The past simple is tense used to talk about actions that happened at a specific point in the past.
Structure for a past tense statement (positive).
Subject + past tense of verb
Example: He went home.
Structure for a past tense statement (negative).
Subject + didn’t + infinitive of verb
Example: He didn’t go home.
Structure for a past tense question.
Did + subject + infinitive of verb
Example: Did he go home?
Advanced level
The Statement Question
Tonality can make a difference in how you’re understood. Just like in many languages, an inflection of tone at the end of a statement is interpreted as a question. In English though, the question is often a rhetorical question.
For example, when we say “He went home?” with an inflection at the end of the sentence, this is used to express surprise and perhaps the need for confirmation. Effectively, you could be saying “Did he really go home? I didn’t expect that!”
Additionally, we may ask a question by saying a single word.
For example, if I said to you “coffee?” with an inflection in my voice, I mean “Would you like some coffee?”
