Thread: Simple Past or "did"

May I instead of the phrase "I bought a milk" say "I did buy a milk"?

I have just heard the same phrase somewhere.

Thank you.

Firstly
"a milk" rarely makes sense in English.

a bottle of milk - бутилька молока
some milk - молока
or just milk - молоко
"a milk" sounds wrong.

"I bought some milk" is the normal neutral way of saying it.
"I did buy some milk" is emphatic. Like you'd say it if someone was doubting you.

Exactly, like in this convorsation:

"I bought some milk yesterday. We were out."
"Really? I doubt that."
"No! I did! I really did buy some milk yesterday!"

I would say "I bought milk."

Also, milk is rarely sold in 'bottles' anymore. At least here in America it is usually sold in plastic jugs or waxboard cartons.

Jug





^ Are these called bottles?

Also you could use the amount of milk, for example:
I bought a gallon of milk.

I would (and do) call the first of those a bottle.

Typically, when an American hears "bottle of milk" they think of this:

Yeah, thanks, I gathered that.

Originally Posted by BlackMage

Are these called bottles?

I would never call the second one a bottle, in Russian it's called "пачка молока" or "пакет молока". The first one I would call a bottle(бутылка) too though I think канистра is a more appropriate name for it. On the other hand канистра is mostly used with gasoline and other technical stuff so "канистра молока" may sound a little bit weird. What do other Russians think about it?

To answer the orignal question....

"I bought a milk" say "I did buy a milk"?

You cetainly can say "I bought a milk" but the implication would be that you bought a single, individual serving sized container of milk. This is also referred to as a carton of milk usually in a pint size.

"I did buy a milk" is a little akward but could be used as the others have indicated - if someone was doubting your purchase of milk and you were trying to convince them that you did buy milk. But unless you bought a single serving size of milk you would most likely say "I did buy milk" without the use of the 'a'.

Most native American speakers would simply say "I bought some milk" or "I bought milk".

Usually milk is a non-count noun, so you can't say "a" or "one" milk. But, in school cafeterias, milk is sold in small cartons, and you can refer to one carton as "a milk." That's about the only situation in which you can use the indefinite article with the word. Using "did" makes it sound like you're convincing someone that doesn't believe you really bought milk.
Mom: "You didn't get the milk!"
Son: "Yes I did, I did buy the milk!"

Unfortunately I have done several mistakes in so shot sentence (article and non-count noun). Though I've just interested in using "did".
Thank you all for explanations!
By the way, about "bottle of milk", the local milk factory in my town sells dairy products in plastic 0,5 and 1 liter bottles. They look like Тостер showed, but from plastic. And we call them "bottle" (бутылка).

And one more question - what is the difference between "although" and "though"?

Originally Posted by kiruv

And one more question - what is the difference between "although" and "though"?

Usually there isn't a difference. "although" is usually at the beginning of the sentence or clause.

In everyday conversation you can use either one and everyone will understand.

although vs. though
As supporting conjunctions, they are technically interchangable, though "although" begins a clause, both at the beginning and in the middle of a sentence, whereas "though" is used as a synonymn for "however."
Though no example has been found, ...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Preferred: Although no example has been found, ...
No example has been found, though.

http://carbon.cudenver.edu/~hgreenbe/co ... akes.shtml

Originally Posted by Friendy

Originally Posted by BlackMage

Are these called bottles?

I would never call the second one a bottle, in Russian it's called "пачка молока" or "пакет молока". The first one I would call a bottle(бутылка) too though I think канистра is a more appropriate name for it. On the other hand канистра is mostly used with gasoline and other technical stuff so "канистра молока" may sound a little bit weird. What do other Russians think about it?

Пачка молока?! Sorry, Friendy, but this sounds more than weird! I associate пачка with cigarettes or pastry.

Originally Posted by Rtyom

Пачка молока?! Sorry, Friendy, but this sounds more than weird! I associate пачка with cigarettes or pastry.

lol, interesting, and what about "пачка масла"? Does it sound weird to you too? I ramblered for "пачка молока" http://www.rambler.ru/srch?words=%22%EF ... 9%F2%E8%21 and it's indeed rare but for me it sounds quite natural.

Indeed, 'пачка' might be rare, but there is nothing wrong with it. ;P

Мне тоже сочетание "пачка молока" кажется очень странным... Я даже не поленился и залез в словарь.
Пачка: 1. Связка, небольшой пакет каких-н. однородных, упакованных или сложенных вместе предметов. Пачка папирос. Пачка писем. (Ушаков).

Обратите внимание: однородных предметов.

Originally Posted by Friendy

lol, interesting, and what about "пачка масла"? Does it sound weird to you too?

Пачка масла/творога нормально, а пачка молока ни в какие ворота.

translations.nm.ru
А как насчёт упакованных сосисок? Пачка сосисок тоже странновато звучит, хотя слух не режет как в случае с молоком.

NS: Я бы лично сказал "упаковка сосисок", хотя по дефиниции "пачка" вроде бы подходит...

Вот-вот и я о том же.