Simple past in questions and negative sentences

Today we are going to be looking at the simple past in questions and negative sentences.
Remember that in negative sentences in the present we use the auxiliary “do” and “does” plus the word “not.”

For example.

I do not/don’t like fish.

She does not/doesn’t like fish.

The past form is a lot easier as we simply need to use the auxiliary verb “did” to form the past simple, and “did not” or “didn’t” for the negative past. The form remains the same for all persons.

Mike didn’t go to the party last night.

We didn’t like the food very much.

I didn’t go out last night.

You didn’t remember me from the last time we met.

Carol didn’t come to England with me.

Now let’s look at some examples of how to make questions using the simple past.

Remember that to form questions in the present simple we use the auxiliary do/does.

Do you smoke?

Does he like scary movies?

In the past however, we simply use the auxiliary verb “did” to form questions.

Did you like the film?

Did you go out last night?

Did she go to England?

Did he like the book you bought him?

Did Susan come visit yesterday?

We can also use the question words: when, where, why, who, how long, to form questions with the auxiliary “did.”

When did you arrive?

Where did she go last night?

Why did you come home so late?

Who did she travel to England with?

How long did you spend in Thailand?

Keep in mind that the auxiliary always comes after the question words.

We can respond to questions with short direct answers in the following way.

Did you like the meal?

Yes, I did.

Did he enjoy the film?

No, he didn’t.

Did Mike stay at home?

Yes, he did.

Does Claire live here?

No, she doesn’t.

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