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We use this kind of question when we want to ask a yes/no question about the past with a verb. “Did” is always used to ask about something in the past.
- Did you exercise yesterday?
- Did you study hard when you were young?
Did + subject + verb…?
Some questions can end after the verb.
- Did you finish?
- Did you eat?
- Did he come?
- Did you understand?
But most sentences will have more information after the verb.
- Did you finish your project for science class?
- Did you go to the beach with your friends last weekend?
- Did you eat lunch?
- Did you go to Thailand last year?
- Did they have a fight?
- Did Sue and Bill get married?
- Did you break up with your boyfriend?
- Did Sally call you last night?
- Did you buy your mom a birthday present last weekend?
- Did you go anywhere during the holiday?
- Did you like the movie?
- Did you study English with your boyfriend yesterday?
Questions that start with “did” are always yes/no questions.
A) Did you go to bed late last night?
B) Yes, I went to bed late last night.
A) Did you study English when you were young?
B) No, I didn’t. I started when I was in university.
A) Did you see the game last night?
B) Yes, I did. It was exciting.
Bonus Tips and Points
1. We can use negative questions that start with “didn’t” when we are surprised or when we want to check or confirm some information. We must use the contraction “didn’t…”.
A) I am hungry.
B) It is only 2 pm. Didn’t you eat lunch?
A) Yes, I did, but I am still hungry.
A) Didn’t you go to Harvard University?
B) No, I didn’t go to Harvard. My brother went to Harvard.
A) Why is she here? Didn’t she quit yesterday?
B) She quit, but later she asked for her job back and they gave it to her.
Real-World English Conversations
A) Did you hear that Jon got fired yesterday?
B) Yes. I can’t believe it. He was a great guy.
A) Did you read this book when you were in high school?
B) No, I didn’t. My teacher told me to read it, but I never did. I was not a good student.
A) Did she get a promotion?
B) Yes, she did. She is now the CTO.
A) Did you know that coffee is actually healthy?
B) Actually, I didn’t know that. That is good news for me because I love coffee.
A) Did you call your mom? Yesterday was her birthday.
B) Oh no! I forgot. She must be very disappointed in me. Thanks for reminding me.
A) Did you bring this cake?
B) No, I didn’t. I think that Kathy brought that cake.
A) Did you hear about Bob?
B) No. What happened?
A) He was in a car accident.
B) Oh no! Is he okay?
A) He broke an arm and a leg, but he will be okay.
A) Did Sheila tell you that the meeting today is canceled?
B) No, she didn’t. Thanks for telling me.
Use these free English lessons to learn the most common sentence patterns in the English language. If you learn these sentences and questions, it will help you speak English well. Study the lessons thoroughly, practice making your own sentences, and come back to review often. If you do these three steps, your English speaking will improve quickly and you will be able to have natural English conversations.
English Sentence Patterns for Speaking Index
