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Past simple: didn’t and did…?
A2 A2 grammar · lesson 2 of 25
You know positive past simple sentences like ‘I worked’ and ‘I went’. Now you learn how to say what did not happen and how to ask about the past.
Form
In negatives and questions we use did or didn’t (did not) + the base form of the verb. The verb does not change. This is the same for regular and irregular verbs and for every person.
| Positive | Negative | Question | Short answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| I worked. | I didn’t work. | Did you work? | Yes, I did. / No, I didn’t. |
| She went. | She didn’t go. | Did she go? | Yes, she did. / No, she didn’t. |
| They saw it. | They didn’t see it. | Did they see it? | Yes, they did. / No, they didn’t. |
I didn’t watch TV last night.
Tom didn’t go to school yesterday.
We didn’t have breakfast this morning.
Did you enjoy the film?
Did Maria buy the tickets? Yes, she did.
Where did you go on holiday?
What did Leo say?
Why didn’t they call you?
Questions with question words
Put the question word first: question word + did + subject + base verb. For example: When did you arrive? How did she find it?
The verb be is different. Use wasn’t / weren’t and Was / Were…?, not did. I wasn’t at home. Were you tired?
Common mistakes
✗ I didn’t went to the party.
✓ I didn’t go to the party.
✗ Did you saw Anna?
✓ Did you see Anna?
✗ She not liked the food.
✓ She didn’t like the food.
✗ Did you be at home?
✓ Were you at home?