Went, found, made: the past simple again
We use the past simple to talk about finished actions. The past of am and is is was. The past of are is were. Some verbs change completely: go becomes went, find becomes found, have becomes had, make becomes made, see becomes saw, take becomes took and ride becomes rode. Regular verbs add -ed: sail becomes sailed. For a negative, we use didnāt and the base verb: I didnāt go. She didnāt find it. For a question, we use Did and the base verb: Did you go? Did he make it? With be we do not use did: Was he there? Were they at home? Time words: yesterday, last year, two years ago.
| Base verb | Past simple | Negative | Question |
|---|---|---|---|
| go | went | didnāt go | Did you go? |
| find | found | didnāt find | Did she find it? |
| have | had | didnāt have | Did they have a map? |
| make | made | didnāt make | Did he make it? |
| be | was / were | wasnāt / werenāt | Was it? Were you? |
Where were you yesterday, Mostafa?
I was at my uncleās farm. We went there by bus.
Did you have a good time?
Yes, I did. I found a very old coin in the field, but I didnāt take it. I told my uncle.
That was a good idea!
I went to the farm. She found a coin. We had lunch. He made a boat. They saw a camel. I didnāt go to school. Did you go? Yes, I did.
Past simple snap. Write ten base verbs on cards (go, find, make, have, see, take, ride, sail, be, eat). Mix them. The child picks a card and says the past form, then makes a sentence. The grown-up says the negative: I didnāt go. Then change places.