Business English A2 · Lesson 9A

Grammar Bank

The rules behind this lesson — form, use, model sentences and the mistakes to avoid.

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Grammar focus of this lesson

past simple + time markers (interview-ready)

2 structures

Past simple questions with did
did + subject + base verb builds almost every past question.
I've got this
Rules & form
- ›Yes/no: Did you finish it?
- ›Wh-: Where did you work? How long did it take?
- ›Short answers: Yes, I did. / No, they didn't.
- ›With be, use was/were instead of did.
Examples
- “When did the meeting start?”
- “Why didn't they call back?”
- “Who did you talk to?”
Watch out · Who as subject needs no did: Who called? (not Who did call?)
Your own example
Past time markers (ago · last · in)
Short expressions that fix an action in past time.
I've got this
Rules & form
- ›ago comes after the period: two years ago, ten minutes ago.
- ›last + week / month / year / Monday — no preposition.
- ›in + year or month: in 2020, in April.
- ›yesterday / the day before yesterday need no preposition.
Examples
- “I joined the team three months ago.”
- “We closed the deal last Friday.”
- “The company opened in 2015.”
Watch out · before ago ✗ → We met two weeks ago ✓.
Your own example