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Two adult learners interview each other about completed past events using memory cards at a table
TF30 · A2 Grammar · 30 min

Past-simple Questions and Negatives with did

Ask what happened, correct an inaccurate detail and keep a real past-event interview moving.

LevelA2
Time30 minutes
Lesson typeGrammar in Context
Final evidenceA six-turn past-event interview and correction
Why this lesson matters · เหตุผลที่เรียนบทนี้

For learners: You can already describe completed events. Now learn to ask for missing facts and correct inaccurate details so a real past-event conversation continues beyond one statement.

For teachers: The route starts with the difference between a missing fact and an inaccurate fact, then transfers past time to did or didn’t, develops useful follow-ups, and ends with an interview-summary-correction performance.

สำหรับผู้เรียน: เมื่อเล่าเหตุการณ์ที่จบแล้วได้ ขั้นต่อไปคือถามข้อมูลที่ยังขาดและแก้รายละเอียดที่ฟังผิด เพื่อให้การสนทนาเรื่องอดีตดำเนินต่อได้จริง
สำหรับครู: ลำดับเริ่มจากแยกว่าข้อมูลขาดหรือข้อมูลผิด แล้วจึงควบคุม did/didn’t กับกริยารูปปกติ ฝึกถามต่อ และจบด้วยการสัมภาษณ์ สรุป และแก้ข้อมูล

Your Goal

Form did questions and didn’t negatives with a base verb, answer with useful detail and correct one inaccurate summary of a completed event.

คำอธิบายภาษาไทย

ใช้ did + ประธาน + กริยารูปปกติ เพื่อถามเหตุการณ์ที่จบแล้ว และใช้ didn’t + กริยารูปปกติ เพื่อปฏิเสธหรือแก้ข้อมูล จากนั้นนำไปสัมภาษณ์และตรวจความเข้าใจเกี่ยวกับเหตุการณ์จริงในอดีต

Why this lesson matters

A good past-event conversation needs more than a list of actions. You must be able to ask for missing information, reject an incorrect detail and continue with a useful follow-up.

ภาษาไทย: โครงสร้างนี้ช่วยให้ถามข้อมูลที่ยังขาด แก้รายละเอียดที่ฟังผิด และสนทนาเรื่องเหตุการณ์ที่ผ่านมาได้ต่อเนื่อง โดยไม่ใช้รูปอดีตซ้ำทั้งที่ did/didn’t แสดงอดีตอยู่แล้ว

PROGRESS FOCUS What improves today?
MEAN · MeaningSeparate asking for a past fact from denying or correcting one.
FORM · FormUse did/didn’t for past time and return the main verb to its base form.
USE · Real useRun a short interview, add detail and repair one inaccurate summary.

Your 30-minute route

1 · 4 minChoose the speaker’s purpose
2 · 4 minControl did + base verb
3 · 5 minChoose, explain and repair
4 · 5 minBuild useful follow-ups
5 · 5 minCorrect a wrong summary
6 · 7 minInterview, check and retry
Teacher Lesson Plan

Begin with the communication purpose: “Do I need information, or do I need to correct information?” Move to the form only after the learner chooses question or negative.

StageTeacher moveEvidence to collect
1 · MeaningContrast a missing fact with an inaccurate fact.Four purpose decisions
2 · FormMove the past marker to did/didn’t and recover the base verb.Six controlled forms
3 · DecideRequire a meaning and form reason before checking the answer.Five choices + two repairs
4 · InterviewPrompt one useful detail after every short answer.Three question–answer–follow-up chains
5 · RepairRead back one inaccurate summary and let the learner interrupt politely.Two corrected details
6 · PerformScore the first interview, give one MEAN/FORM/USE target and allow a focused retry.Independent six-turn interview

Stage 1 · Choose the speaker’s purpose

Meaning comes first: ask when information is missing; use a negative when a past detail is untrue.

4 minutes
STUDENT TASK
ASK

A fact is missing

You know Maya travelled last weekend, but you do not know the destination.

Where did Maya go?
CORRECT

A fact is inaccurate

Your partner says Maya drove, but she travelled by train.

She didn’t drive. She took the train.
  1. Read four short situations from your teacher.
  2. Say ask when a fact is missing or correct when a fact is inaccurate.
  3. Give one natural question or negative for each situation.
Quick meaning checkYour partner says, “You stayed home on Sunday,” but you went to the market. Do you need a question or a correction?
Finish evidenceFour purpose decisions with one matching question or correction each.
Teacher Help · Stage 1

Accept the learner’s intended meaning before correcting form. If they choose a question for a known false fact, ask: “Do you need new information, or do you already know the correct fact?”

Stage 2 · Control did, didn’t and the base verb

The past meaning moves to did or didn’t, so the main verb returns to its base form.

4 minutes
STUDENT TASK
PurposePatternExample
Askquestion word + did + subject + base verb?Where did you go?
Ask yes/nodid + subject + base verb?Did you meet Sam?
Deny / correctsubject + didn’t + base verbI didn’t meet Sam.

One past marker only

Did you go? — not “Did you went?”
She didn’t see it. — not “She didn’t saw it.”

  1. Change two past statements into questions.
  2. Change two inaccurate statements into negatives.
  3. Underline did/didn’t and circle every base verb.
Finish evidenceSix forms with one past marker and an accurate base verb.
Teacher Help · Stage 2

Use a physical “past marker” gesture on did/didn’t, then point back to the base verb. Do not ask learners to memorise two past forms in the same clause; make the transfer of past meaning visible.

Stage 3 · Choose, explain and repair

A strong answer explains both the communication purpose and why the verb is in its base form.

5 minutes
STUDENT TASK
SituationYour sentenceReason
You need the time of the meeting.What time did the meeting ___?start / started?
The order arrived Tuesday, not Monday.It didn’t ___ on Monday.arrive / arrived?
You need to know about the booking.Did Leo ___ the room?book / booked?
Nina saw the message but did not reply.She didn’t ___.reply / replied?
You need the person your partner met.Who did you ___?meet / met?
Check answers and reasons

start · arrive · book · reply · meet. Each sentence already has did/didn’t as its past marker, so the main verb is the base form.

Repair challengeCorrect “Where did she went?” and “They didn’t arrived late,” then explain the shared problem.
Finish evidenceFive choices with reasons and two complete repairs.
Teacher Help · Stage 3

If learners choose accurately by sound but cannot explain, ask them to point to the past marker. Keep the explanation short: “did carries past; use the base verb.”

Stage 4 · Build useful follow-up chains

Move beyond yes/no: ask one focused follow-up and answer with a useful past detail.

5 minutes
STUDENT TASK

A: Did you go anywhere after work?

B: Yes, I did. I went to a new café.

A: Who did you go with?

B: I went with two classmates.

  1. Choose one completed event: a trip, meal, class, meeting or purchase.
  2. Write one yes/no question and two question-word follow-ups.
  3. Answer each question with one extra detail, not only “yes” or “no”.
Useful follow-upsWhere did you go? · Who did you meet? · What did you buy? · Why did you choose it? · How did it end?
Finish evidenceThree question–answer–follow-up chains with useful detail.
Teacher Help · Stage 4

Do not supply a full sentence after every pause. Offer only a question word or base verb, then let the learner complete the thought. Correct the double-past error only if it appears.

Stage 5 · Correct an inaccurate summary

Show that you understood the event by politely rejecting one wrong detail and giving the accurate fact.

5 minutes
STUDENT TASK

Interviewer: So you met Ana at the station and took a bus.

Speaker: I didn’t meet Ana at the station. I met her at the café, and we took the train.

Interviewer: Right. Did you arrive before six?

  1. Underline the two inaccurate details in the summary.
  2. Use didn’t + base verb to reject each one.
  3. Add the accurate fact in a past statement.
  4. Ask one new did question to continue the interview.
Repair frame: I didn’t ___. I ___. / We didn’t ___. We ___.
Finish evidenceTwo corrected details and one follow-up question that keeps the conversation moving.
Teacher Help · Stage 5

Read the summary naturally and include only one or two wrong details. The learner should correct meaning first, then form. Ask for the accurate positive fact after every negative so the listener receives a complete repair.

Stage 6 · Final Practice: interview, check and retry

Use questions, detailed answers and one correction independently in a real past-event exchange.

7 minutes
FINAL PRACTICE

Plan → interview → summarise → correct → retry

  1. Choose one completed event you can discuss comfortably.
  2. Plan only five notes: event · place · people · key action · result.
  3. Your partner conducts a six-turn interview using at least three did questions and two useful follow-ups.
  4. Your partner gives a short summary with one intentionally inaccurate detail.
  5. Correct it with didn’t + base verb, add the accurate fact and answer one final follow-up.
  6. After one feedback target, retry only the weak question or correction.
Planning example: weekend market · old town · sister · bought a handmade bag · returned before lunch.

Score the first independent performance

MEAN · MeaningQuestions request missing past facts; the negative clearly rejects the inaccurate detail.
FORM · FormDid/didn’t carries past time and each following main verb is in its base form.
USE · Real useThe learner completes the interview, gives useful detail and repairs the summary without teacher-supplied sentences.
0 · Not yetThe purpose is unclear or repeated double-past forms make questions and corrections difficult to follow.
1 · With supportThe interview becomes clear after a purpose cue, base-verb prompt or model.
2 · IndependentThe meaning, did/didn’t forms and complete interview remain clear without a prompt.

Result: 0–2 Rebuild · 3–4 Developing · 5–6 A2 mastery evidence.

Finish evidenceFirst six-turn interview + inaccurate summary + correction + one focused retry.
Teacher Help · Stage 6

Score the first independent attempt across MEAN, FORM and USE. Give one target only: question purpose, base verb, useful detail or correction. Preserve the first score and note whether the focused retry improves that target.

Grammar you can use

You can now ask for missing facts about a completed event, answer with useful detail and correct an inaccurate summary using did, didn’t and the base verb. Continue through the Dynamic Learning Graph below.

Return to the Learning Library

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