The simple past tense describes actions that were completed in the past. To make a sentence negative in the simple past tense, we use ‘did not’ (or didn’t) followed by the base form of the main verb. Remember, when we use ‘did not,’ the main verb changes back to its base form.
Structure: Subject + did not (didn’t) + base form of verb
Examples:
- Positive: Sarah played tennis yesterday.
Negative: Sarah did not play tennis yesterday.
- Positive: They went to the park last week.
Negative: They did not go to the park last week.
- Positive: The dog ate my homework.
Negative: The dog did not eat my homework.
Important Notes:
– The main verb always returns to its base form after ‘did not’
– ‘Did not’ can be contracted to ‘didn’t’
– Time expressions like yesterday, last week, last month, two days ago help indicate past tense
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