did
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
How often you will meet it
Rank 69 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 367,271 times across 155,370 chapters — 0.175% of every word in the library.
It belongs to the first 100 words, the band worth learning before any other.
What it means
auxiliary verb
- the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
did in real books
Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.
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The boy did not lift his eyes.
The Heart of the Hills · John, Jr. Fox · Chapter 1
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If I did, I would lose all my pleasure.
The Picture of Dorian Gray · Oscar Wilde · Chapter 1
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Perhaps she did not seek it--perhaps she dared not.
Christian's Mistake · Dinah Maria Mulock Craik · Chapter 1
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She did not shake hands, but she nodded to me pleasantly.
The Betrayal · E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim · Chapter 1
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And the girl knew that in the direct, unsophisticated judgments of the judges these things did not count at all.
The Courage of the Commonplace · Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews · Chapter 1