The Three Main Ways to Ask Questions in the Past in English

When learning English, three types of questions come up constantly.They use three different tenses, but your wheel of Questions in English makes them easy to distinguish.

What did you + base verb?

Past Simple

This is the standard question to talk about a completed action in the past.

• We want to know what happened, nothing more.

• The verb stays in the base form (eat, go, drink, do…).

Examples:

• What did you eat?

• What did you do yesterday?

• What did you buy?

This is the most common form in North America.

What were you + verb‑ing?

Past Continuous

This describes an action in progress in the past.

• We imagine the scene.

• Often used when telling a story.

Examples:

• What were you doing when I called?

• What were you drinking at the party?

• What were you watching last night?

This is the “action in progress” question.

What have you + past participle?

Present Perfect

This refers to a past action that has a connection to the present.

• The time period is not finished (today, this week…).

• Very common in Europe.

Examples:

• What have you eaten today?

• What have you done so far?

• What have you bought this week?

This is the “past linked to the present” question.

Visual Summary

Form	Tense	Idea	Example
What did you + base verb?	Past Simple	Completed action	What did you drink?
What were you + verb‑ing?	Past Continuous	Action in progress	What were you doing?
What have you + past participle?	Present Perfect	Past linked to the present	What have you done?

EXERCISE — 20 Questions with Mixed Intruders

Instructions: Put the words back in the correct order to form a proper question.Each set contains one intruder (e.g., eaten, drunk, do, drinking, went, done). Ignore the intruder.

Use the three types of questions:

• What did you + base verb?

• What were you + verb‑ing?

• What have you + past participle?

Part A — Past Simple (What did you…?)

1. did / you / what / buy / do / yesterday

2. eat / did / what / you / last night / eaten

3. did / you / what / watch / drinking / yesterday

4. what / did / you / say / drunk / at school

5. did / you / what / make / done / for dinner

Part B — Past Continuous (What were you…?)

6. were / you / doing / what / when I called / done

7. drinking / were / you / what / at the party / drunk

8. what / were / you / reading / do / last night

9. were / you / talking / what / about / eaten

10. what / were / you / cooking / went / this morning

Part C — Present Perfect (What have you…?)

11. have / you / what / done / today / doing

12. bought / have / you / what / so far / buy

13. have / you / eaten / what / this week / eat

14. have / you / drunk / what / already / drinking

15. have / you / what / said / today / say / do

Part D — Mixed Review

16. what / were / you / doing / when it happened / done

17. have / you / what / eaten / since this morning / eat

18. did / you / what / buy / yesterday / bought

19. what / were / you / drinking / at 8 pm / drunk

20. have / you / what / done / today / doing

ANSWER KEY — 20 Questions

Part A — Past Simple (What did you…?)

1. What did you buy yesterday?(intruder: do)

2. What did you eat last night?(intruder: eaten)

3. What did you watch yesterday?(intruder: drinking)

4. What did you say at school?(intruder: drunk)

5. What did you make for dinner?(intruder: done)

Part B — Past Continuous (What were you…?)

6. What were you doing when I called?(intruder: done)

7. What were you drinking at the party?(intruder: drunk)

8. What were you reading last night?(intruder: do)

9. What were you talking about?(intruder: eaten)

10. What were you cooking this morning?(intruder: went)

Part C — Present Perfect (What have you…?)

11. What have you done today?(intruder: doing)

12. What have you bought so far?(intruder: buy)

13. What have you eaten this week?(intruder: eat)

14. What have you drunk already?(intruder: drinking)

15. What have you said today?(intruder: do)

Part D — Mixed Review

16. What were you doing when it happened?(intruder: done)

17. What have you eaten since this morning?(intruder: eat)

18. What did you buy yesterday?(intruder: bought)

19. What were you drinking at 8 pm?(intruder: drunk)

20. What have you done today?(intruder: doing)

TEACHING GUIDE — How to Use the Wheel of Questions in English

Purpose of this guide

This guide helps learners use the wheel to correctly form the three main types of past‑tense questions in English:

• What did you + base verb?

• What were you + verb‑ing?

• What have you + past participle?

It explains how to choose the right auxiliary, ignore intruders, and rebuild the question in the correct order.

1. Understanding how the wheel works

The wheel helps students identify the correct auxiliary depending on the tense.Once the auxiliary is chosen, they must place the verb in the correct form.

For the Past Simple

• Auxiliary: did

• Verb: base form (eat, go, drink, make…)

For the Past Continuous

• Auxiliary: was / were

• Verb: verb‑ing (eating, drinking, doing…)

For the Present Perfect

• Auxiliary: have / has

• Verb: past participle (eaten, drunk, done…)

The wheel shows base auxiliaries for have, not conjugated forms. In this case, students must choose the correct form depending on the subject.

2. A simple 3‑step strategy for every question

Step 1 — Find the auxiliary on the wheel

Students look at the mixed words and identify:

• did → Past Simple

• were → Past Continuous

• have → Present Perfect

If several auxiliaries appear, they choose the one required by the exercise.

Step 2 — Identify the intruder

Intruders are included to make students think.They may be:

• a verb in the wrong form (eaten, drunk, done)

• a conjugated verb (went, bought)

• an unnecessary infinitive (do, buy)

• an unnecessary progressive form (drinking)

Students must ignore the intruder completely.

Step 3 — Rebuild the question

The structure is always the same:

Past Simple

[ \text{What + did + subject + base verb?} ]

Past Continuous

[ \text{What + was/were + subject + verb‑ing?} ]

Present Perfect

[ \text{What + have/has + subject + past participle?} ]

Then students add complements (yesterday, at 6 pm, this week…).

3. Guided example (class demonstration)

Mixed words:

did / you / what / eat / eaten / yesterday

Step 1 — Find the auxiliary

→ did

Step 2 — Identify the intruder

→ eaten (wrong verb form)

Step 3 — Rebuild the question

→ What did you eat yesterday?

The wheel helped choose “did”, and the student ignored the intruder.

4. How to use the wheel in class

Option 1 — Individual work

1. Student spins the wheel.

2. Identifies the auxiliary.

3. Chooses the correct verb form.

4. Rebuilds the question.

5. Crosses out the intruder.

Option 2 — Pair work

• One student reads the mixed words.

• The other finds the auxiliary on the wheel.

• Together, they rebuild the question.

• They explain why the intruder is an intruder.

Option 3 — Question race

• Each team receives 5 sets of mixed words.

• First team to produce 5 correct questions wins.

• Bonus points for explaining each intruder.

5. What the wheel develops in learners

• Automatic reflex for choosing the right auxiliary

• Understanding of the three essential past structures

• Recognition of verb forms (base, -ing, participle)

• Autonomy in question building

• Reduction of typical francophone errors