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Materi Bahasa Inggris Simple Past Tense

Past Tense Forms

Learning Past Tense Forms

Negative – Interrogative – Short Answers

Welcome

In this lesson, we will learn how to use the Past Tense in three important situations: making negative sentences, asking questions, and giving short answers. The past tense is very useful when talking about events or actions that happened yesterday, last week, last year, or even a long time ago.

Mastering these forms will help you tell stories, ask about past experiences, and communicate clearly in English. Let’s practice step by step!

1. Negative Form

To make a sentence negative in the simple past tense, use did not (didn't) + base verb. Remember: after did not, the verb goes back to its base form, not the past form.

Example: She did not go to school.
Example: They didn’t play football yesterday.
Example: I didn’t eat breakfast this morning.

❌ Wrong: She didn’t went to school.
✅ Correct: She didn’t go to school.

2. Interrogative Form

To ask a question in the past tense, use Did + subject + base verb. The verb stays in the base form, just like in the negative form.

Example: Did she go to school?
Example: Did they play football yesterday?
Example: Did you study English last night?

Notice that the main verb never changes into past form in a question, because the word Did already shows that the sentence is in the past.

3. Short Answers

Short answers are very common in everyday English. When answering, we don’t repeat the whole sentence. We just say Yes/No + subject + did/didn’t.

Yes, she did. ✅
No, she didn’t. ❌
Yes, I did. ✅
No, we didn’t. ❌

Tip: Never say “Yes, she do” or “No, he don’t” in the past tense. Always use did/didn’t.

Practice Quiz

Test your knowledge with these questions:

1. ______ they play football yesterday?

Do
Did
Does

2. She ______ go to the park yesterday. (negative)

didn’t went
didn’t go
doesn’t go

3. Did he eat dinner last night? – ______

Yes, he did.
Yes, he do.
No, he don’t.

4. They ______ watch the movie last weekend. (negative)

didn’t watched
doesn’t watch
didn’t watch

5. ______ she study for the exam yesterday?

Does
Did
Do

Conclusion

The past tense is simple if you remember these three rules:

  • Use didn’t + base verb for negatives.
  • Use Did + subject + base verb? for questions.
  • Use Yes/No + subject + did/didn’t for short answers.

Keep practicing by making your own sentences about what you did yesterday, last week, or last holiday. The more you practice, the more natural it will feel to speak and write in English!