Does anyone have a really simple way of explaining to someone about how to know when to say 'do' or 'did'?

[OhioOhioOhio]

A really simple way. Please.

HunGosh and Andy

I think they'll manage to cope with your explanations best of all, thank you. Especially for the 'have' tip.

Pp, yes 'I done it' is just WRONG.

Is 'I done it' something that is a London thing?

I can imagine Lord Sugar saying it.

It might be correct as part of a dialect?

Whatever. English isn't one thing. Loads of variation everywhere.
I don't love 'I done it', it's harsh on the ear, but it's perfectly ok in dialect.

catmg

That's exactly what I did!

I cut my xh some slack and never bothered him about it. Now I'm teaching my kids so they don't do it!

When they say it you can say

Oh no! you done it again...

Ooh that's annoying they're picking it up from xh. Is he aware he does it? And that it is wrong?

Pp if my xh was going to deal with the top 1000 he gets wrong then saying 'done' instead of 'did' would feature as problem number 998 at the very most. He has far more ugly fish to fry.

@OhioOhioOhio hahaha love this reply. He is clearly an ex for a very good list of reasons then?

Not enough room on the internet to list them!

My mother used to get us to repeat after her:

I do, I did, I have done
I see, I saw, I have seen
I go, I went, I have gone
I am, I was, I have been

Never mind what the tenses actually mean or are called - done, seen, gone & been should always have HAVE in front of them.

Bluebell

Your mother is a star!

@BluebellCockleshell123

When it have gone it have gone?

OP is your OH from Norfolk/Colchester way and also say things like compooter or confoosed?

I have this issue with my DP and "them ones". It's regional yes but it's still WRONG and it drives me mad. Kids haven't picked up on it yet but I'm sure it's only a matter of time. Whenever DP says it I make sure I sort of repeat what he's said, only correctly. So if he says "get them ones over there" I will say "that's right, use these/those ones". Hopefully it will continue to work!