一般过去时：疑问句和否定句

在一般过去时的肯定句里，每个动词都有自己的形式——规则动词加 -ed（worked），不规则动词则变形（went、saw）。可是一旦你构成疑问句或否定句，主要动词就退回原形，而过去这件事由一个小词全包了：did。

规则美妙地统一：did / didn't ＋ 原形，对每个动词、每个主语都一样。只有一个动词按别的规则来——be——我们留到最后讲。

快捷提示。 只要你看到 did 或 didn't，紧跟其后的动词一定是原形——did you go、didn't work。光凭这一个习惯，就能避免最常见的失误，比如 did went 或 didn't worked。

否定句：didn't ＋ 原形

要把一般过去时的动词变成否定，就在动词的原形前放上 did not（通常缩写成 didn't）：

• 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.

关键在于：didn't 一出现，主要动词就退回原形。过去已经由 did 表示了——所以我们不会表示两次。这就是为什么是 didn't work（不是 didn't worked）、didn't go（不是 didn't went）。

而且和肯定句一样，形式对每个主语都相同——didn't 不变。（唯一一个确实会随主语变化的动词是 be，下面会讲。）

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

一般疑问句：did ＋ 主语 ＋ 原形

要提一个一般疑问句（是 / 否），先用 did，再用主语，再用原形：

Did ＋ 主语 ＋ 原形 … ?

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

同样，主要动词用原形，因为 did 已经带着过去了。所以是 Did you work?（不是 Did you worked?）、Did she go?（不是 Did she went?）。

给中文母语者： 中文的动词不随时态变化，过去靠「了」或上下文表示。疑问用「吗」或正反问（你工作了吗？），否定用「没（有）」（我没工作）。英语把这一切都装进 did / didn't ＋ 原形里——所以别忘了 did。

简短回答

回答时我们通常不重复整个动词，而是用 did 或 didn't 来答：

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

注意：主要动词（work、call）在简短回答里不重复——did / didn't 替它出现。

wh- 疑问句

对于 what, where, when, why, who, how 的疑问句，把疑问词放在最前，后面还是同样的 did ＋ 主语 ＋ 原形 结构：

疑问词 ＋ did ＋ 主语 ＋ 原形 … ?

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

一个特殊情况——对主语提问。 当 who 或 what 本身是做这个动作的人时，我们不用 did。动词就直接保持过去时的形式：

• Who made this cake?（不是 Who did make…）
• What happened?（不是 What did happen?）

比较 Who did you see?（对宾语提问——did 回来了）和 Who saw you?（对主语提问——没有 did）。

例外：was 和 were

恰好有一个动词在过去时里不用 did：动词 be。就像在现在时里一样（I am not、Are you…?），be 自己构成否定和疑问——因为 was / were 本身就当自己的助动词，所以不需要 did。

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

也就是说，be 自己挪动 was / were：否定就加 not，疑问就把它放到主语前面。因为这个动词太常用、用法又不同，所以有专门的一课——见 一般过去时：was / were。

常见错误

• ❌ I didn't worked. → ✅ I didn't work.（didn't 后面用原形）
• ❌ She didn't went. → ✅ She didn't go.（didn't 后面用原形）
• ❌ Did you saw it? → ✅ Did you see it?（did 后面用原形）
• ❌ Where you went? → ✅ Where did you go?（疑问句需要 did）
• ❌ Did she was happy? → ✅ Was she happy?（be 不用 did）

快速练习

把句子变成否定，或写出疑问句：

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

要点回顾

• 一般过去时的否定句和疑问句用 did / didn't ＋ 原形——对每个主语、每个动词都一样。
• 在 did / didn't 之后，主要动词丢掉过去的词尾：didn't work（不是 worked）、Did you go?（不是 went）。
• 用 did / didn't 简短作答；wh- 疑问句这样构成：疑问词 ＋ did ＋ 主语 ＋ 原形。
• 当 who / what 是主语时，did 消失，过去时的形式保留：Who made this?
• 动词 be 是例外——was / were 自己构成否定和疑问：wasn't、Were you…?