Past Simple: questions

 

To ask questions using Past Simple, we use Did + subject + verb:

 

Singular	Plural
Did I go? Did you go? Did he/she/it go?	Did we go? Did you go? Did they go?

• Did you go to the supermarket? – No, I didn’t.
• Did he play football? – Yes, he did.
• Did they watch a film? – No, they didn’t.

 

Note: we must use did / didn’t with the verb do as well. Did she do her homework? Yes, she did, but she didn’t do the dishes.

 

To ask questions using the verb ‘be’, we use was or were + subject + adjective:

 

Singular	Plural
Was I late? Were you late? Was he/she/it late?	Were we late? Were you late? Were they late?

• Was she happy?
• Was Tom cold?
• Were they upset?

 

To ask questions using question words (when, why, how, where, what), we use question word + did + subject + verb:

• When did you arrive?
• Where did she go?
• Why did they leave?
• How did it happen?