Past Simple: Negatives & Questions

Amy and Ben are talking about their weekend on Monday morning.

Amy: Hi Ben! Did you go out on Saturday night?

Ben: No, I didn’t. I didn’t feel well, so I stayed at home in bed.

Amy: Oh, that’s a pity. Did you watch the football match on TV?

Ben: No, I didn’t watch it. I slept for most of the evening. What about you? Did you meet Sarah?

Amy: Yes, I did. We went to a new Italian restaurant in the city center.

Ben: Did she like the food?

Amy: Yes, she did. She ate a huge plate of pasta! But she didn’t drink any wine because she drove her car.

Ben: Did you pay a lot of money for dinner?

Amy: No, we didn’t pay much. It was quite cheap.

To make negative sentences and ask questions in the Past Simple, we use the helper verb (auxiliary) did. Because did already shows the past tense, the main verb does not change — it stays in its base form (infinitive).

This makes negatives and questions very easy because you do not need to worry about regular -ed spelling or irregular verb lists!

Negative Sentences: didn’t + base verb

To say that an action did not happen, we add did not (or the contraction didn’t) before the main verb.

Structure: Subject + didn’t + Base Verb

Yes/No Questions: Did you…?

To ask a question that can be answered with “yes” or “no”, put Did at the start of the sentence, before the subject.

Structure: Did + Subject + Base Verb?

• Did you enjoy the food?
• Did they buy the tickets?
• Did she finish her work?

Short Answers

Answer past simple questions using did or didn’t:

• Did you study last night? → Yes, I did. / No, I didn’t.
• Did it rain yesterday? → Yes, it did. / No, it didn’t.
• Did they arrive on time? → Yes, they did. / No, they didn’t.

Wh- Questions (Information Questions)

If you want to ask for more information (who, what, where, when, why, how), put the question word before the auxiliary verb did.

Structure: Question Word + did + Subject + Base Verb?

• Where did you go on holiday? → I went to Italy.
• What did he say? → He said hello.
• When did they leave? → They left at noon.
• How did you get here? → We took a taxi.

Exception: The Verb ‘To Be’

Remember: do not use did/didn’t with the past of the verb “to be” (was/were). The verb “to be” is strong and makes its own questions and negatives.

• Did you were tired? → Were you tired?
• I didn’t was at home. → I wasn’t at home.

Common Mistakes for Spanish Speakers

• Keeping the past verb form in negatives and questions (Double Past): Incorrect: I didn’t bought anything. / Did you went out? Correct: I didn’t buy anything. / Did you go out?
• Translating “no” directly from Spanish for negatives: Incorrect: I no went to work yesterday. Correct: I didn’t go to work yesterday.
• Forgetting the auxiliary ‘did’ in questions: Incorrect: You liked the movie? Correct: Did you like the movie?