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What is the correct phrasing when referring to something that has occured in the past? "Did you took that /went there or Did you take that/go there?

STEMgirl2003
my aunt 'corrected' me today when I asked her "Did you took your pill aunty" and she said its 'Did you TAKE your pill not took'.Can a British native speaker please tell me which is the correct way of saying this in the RP dialect? Please and thanks!

13 comments

SnooDonuts6494
The latter. "Did you take", "Did you go". “Did” tells you that it is in the past, so the main verb does not change. It has got nothing to do with RP. Some non-standard English dialects use different verb tenses, but "Did you took" is grammatically incorrect in standard English. --- https://www.reddit.com/r/grammar/comments/sm1ud4/can_someone_explain_why_did_cant_be_used_with/ https://www.reddit.com/r/grammar/comments/10dfzen/can_we_use_did_past_participle/ https://www.reddit.com/r/ENGLISH/comments/13yo9fg/why_not_use_did_verb_instead_of_past_tense/
GeneralOpen9649
It’s “did you take.” Edit - “did you took” is a very common and very recognizable signifier that the speaker is not a native speaker.
GreenWhiteBlue86
In every version of grammatical English in any country (and note that RP is a pronunciation, and not a "dialect"), the emphatic tense is formed by using a conjugated form of the verb "do" along with the bare infinitive. For the past tense, only the form of "do" is conjugated in the past tense, while the bare infinitive remains the same. For example: *I* ***did explain*** *how to install the machine, but he paid no attention* (and **NOT** "I did ***explained***...") ***Did*** *you* ***hear*** *the explosion?* (and **NOT** "Did you ***heard*** the explosion?") *How* ***did*** *you* ***know*** *the answer?* (and **NOT** "How did you ***knew*** the answer?) "Did you took your pill?" is incorrect and ungrammatical. The correct sentence is "Did you take your pill?", exactly as your aunt said.
GetREKT12352
‘Did you take’ is correct. Shouldn’t matter where you are.
untempered_fate
Not British, but I can tell you that take/go is more grammatically correct than took/went in this situation. Maybe someone more local can speak to dialect.
thriceness
British or not, this is the same in American English: did is already in the past tense, so the verb can remain an infinitive. Therefore: did you take, did you make, did you do, etc.
JohnLockwood
It's did you take. The reason is that "did" is already in the past, so "Did you take?" is just an inversion of "You did take." (In the present, that would be "Do you take / You do take"). You're right that "You took" is correct in the past, but it's never "You did took / Did you took."
Fiztopic
Take & go
semaht
When 'did' is used, it indicates past, so the following verb will always* be in present tense. *At least, I cannot think of an instance that does not.
InadvertentCineaste
With modal and auxiliary verbs, we use the bare infinitive form, which is the infinitive without "to" at the beginning (or in some cases a participle, but after "do," it's always the bare infinitive). This can be confusing because the bare infinitive looks just like the regular present tense form (except for "to be"), so it's not obvious that it's actually a different form of the verb. The bare infinitive of "to take" is "take," so that's what you want to use with "did" and similar verbs: "Did you take" "Does he take" "Can we take" "May they take" etc.
alistofthingsIhate
“Did you take” and “did you go” are both correct in all English dialects.
Majestic-Finger3131
"Did you took" is usage that seems to be making the rounds among English learners. This is the most broken English conceivable, irrespective of dialect. People will laugh over this it is so ridiculous. You are lucky your auntie didn't slap you silly.
-catskill-
It is take. Did is the past tense of do, and do is an auxiliary verb in [this usage](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do-support). The verb that the auxiliary do is "helping" does not change its tense, just the word do itself, does. Does that make sense?