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In English, we often use “do,” “does,” and “did” not just to form questions or negatives, but also to add emphasis to affirmative sentences. This is known as using emphatic “do”.
In this post, you’ll test your understanding of emphatic “do,” “does,” and “did” with a 10-question interactive exercise that comes with answers and explanations.
🔎 Need a quick refresher first?
If you’d like to review the grammar rules before or after the quiz, you can scroll down to the recap section at the end of the post.
Emphatic Do Exercise with Answer
Grammar Recap: What Is Emphatic “Do”?
What Does It Mean?
In English, we normally use do/does/did to form negatives and questions. But we can also use them in affirmative sentences to add emphasis to the verb.
This is called an emphatic structure.
When Do We Use It?
We use emphatic “do” structures to:
- Correct a misunderstanding
I do like broccoli, even if I didn’t eat it today. - Add emotion or stress
She does care about the project! - Contrast an earlier idea
He didn’t come yesterday, but he did send a message.
Structure
| Subject | do/does/did | Base Verb | Object / Complement |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | do | like | this idea |
| She | does | understand | your concern |
| They | did | finish | their homework |
Note:
- Use do/does for present simple
- Use did for past simple
- Always use the base form of the main verb after do/does/did
Emphatic Do, Does, Did Examples
- Normal: He enjoys reading.
Emphatic: He does enjoy reading. - Normal: They arrived on time.
Emphatic: They did arrive on time. - Normal: I believe you.
Emphatic: I do believe you.
If you’ve reached this point after doing the quiz, well done! Understanding and using emphatic structures helps you sound more natural, expressive, and fluent in the English language.
Want more? Check out related emphatic structures in our full grammar series.
More about the emphatic “do”!
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- Cleft Sentences with Exercises
- Inversion Grammar Exercise
