THE PAST SIMPLE WITH TO DO

The Past Simple (Simple Past) with the verb “To Do”

We make the past simple just like the present simple except we use 'did' instead of 'do / does'. It's really easy because 'did' doesn't change, even with 'he / she / it'.

THE POSITIVE:

We usually make the positive by adding '-ed' to the infinitive. For example, 'play' becomes 'played'. However, there are some irregular verbs, for example 'go' becomes 'went' and 'run' becomes 'ran'.

FORM: SUB + V₂ + (OBJ)

Positive with Other Verbs

I walked (regular)

You played (regular)

He cooked (regular)

She listened (regular)

It rained (regular)

We ate (irregular)

They drank (irregular)

NEGATIVE:

In the negative there aren't any irregular verbs. All verbs use 'did not (didn't) + infinitive':

FORM: SUB + DIDN’T (DID NOT) + BASE FORM + (OBJ)

Negative	Negative Short Form
I did not walk	I didn't walk
You did not play	You didn't play
He did not cook	He didn't cook
She did not listen	She didn't listen
It did not rain	It didn't rain
We did not eat	We didn't eat
They did not drink	They didn't drink

YES / NO QUESTION

Questions are also very easy. Just put 'did' before the subject, and the infinitive after it.

Here are the 'yes / no' questions:

Now click here to study the pronunciation of ed ending.

FORM: DID + SUB + BASE FORM + (OBJ)?

'Yes / No' Questions

Did I walk?

Did you play?

Did he cook?

Did she listen?

Did it rain?

Did we eat?

Did they drink?

To make a 'wh' question, of course, put the question word at the beginning of the sentence:

 Click here to see how to use the past simple tense.
WH-QUESTION

FORM: WH-WORD + DID + SUB + BASE FORM + (OBJ)?

'Wh' Questions

Where did I go?

What did you play?

What did he cook?

Why did she listen?

When did it rain?

Where did we eat?

How did they travel?