What is the difference between "I did play " and "I played" according to the British English?
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3Does this answer your question? Does using "did" to form the past tense make a difference? or 'did shoot' vs 'shot'? – Edwin Ashworth May 29 '20 at 16:29
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They are both correct. They have the same meansing. Usually we use the shorter "I played". Unless we want some special emphasis. – GEdgar May 29 '20 at 16:29
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@GEdgar: They wouldn't usually have "the same" meaning. In any given context, one or the other is likely to be highly favoured, and using the *less* common alternative would normally be noticed, and assigned some significance. (Even if it's just Speaker isn't a native Anglophone! :) – FumbleFingers May 29 '20 at 16:34
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Thank to you all for your help. So i have come to the conclusion that in the sentence "I did play " "did" is giving emphasis on the verb"play". – user386586 May 29 '20 at 16:56
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I did play would normally be used to express the fact that you played *habitually* in the past. I played can also express that; however, if you're talking about a single time that you played rather than anything habitual, then I played would be far more commonly used. For instance, I did play one time, while not actually wrong, is not at all normal. But I played one time is very normal. – Jason Bassford May 29 '20 at 17:06
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@JasonBassford thanks a lot – user386586 May 29 '20 at 17:25