Past simple: questions & negatives

In positive past-simple sentences, each verb has its own form — regular verbs add -ed (worked), irregular verbs change (went, saw). But the moment you make a question or a negative, the main verb steps back to its base form, and one little word takes over the past tense: did.

The rule is wonderfully consistent: did / didn't + the base form, for every verb and every subject. There's just one verb that plays by different rules — be — and we'll come to it at the end.

Quick shortcut. Whenever you see did or didn't, the verb straight after it is in its base form — did you go, didn't work. That single habit prevents the most common slips, like did went or didn't worked.

Negatives: didn't + base form

To make a past-simple verb negative, put did not (usually shortened to didn't) in front of the base form of the verb:

• I worked late. → I didn't work late.
• She went out. → She didn't go out.
• They saw the email. → They didn't see the email.

The key point: once didn't appears, the main verb goes back to its base form. The past tense is already shown by did — so we don't show it twice. That's why it's didn't work (not didn't worked) and didn't go (not didn't went).

And just like the positive past simple, the form is the same for every subject — didn't doesn't change. (The one verb that is different for some subjects is be — more on that below.)

• I didn't go. · He didn't go. · They didn't go.

Yes/no questions: did + subject + base form

To ask a yes/no question, start with did, then the subject, then the base form:

Did + subject + base form … ?

• Did you work yesterday?
• Did she go out?
• Did they see the email?

Again, the main verb is in its base form, because did is already carrying the past tense. So it's Did you work? (not Did you worked?) and Did she go? (not Did she went?).

Short answers

We usually don't repeat the whole verb in an answer. Instead we answer with did or didn't:

• Did you work yesterday? — Yes, I did. / No, I didn't.
• Did she call? — Yes, she did. / No, she didn't.

Notice the main verb (work, call) isn't repeated in the short answer — did / didn't stands in for it.

Wh- questions

For what, where, when, why, who, how questions, put the wh- word first, then the same did + subject + base form pattern:

Wh- word + did + subject + base form … ?

• Where did you go?
• What did she say?
• When did they arrive?
• Why did he leave early?

One special case — asking about the subject. When who or what is the one doing the action, we don't use did. The verb simply stays in the past simple form:

• Who made this cake? (not Who did make…)
• What happened? (not What did happen?)

Compare Who did you see? (asking about the object — did is back) with Who saw you? (asking about the subject — no did).

The exception: was and were

There's exactly one verb that does not use did in the past: the verb be. Just like in the present (I am not, Are you…?), be makes negatives and questions on its own — because was / were already act as their own auxiliary, they don't need did.

• Negative: I wasn't tired. · They weren't at home. (not didn't was)
• Question: Was she happy? · Were you there? (not Did you be…)

So be simply moves was / were itself: add not for the negative, or move it in front of the subject for the question. Because this verb is so common and works differently, it has its own lesson — see Past simple: was / were.

Common mistakes

• ❌ I didn't worked. → ✅ I didn't work. (after didn't, use the base form)
• ❌ She didn't went. → ✅ She didn't go. (after didn't, use the base form)
• ❌ Did you saw it? → ✅ Did you see it? (after did, use the base form)
• ❌ Where you went? → ✅ Where did you go? (questions need did)
• ❌ Did she was happy? → ✅ Was she happy? (be doesn't use did)

Quick check

Make the sentence negative, or write the question:

1. (negative) He called me. → He ____ me.
2. (question) They arrived late. → ____ they ____ late?
3. (wh- question) She went there. → Where ____ she ____?
4. (negative) I was ready. → I ____ ready.

Key takeaways

• Past-simple negatives and questions use did / didn't + the base form — the same for every subject and every verb.
• After did / didn't, the main verb loses its past ending: didn't work (not worked), Did you go? (not went).
• Answer short with did / didn't; build wh- questions as wh- word + did + subject + base form.
• When who / what is the subject, drop did and keep the past simple form: Who made this?
• The verb be is the exception — was / were make negatives and questions by themselves: wasn't, Were you…?