual talk «a do» (a party), «what are you doing?» texted as «wyd», «done in» (very tired); in rough talk «I'll do you» (a threat); in the exam voice «perform the following operation», «carry out», «undertake»
examples
- How many cards does Ben have now? tree →
- How many cards did Anna find altogether? tree →
- Do you have more pens than Ali? tree →
- Did you do your homework? tree →
- I don't like spinach. tree →
- Let's do a puzzle. tree →
- Do your best in the race! tree →
- She does karate after school. tree →
- «Who wants cake?» «I do!» tree →
- We're having a do for nan's 80th, need 20 chairs tree →
- Touch my bike and I'll do you. tree →
- Perform the indicated operation and state the result: 17 − 9. tree →
note
No operation clue; «did» points to the past, «does … now» to the present. After does/did use the plain verb: «Does she have?», not «Does she has?». He/she/it does; I/you/we/they do. Past «did», past participle «done». «I'll do you» in rough talk is a threat or a bluff, not a task. «a do» in UK casual talk is a party. «Perform the operation» in an exam just means «do the sum».
In the corpora
- When a parent seems frazzled after work, it is usually the workload, not anything the child did.
- Night shifts mean working through the night and sleeping in the day; nurses, drivers, bakers and warehouse workers often do them.
- If prices rise and pay doesn't, a person is really getting poorer each year.
- We can do this."
- It does not mean the family is in danger; it means there is little left after the bills.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «do» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.