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Teacher cue
A2 · English Grammar

Simple Past:
Did

She went home. She didn't stay long.

past form did / didn't
The structure

How does it work?

Positive: subject + past form. Negative & question: use did / didn't — main verb always base form.

Examples

She finished the report before lunch.

I didn't go to school — I was ill.

Did you enjoy the concert?

The rule

Pos: subject + past form

Neg: didn't + base verb

Q: Did + subj + base verb?

The forms

Positive, negative and question

Positive

She finished the report.
We went to the cinema.

Negative

She didn't finish the report.
We didn't go to the cinema.

Question

Did she finish the report?
Did you go to the cinema?

Wh- questions: What did they have for dinner? · Where did you go?

Irregular verbs

Eight to memorize

go
↓
went
see
↓
saw
buy
↓
bought
eat
↓
ate
have
↓
had
take
↓
took
come
↓
came
find
↓
found
In real sentences

See it in action

We went to the cinema last Saturday and saw a great film.
She didn't finish her homework in time for class.
Did you enjoy the concert last night?
They stayed in a nice hotel but didn't have much time to explore.
⚠ Watch out

Common mistakes

She didn't went to the party.

She didn't go to the party.

Did he worked late yesterday?

Did he work late yesterday?

I goed to the park after school.

I went to the park after school.

They buyed new laptops last week.

They bought new laptops last week.

Now it's your turn

Let's
practice.

Say the answer out loud — then tap to check.

Practice 1
tap the blank to reveal

Fill the gap

We(go)to the cinema last Saturday.
She(not / finish)her homework in time.
(do)you enjoy the concert last night?
They(buy)new laptops last week.
I(not / go)to school yesterday — I was ill.
Practice 2
tap a sentence to reveal the error

Spot the mistake

Did you wentA to the concert last Saturday, orB didC you stayD at home?

ADid you went → Did you go

✓ after did → base verb

My grandmother taughtA me howB to make bread, andC I never forgettedD her recipe.

Dforgetted → forgot

✓ forget is irregular: forget → forgot

My brother didn'tA sawB the film becauseC he arrivedD at the cinema too late.

Bsaw → see

✓ didn't + base verb

Practice 3
tap to reveal a model answer

Complete the sentence

I didn't go to school yesterday —
Did you enjoy the concert?
They stayed in a nice hotel
What did they have for dinner?
Speak & write

Your turn

Answer using the simple past.

What did you do last weekend? Give three details.
What didn't you do last week that you usually do?
Ask your partner two yes/no questions about yesterday using did.
Tell me about the last film or series you watched. When did you see it?
Recap

Remember this

Positive
past form (went, ate…)
Negative
didn't + base verb
Question
Did + subject + base verb?
Top error
"didn't went" → go

Did/didn't carry the past — the main verb always stays base form.

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