š Simple Past Struggles? Youāre 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, itās intuitive:
ā I knew about the meeting.
ā We watched a movie.
ā She called me yesterday.
But in the negative⦠suddenly it changes!
ā I didnāt knew about the meeting. ā Oops!
ā I didnāt know about the meeting. ā
ā I didnāt watched the movie. ā Oops!
ā I didnāt watch the movie. ā
ā She didnāt called me yesterday. ā Oops!
ā She didnāt call me yesterday ā
Even though the action is in the past, after ādidnāt,ā we go back to the base form of the verb (think of the infinitive form).
š°ļø didnāt know (to know)
š°ļø didnāt watch (to watch)
š°ļø didnāt call (to call)
Today, this clicked for one of my students. Itās such a simple rule, but easy to miss!
š¬ How about you? Have you ever mixed up past tense negatives?
Drop an example below (correct or incorrect) and let's chat about it. š