#19 - I did my laundry yesterday. What did you do? ~ Practice using "to do" in the past.

Send us Fan MailIn TALC Chats episode # 8, Latonya and Diana practiced using that little verb "to do'" in the present. In this episode they practice using "to do" in the past. A quick review of the forms "to do"in the present:          I do         we do         you do         they do         he/she/it does"to do" has two important jobs:          1. As a main verb that means to accomplish something               like "I do my dishes after I eat dinner."         2. As a helper for most other verbs for                 questions: "Do you like chocolate?"                negative statements: "I don't like chocolate"One very important verb that needs no help from "to do" is "to be".          (am, is, are - present; was, were - past)         Examples: You are busy. You are not busy. Are you busy?"to do" in the past:Using"to do" in the past as a main verb and and as a helper is easy. It's a piece of cake! Like almost all English verbs "to do" has only one past tense form : "did". To talk about the past just change the "do" or "does" to "did ".  Practice using "to do " as a main verb in the past:            I do my laundry on Mondays.  I did my laundry last Monday.            John always does his homework.  John did his homework last night.Practice using "to do" as a helper in the past:            Did you like broccoli when you were a kid? (main  verb "like")           No, I did not (didn't) like broccoli when I was a kid.  (main  verb "like")                       Did John work yesterday? (main verb "work")           No, John did not (didn't) work yesterday. (main  verb "work")Notice that the main verb is always in the base form: like, work, eat The main verb does not change with the subject    Listen for “did” “didn’t “ and “do” in Diana and Latonya's conversation. Sometimes “did” will be the main verb and sometimes it will be a helper with a main verb.L:  Did you have a busy day yesterday?D: No, I really didn’t have a very busy day yesterday.L:  Did you work yesterday?D: No, I didn’t work. It was my day off.L: Did you make anything special for dinner?D: No, I didn’t cook. I got a pizza.L: Did you go to bed early?D: No, I didn’t go to bed early. I read my book until midnight.L: Wow! Did you finish the book?D: Yes, I finished it. Do you want it?L: Yes, I do, thanks. But I don’t want to stay up until midnight reading it!D: Don’t worry! You don’t have to read it all in one night like I did.L: I don’t plan to.D: Well, I need to say goodbye. I don’t want to be late for my class.L: OK! See you later!How about you, dear listener:Did you have a busy day yesterday? What did you do?             Tacomaliteracy.org