When we are talking about the past, the word 'did' is very important. We can use the 'did' to ask and answer yes or no questions.
Statement | Martina lost her |
Question | Did Martina lose her favourite bracelet last week? |
Answer | Yes, she did. |
Notice that when asking a question with 'did', even about the past, we use the present tense. We will be learning more about asking questions later!
We also use the word 'did' to make negative sentences in the past tense. These sentences are formed using:
Subject + did not +Present Verb
Subject | did not | Present Verb | |
I, You, He, She, It, We, You, They | did not | close | the gate properly. |
Remember that you can use the contraction 'didn't' instead of 'did not.'
Here are some sentences that use the word 'did' in the simple past.
![group image](https://smrt.sfo2.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/core/LMLA/YOUTH/ENGL115Youth/Unit%2002/Images/Grammar/5/2-5g1.jpg)
Did you vote in the election yet? I did!
![group image](https://smrt.sfo2.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/core/LMLA/YOUTH/ENGL115Youth/Unit%2002/Images/Grammar/5/2-5g2.jpg)
She did not get enough sleep last night.
![group image](https://smrt.sfo2.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/core/LMLA/YOUTH/ENGL115Youth/Unit%2002/Images/Grammar/5/2-5g3.jpg)
We didn't have enough party hats!
![group image](https://smrt.sfo2.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/core/LMLA/YOUTH/ENGL115Youth/Unit%2002/Images/Grammar/5/2-5g4.jpg)
Did he hear a funny joke?
![group image](https://smrt.sfo2.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/core/LMLA/YOUTH/ENGL115Youth/Unit%2002/Images/Grammar/5/2-5g5.jpg)
The water didn't stop him from his work!
![group image](https://smrt.sfo2.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/core/LMLA/YOUTH/ENGL115Youth/Unit%2002/Images/Grammar/5/2-5g6.jpg)
He didn't want to share his gummy bear.