Learn English – I just done vs I just finished

verbs

If we compare these two sentences:

  1. I just done
  2. I just finished

The first one doesn't make sense I think while the second one does. However, if we were to remove just, then:

  1. I done
  2. I finished

Both would seem to make sense? I think. Why is this the case?

Let's take an example sentence:

  1. I just done dinner

  2. I just finished dinner

Done and finished are both verbs but why can't done be used in the same way as finished?

Best Answer

Lets note the tenses for to do, to finish and to eat (I added the last one because it's quite common and it's an irregular verb). So I'll list the infinitive, the past tense and the past participle:

To do, did, done

To finish, finished, finished

To eat, ate, eaten

Now, let's look at your first example:

I just done and I just finished

The first is obviously wrong, because done is a past participle which needs some other verb. This is not the case for finished, because it can be read as the past tense (rather than a perfect tense). Compare the following:

I just ate and I just eaten

Clearly, the first is grammatically correct, whereas the second is wrong.

The same argument can be made for your second example:

I ate and I eaten

The first is grammatically sound, the second is not. With to do and to finish this can be explained by noting that finished can be read as past tense (which is correct in this case), whereas done can only be read a past participle and the example lacks another verb to make it grammatical.

In your third example, I think both can be grammatical, but done is not used in the way you do. To finish dinner is idiomatic (people generally say that to indicate they have concluded their evening meal). To do dinner, however, is not idiomatic (it's not used by native speakers).

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