SIMPLE PAST TENSE

Profesora: Virginia Crespo Hidalgo

The auxiliary verb for the simple past tense is “DID”. It is not used in the affirmative
sentences unless you are using an emphatic answer. It is used in the interrogative and
negative forms. As an auxiliary verb, it doesn’t have any meaning. An affirmative
sentence might be:

MARTHA WROTE A LETTER FOR PETER.

Notice that there is no auxiliary verb here, because it is an affirmative sentence in the
simple past tense. In that case, you will never use the auxiliary verb “DID”, but you have
to use the main verb (WROTE) in the simple past tense to indicate the tense of the
sentence. The word order is:

1.- Subject (MARTHA)

2.- Main verb in the past tense. (WROTE).
3.- Object or compliment. (A LETTER FOR PETER)

Now, let’s change that sentence to the interrogative form:

DID MARTHA WRITE A LETTER FOR PETER?

In this case, you have to use the auxiliary verb “DID” to indicate the simple past tense.
As you are indicating the simple past tense through the auxiliary verb “DID”, you have to
use the main verb (WRITE) in the simple present tense, because you can’t use the
simple past in both, the auxiliary and the main verb. The word order is:

1.- Auxiliary verb. (DID)

2.- Subject. (MARTHA)
3.- Main Verb. (WRITE)
4.- Object or compliment. (A LETTER FOR PETER)

Now, let’s change the same sentence to the negative form:

MARTHA DID NOT WRITE A LETTER FOR PETER.

In this case, you have to use the auxiliary verb (DID) again to indicate the simple past
tense. As you are indicating the Simple past tense through the auxiliary verb (DID),
you have to use the main verb (WRITE) in the simple present tense.
The word order is:

1.- Subject (MARTHA)

2.- Auxiliary verb (DID)
3.- Negative Adverb. (NOT)
4.- Main verb (WRITE)
5.- Object or compliment. (A LETTER FOR PETER)

EXERCISES

CHANGE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES TO THE INTERROGATIVE AND

NEGATIVE FORMS:

1.- Helen visited her grandmother last week.

____Did Helen visited her grandmother last week ?
Helen didn´t visited her grandmother last week
____________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
2.- Your father bought a new house two years ago.
__________Did my father bought a new house two years ago?_
My father did not bought a new house two years ago
_____________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
3.- Her brother went to school in the morning.
_Did her brother went to school in the morning ?
Her brother did not went to school in the morning
_________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
4.- His mother woke up at six o’clock in the morning.
____Did his mother woke up at six o´clock in the morning ?
His mother did not woke up at six o´clock in the morning
____________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
5.- The children learnt grammar in school last week.
_Did the children learnt grammar in school last week?__
_The children did not learnt grammar in school last week
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
6.- Their grandmother drank a glass of milk last night.
Did their grandmother drank a glass of milk last night?__
__their grandmother did not drank a glasss of milk last night
____________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
7.- Our grandfather ate a lot of chocolate at the party.
_Did our grandfather ate a lot of chocolate at the party?
Our grandfather did not ate a lot of chocolat at the party
_______________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
8.- Alice watched TV at home last night.
Did Alice watched TV at home last night ? _
_ Alice did not watched TV at home last night
_____________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
9.- James sang beautiful songs in class.
Did James sang beautiful songs in class?
James did not sang beautiful songs in class
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
10.- Albert and his brother ran in the park yesterday.
Did Albert and his brother ran in the park yesterday?
Albert and his brother did not ran in the park yesterday
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
11.- Jimmy brought many presents for his family.
Did Jimmy brought many presents for his family?
Jimmy did not brought any presents for his family
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Now, let’s answer some questions on the simple past tense. Remember that all
questions in English start by an auxiliary verb. In this case, as we are working on the
simple past tense, we are using the auxiliary verb “DID”. So, one question might be:

DID YOU WORK IN THAT OFFICE LAST YEAR? (INTERROGATIVE SENTENCE)

YES, I WORKED IN THAT OFFICE LAST YEAR. (AFFIRMATIVE ANSWER).
NO, I DID NOT WORK IN THAT OFFICE LAST YEAR. (NEGATIVE ANSWER)

1.- Did she learn all her lessons for the test?
Yes, __she did learn all her lessons for the
test__________________________________________________________
No, _________she didn´t learn all her lessons for the rest
___________________________________________________
2.- Did her father play tennis last weekend?
Yes, ___her father played tennis last weekend
_________________________________________________________
No, __her father didn´t play tennis last weekend
___________________________________________________________
3.- Did his mother watch TV last night?
Yes, _______his mother watched TV last night
_____________________________________________________
No, _______His mother didn´t watched TV last night
_____________________________________________________
4.- Did the children have many toys?
Yes, ___the children have many toys
_________________________________________________________
No, ______the children do not have any toys
______________________________________________________
5.- Did your parents give you a prize?
Yes, __your parents give you a
prize__________________________________________________________
No, your parents did not give you a
prize___________________________________________________
6.- Did Mary wear a blue dress?
Yes, __Mary wore a blue dress
__________________________________________________________
No, _____Mary didn´t wear a blue
dress_______________________________________________________
7.- Did his sister hide the toys in a room?
Yes, ___his sister hide the toys in a
room_________________________________________________________
No, _his sister did not hide the toys in a
room___________________________________________________________
8.- Did Mark feel better yesterday?
Yes, ___Mark felt better yesterday
________________________________________________________
No, Mark did not feel
better_yesterday_____________________________________________________
9.- Did her husband throw the papers in the basket?
Yes, __her husband throwed the papers in the basket
_________________________________________________________
No, her husband did not throw the papers in the basket
____________________________________________________________
10.- Did his wife sell all the food?
Yes,_his wife sold all the food
____________________________________________________
No,___his wife did not sell all the food
_______________________________________________

Now, let’s continue with some information questions. All information questions have a
statement as an answer..Example:
0.- What did you eat for lunch?
I ate meat and salad for lunch.
I have eaten an arepa this morning.

1.- Where did you live last year?

At my grandmother´s house with my mom, brother and uncle and my little cousin
________________________________________________________________
2.- When did she do her homework?
_All day she is at the job
_______________________________________________________________
3.- Why did they go to the cinema?
Cause the wanted to watch a
movie________________________________________________________________
4.- How did he hurt himself?
_in a combat at the karate class, he was fighting
_______________________________________________________________
5.- What did your father see?
_my father saw a cat
_______________________________________________________________
6.- Where did the children catch the cat?
At the
roof________________________________________________________________
7.- How much did your car cost?
A hundred
dollars________________________________________________________________
8.- When did her aunt hit Johnny?
__at the street
______________________________________________________________
9.- Why did she drive so fast?
She drove very fast cause she´s late
________________________________________________________________
10.- Why did the children fight?
_____Cause they were playing and one of them wanted to use all the toys
___________________________________________________________
11.- What did his mother hear?
She´s listening to radiohead at the
radio___________________________________________________________
12.- Where did her father fell?
_he felt on the floor of his
room_______________________________________________________________
13.- When did her uncle leave for Merida?
At December for
christmas______________________________________________________________
__
14.- Why did Mary’s boyfriend send her a present?
 Cause it´s valentine
day________________________________________________________________
15.- When did your grandmother make coffee?
At the morning once she is
awake________________________________________________________________
16.- Why did her son’s friend ride a bicycle?
_cause it´s better than running or walking
anywhere______________________________________________________________
_
17.- What did his daughter swim in that pool?
_having fun with her
friends_______________________________________________________________
18.- Why did that girl say a lie?
_cause she was afraid to be catched
_______________________________________________________________
19.- When did your cousin pay his debt?
Early on
monday_______________________________________________________________
_
20.- What did that engineer build?
He is about to build a church
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