I done told you

I done told you pronunciation

/ah dun TOLD yoo/

Meaning

I done told you is Southern and Appalachian talk for "I already told you," with extra heat on the already. The done marks a finished action and piles on emphasis. Mama uses it when you ignore the first warning about the stove, the dog, or staying out past dark. It is not fancy grammar. It is the second notice before somebody gets loud.

How folks use it

• “I done told you twice not to leave that gate open.”
• “Don't act surprised. I done told you that truck burns oil.”

Origin and etymology

Completive done is a Southern feature: an auxiliary that marks finished action and often intensifies it. Wolfram and Schilling-Estes note it in Southern Anglo and African American vernaculars ("I done told you not to mess up"). Smoky Mountain English grammar describes the same done for completion, roughly "already" or "completely." OED traces perfective done auxiliaries in print from the early 1800s; the spoken habit is older.

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