Explanation + Extra practice
Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you create PAST questions:
1. Identify the Subject and Verb
First, know the subject (the person or thing doing the action) and the verb (the action) in your statement.
Example Statement:
“I played soccer.”
- Subject: I
- Verb: played
2. Use the Helping Verb “Did”
In English, we often use “did” to form questions in the past tense, especially for regular and irregular verbs.
3. Formulate the Question
To create the question, follow this structure:
Question Structure:
Did + Subject + Base Form of the Verb + (Rest of the Sentence)?
4. Convert Your Statement
Using our example, here’s how to convert it into a question:
- Did + I + play + soccer?
Question: “Did you play soccer?”
5. Using Question Words
If you want to ask more specific questions, you can use question words like who, what, where, when, and why.
Example Structures:
- What did you do?
- Where did you go?
- When did you arrive?
- Why did you choose that movie?
- Who did you meet?
6. Practice with Examples
Here are some examples to illustrate:
- Statement: “She visited her friend.”
- Question: “Did she visit her friend?”
- With Question Word: “Where did she visit her friend?”
- Statement: “They watched a film.”
- Question: “Did they watch a film?”
- With Question Word: “What film did they watch?”
Summary
- Identify the subject and verb.
- Use “did” for past tense questions.
- Follow the structure: Did + Subject + Base Form of the Verb?
- Use question words for more details.
With practice, you’ll be able to create past tense questions easily!
Extra Practice
Responses and Follow-Up Questions
Instructions: Read each response to “Did you have a good weekend?” and complete the follow-up question starting with the given question word.
- Response: I went hiking.
Question: Where ____________________? - Response: I watched a movie.
Question: What ____________________? - Response: I worked on a project.
Question: What ____________________? - Response: I went to a concert.
Question: Whose ____________________? - Response: I cooked dinner.
Question: What ____________________? - Response: I relaxed at home.
Question: Why ____________________? - Response: I played video games.
Question: Which games ____________________? - Response: I met up with friends.
Question: Who ____________________? - Response: I went shopping.
Question: What ____________________? - Response: I read a book.
Question: Which book ____________________? - Response: I visited a museum.
Question: Which museum ____________________? - Response: I went for a run.
Question: How far ____________________? - Response: I took my dog for a walk.
Question: Where ____________________? - Response: I tried a new restaurant.
Question: What kind of ____________________? - Response: I played soccer.
Question: Who ____________________? - Response: I went to the beach.
Question: What ____________________? - Response: I had a barbecue.
Question: What ____________________?
Answer Section
- Where did you go hiking?
- What movie did you watch?
- What project did you work on?
- Whose concert did you go to?
- What did you cook for dinner?
- Why did you relax at home?
- Which games did you play?
- Who did you meet up with?
- What did you shop for? What did you buy?
- Which book did you read?
- Which museum did you visit?
- How far did you run?
- Where did you walk your dog?
- What kind of restaurant did you try?
- Who did you play soccer with?
- What did you do at the beach?
- What did you cook?