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Mwalimu Tina
Community Tutorđ Simple Past Struggles? Youâre Not Alone!
Something I notice a lot, even with intermediate English learners, is how tricky the simple past can be, especially in the negative form.
In positive sentences, itâs intuitive:
â I knew about the meeting.
â We watched a movie.
â She called me yesterday.
But in the negative⊠suddenly it changes!
â I didnât knew about the meeting. â Oops!
â I didnât know about the meeting. â
â I didnât watched the movie. â Oops!
â I didnât watch the movie. â
â She didnât called me yesterday. â Oops!
â She didnât call me yesterday â
Even though the action is in the past, after âdidnât,â we go back to the base form of the verb (think of the infinitive form).
đ°ïž didnât know (to know)
đ°ïž didnât watch (to watch)
đ°ïž didnât call (to call)
Today, this clicked for one of my students. Itâs such a simple rule, but easy to miss!
đŹ How about you? Have you ever mixed up past tense negatives?
Drop an example below (correct or incorrect) and let's chat about it. đ
Jun 13, 2025 12:15 PM
Mwalimu Tina
Language Skills
English, French, Spanish, Swahili
Learning Language
French, Spanish
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