Past simple questions are frequently used in conversations since the simple past is one of the most used tenses of the twelve.
We used the simple past to talk about a definite time in the past
The structure to make simple past questions is the following:
| Did | Did |
| Personal Pronoun | you |
| Verb | make |
| Complement | a mistake |
| Question Mark | ? |
Now let’s check what examples of simple past questions so you get familiar with them
Table of Contents
- Closed Questions with the Simple Past
- Open Questions with the Simple Past
- Simple Past Questions: Movies and TV
- Simple Past Questions: Music
- Simple Past Questions: Friends, Love and Family
- Simple Past Questions: School Times
- Past Simple Questions: Last Vacations
- Past Simple Questions: Feelings
- Simple Past Conversation Questions: Party
- Simple Past Conversation Questions: School
Closed Questions with the Simple Past
In English, we have:
| #1 | Closed Questions |
| #2 | Open Questions |
Examples of closed questions with the simple past are:
- Did you do any exercises?
- Did you play video games last night?
- Did she have good arguments?
- Did she pay for the Netflix subscription?
- Did she try to change the flat tire?
- Did she buy more Pokemon cards?
These are examples of how to respond to closed questions with the simple past:
- Did you do any exercises?
- Yes, I did
- Did she pay for the Netflix subscription?
- Yes, she did
- Did you play video games last night?
- Yes, I did
- Did she close her Facebook account?
- No, She didn’t
Now let’s check what open questions with the simple past are
Open Questions with the Simple Past
A similar example using an open question in the simple past is
- What exercises did you do?
- Who did you meet there?
- How many toys did you buy?
- What cryptocurrency did you buy?
These are examples of open questions and answers with the simple past
- What exercises did you do?
- I only did push-ups
- Who did you meet there?
- I met my future wife there
- How many toys did you buy?
- I bought a toy for each one of my four kids
- What cryptocurrency did you buy?
- I bought Ethereum and Cardano
Open questions with simple past can be answered in different ways
Simple Past Questions: Movies and TV
These are some questions using the simple past in the context of entertainment.
- Did you watch any movies?
- What did you watch yesterday?
- Did you watch any horror movies in October?
- Did you go to the movies this year?
- Did you watch any good shows last week?
- Did you watch any good movies last week?
- What programs did you use to watch when you were a little kid?
Simple Past Questions: Music
These are some simple past questions within the context of music
- Did you discover any new music this week?
- Did you find a good album this week?
- Did she like the new album?
- Did she enjoy my Spotify Playlist?
- Did you enjoy some recommendations given by your friends?
- Did you discover any new songs by checking YouTube recommendations?
Simple Past Questions: Friends, Love and Family
These are some questions related to friends, love, and family
- Who was your first love?
- Who was your first crush?
- Who was your best friend in high school?
- Who was your best friend at the university?
- What games did you play when you were a little kid?
Simple Past Questions: School Times
These are some questions related to school
- Who was your best teacher?
- Who was your worst class?
- Did you ever fail a class?
- Were you good at math?
- Were you good at science?
- Were you good at Math?
- Did you study hard for your high school tests?
Past Simple Questions: Last Vacations
These are some past simple questions about your last vacation
- Where did you go on your last vacation?
- Where did you stay?
- How much money did you spend?
- Who did you go with?
- How many days did you stay there?
- Did you stay in a hotel?
- Where did you go during the night?
Past Simple Questions: Feelings
These are some questions about feelings in English
- When was the last time that you felt really sad?
- When was the last time that you felt really happy?
- When was the last time that you felt really angry?
- When was the last time that you had so much fun?
- Did you feel nervous before your first job interview?
- What made you feel happy yesterday?
- What made you feel sad yesterday?
- How did you feel when you achieved your goal?
Simple Past Conversation Questions: Party
These are some simple past conversation questions about parties
- When was the last time you went to a party?
- Who did you go with?
- How did you get there?
- How many people attended the party?
- What did you eat or drink?
- How many drinks did you have?
- What time did the party start?
- How many people were at the party?
- Did you dance at the party?
- Who did you talk to at the party?
- Did you have a good time at the party?
- When did the party end?
Simple Past Conversation Questions: School
These are some simple past conversation questions about school
- What high school did you go to?
- What university did you go to?
- When did you finish high school?
- When did you finish college?
- Did you enjoy school?
- Did you enjoy college?
- What classes did you fail?
- What classes were the most difficult for you?
- What classes were the easiest for you?
- Did you make really good friends?
