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ESL forum >
Ask for help > Questions in the past tense
Questions in the past tense
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cunliffe
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Questions in the past tense
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Hi guys, I �ve got my knickers in a twist about explaining when we need �did � in past simple questions, for example, �When did she go to town? � �Who asked her? � I really don �t get it and I �m English. is there any rule? |
17 Mar 2015
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spinney
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"Who asked her?" is a "subject question," meaning that "who" is the subject of the question and "her" is the object. Compare to "Who did she ask?" In that case "she" is the subject and "who" is the object.... I hope. |
17 Mar 2015
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ueslteacher
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Right. In the questions to the subject the word order remains the same as in a statement, the subject is substituted with the question word who/what. e.g. What made you do this? Who went to the party yesterday? etc. |
17 Mar 2015
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redcamarocruiser
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Since we can �t say," When went she?" We use �did � the formula is Negative and question sentences| subject | + | auxiliary do | + | main verb |
| | | conjugated in Past Simple | | | | | | did | | base | | She | | (no auxilary) | | went. | | She | | did not | | go. | | Did | | she | | go? |
She went becomes She did not go in negative sentences and Did she go in questions.
For question sentences, we exchange the subject and the auxiliary verb.
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17 Mar 2015
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isa2
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I agree with spinney and ueslteacher. The rule is: no "DO-construction" for "Subject Questions". E.g. Who phoned you? What happened then? The only exception are negations in "subject questions". Then you need "Do-construction" for main verbs, but not for auxiliaries: e.g. Who didn �t phone you? What didn �t happen then?
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18 Mar 2015
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jannabanna
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Hi Lynne, When the "question word" is the subject there is no auxilary so the verb has to be in the tense form. Look at these: - Who loves you? (question word is the subject) answer: Brian loves me.
- Who do you love? ("you" is the subject) answer: I love John (poor Brian!!)
Here are some more examples: - What happened at the party? as apposed to What did they do at the party?
- How many people are going on the trip? ------- How will they know the details?
Hope this helps. Janet |
18 Mar 2015
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papadeli
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Who loves Angelina? Brad! Who does Angelina love? We don �t know... Greetings from Greece,
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18 Mar 2015
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cunliffe
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Thank you guys. I understand this now. Lynne |
18 Mar 2015
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