Past simple – negatives and questions

The Past Simple tense is used to talk about completed actions in the past. To form negative sentences and questions, we use the auxiliary verb “did” (the past form of “do”).

1. Past Simple Negative Form
   Structure: Subject + didn’t + base verb (V1)
   Example: He didn’t watch TV.
   Additional example: She didn’t finish her homework.
2. Past Simple Yes/No Questions
   Structure: Did + subject + base verb (V1)?
   Example: Did you study?

Additional example: Did the children sleep early?

• Past Simple Wh-Questions
  Structure: Wh-word + did + subject + base verb (V1)?
  Example: Where did they go?
  Additional example: What did you eat for lunch?
• Key Points:
  • Always use the base form of the verb (V1) after “did” or “didn’t”
  • The structure remains the same for all subjects (I, you, he, she, we, they)
  • In Wh-questions, the question word always comes first

1. Negative Sentences in Past Simple

• To make a sentence negative in the past simple, we use:
• Subject + did not (didn’t) + base verb (V1) + object/complement.
• Rules:
• “Did not” (didn’t) is used for all subjects (I, you, he, she, it, we, they).
• The main verb remains in its base form (V1)—no past tense!

Examples:

Affirmative	Negative
I went to school	I didn’t go to school
She ate pizza	She didn’t eat pizza
They played football	They didn’t play football
I had breakfast	I didn’t have breakfast
It rained yesterday	It didn’t rain yesterday

2. Questions in Past Simple

• To form questions in the past simple, we invert the subject and “did”:
• Did + subject + base verb (V1) + object/complement?
• Rules:
• Start the question with “Did”.
• The main verb stays in its base form (V1).

Examples:

Affirmative	Negative
You called him	Did you call him?
She finished her work	Did she finish her work?
They visited London	Did they visit London?
The team won the match	Did the team win the match?
They bought a house	Did they buy a house?

---

3. Wh-Questions in Past Simple

Wh- + did + Subject + Present Simple

• Where did you go for lunch? → Where did they eat breakfast?
  Answer: They ate at McDonald’s.
• Who did you go with? → Who did she travel with?
  Answer: She travellled with her sister.
• When did you leave? → When did the concert start?
  Answer: It started at 8 pm.
• What did you have? → What did he order?
  Answer: He ordered a steak.
• Why did you eat out? → Why did they stay home?
  Answer: They stayed home because it was raining.

4. Wh- Questions in Past Tense with “to be”

Wh- + was/were + Subject

• Where were you born? → Where was the meeting held?
• When was he here? → When were the guests arriving?
• Who were you with? → Who was responsible for this?
• Why were they here? → Why was the store closed?

5. Short Answers in Past Simple

For yes/no questions, we use short answers

• Did you see the movie?
• Yes, I did. / No, I didn’t.
• Did they come to the party?
• Yes, they did. / No, they didn’t.

6. Common Mistakes to Avoid

Negatives

Structure: Subject + didn’t + V1 (Base Verb)

Incorrect: She didn’t went.

Correct: She didn’t go.

Incorrect: They didn’t ate.

Correct: They didn’t eat.

Yes/No Questions

Structure: Did + Subject + V1 (Base Verb)?

Incorrect: Did you called? 

Correct: Did you call?

Incorrect: Did he finished? 

Correct: Did he finish?

Read also: Day 22: Was/were – past simple of ‘be’

Read also: 200 Idioms in English

Read also: Worksheet – Past simple

Wh-Questions

Structure: Wh-word + did + Subject + V1 (Base Verb)?

Incorrect: Where you did go? 

Correct: Where did you go?

Incorrect: What did she ate? 

Correct: What did she eat?

“To Be” Verb (Was/Were)

Negatives

Incorrect: She didn’t was. 

Correct: She wasn’t.

Questions

Incorrect: Did he was?

Correct: Was he?

For regular English Speaking Course updates, kindly join our Telegram channel

Follow the Sarsa Education channel on Telegram: https://shorturl.at/R5WKa