Negatives and Questions in the Simple Past Tense |
In the simple past tense, negative and question forms are made using the auxiliary verb "do" (in its past form, "did") followed by the simple form of the main verb. This page explains the rules.
Forming a negativeNegatives in the simple present are formed by adding didn't (informal) or did not (formal) before the simple form of the verb. The verb BE is an exception to this; in the case of BE, we just add n't (informal) or not (formal) after "was" or "were":
Forming a yes/no questionYes/no questions are also created using the auxiliary did. This time, the auxiliary is placed before the subject. The verb BE is an exception; in this case, we move BE before the subject. Here are the rules:
Forming a WH- questionWH- questions (using words such as "what", "when", "where" etc.) are also created by putting the auxiliary did before the subject (or moving BE, as explained above). Then, you add the WH- word at the beginning. Here are some examples:
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