Question and Negative Sentences in Simple Past

Personal de ALULA, Actualizado en October 26, 2023

For questions in Simple Past, follow the structure: Did + subject + base form of the verb?
Use 'Did' for all subjects (you, he, she, it, we, they).
For negative sentences in Simple Past, follow the structure: subject + did not (didn’t) + base form of the verb.
Again, 'Did not' is the same for all subjects.

When we communicate, we often need to ask questions or make negative statements as part of our conversation. In this blog, we’ll focus on how to form and use questions and negative sentences in the Simple Past tense.

Questions in Simple Past

To make questions in simple past, we usually use the following structure:

"Was" / "Were" + subject + subject complement (noun, adjective, etc)?

Example: Was he nice at the meeting?

"Did" + subject + verb in base form?

Example: Did you buy the book?

Question word + "was" / "were" + subject?

Example: What was the name of your dog?

Question word + "did" + subject + verb in base form?

Example: Where did she go last night?

Examples:

Was the ticket expensive?

"Was" + subject + subject complement (adjective)
Did your mom go to university?

"Did" + subject ("your mom") + verb in base form ("go") + other words
What did she eat?

Question word ("What") + "did" + subject ("she") + verb in base form ("eat")
When was Tom's birthday?

Question word ("When") + "was" + subject ("Tom's birthday")

Negative Sentences in Simple Past

To make negative sentences in simple past, we usually use the following structure:

Subject + "was" / "were" + "not" + subject complement (adjective, noun, etc)

Example: My dog was not hungry.

Subject + "did" + "not" + verb in base form (+ other words)

Example: My wife didn't use her computer.

Examples:

They didn't wash the dishes properly.

Subject ("They") + "didn't" + verb in base form ("wash") + object ("the dishes")
He wasn't in school.

Subject ("He") + "wasn't" + preposition ("in") + object ("school")

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