Explanation
Use the past simple question form to ask about a finished time in the past. For most verbs, put "did" before the subject, and use the base verb after it.
For example, "Did you watch the game last night?" Here "did" shows the past, "you" is the subject, and "watch" stays in the base form. "Last night" tells us when the action happened. In Japanese, you often keep the same word order, but English changes the question form. With "be", use "was" or "were": "Was it rainy this morning?"
過去のことをたずねるときは、過去形の疑問文を使います。ふつうの動詞では、主語の前に "did" を置き、その後ろの動詞は原形にします。
例えば "Did you watch the game last night?" では、"did" が過去を表し、"you" が主語、"watch" は原形です。"last night" が、いつのことかを示しています。日本語は「昨日ゲームを見た？」のように語順が大きく変わりませんが、英語では疑問文で "did" を前に出します。be動詞のときは "was" / "were" を使い、"Was it rainy this morning?" のようにします。
Examples
- Did you watch the game last night? あなたは昨夜、その試合を見ましたか？
- What did you buy at the store? お店で何を買いましたか？
- When did she arrive in Osaka? 彼女はいつ大阪に着きましたか？
- Did they go home early? 彼らは早く帰りましたか？
- Why was he angry yesterday? 彼は昨日、なぜ怒っていたのですか？
- Was it rainy this morning? 今朝は雨でしたか？
Common Mistakes
Japanese learners often make two mistakes: they use the past verb after "did," or they keep the Japanese word order.
Wrong: "Did you went to Kyoto?"
Right: "Did you go to Kyoto?"
Wrong: "When you went to Kyoto?"
Right: "When did you go to Kyoto?"
日本人学習者は、"did" の後ろに過去形を置いてしまうことと、日本語の語順のままにしてしまうことが多いです。
誤り: "Did you went to Kyoto?"
正しくは: "Did you go to Kyoto?"
誤り: "When you went to Kyoto?"
正しくは: "When did you go to Kyoto?"