Affirmative and negative statements in the different tenses have quite distinct forms, with the negatives using the auxiliary verb did. To test understanding and demonstrate the difference, this exercise scrambles sentences that you can practice putting into negative affirmative past simple forms. Complete the following sentences in the correct past simple affirmative or negative forms, using the information provided.

Past simple negative or affirmative statements

For example:

• Q: I / to know / not / where he lived
• A: I did not know where he lived.

1. the postman / to be / late again
2. Felicity / to grow / tomatoes in her garden
3. he / to understand / not / the project
4. we / to fail / to finish in time
5. they / to give / not / us the bag of flour
6. Liam / to ask / not / the question politely
7. the hummingbirds / to build / a nest in our attic
8. the piano / to look / too old to use
9. she / to say / we / to be / wrong
10. I / to pick / not / the right flowers
11. our cake / to taste / not / right
12. we / to drive / all the way to Scotland
13. you / to bring / not / the green umbrella
14. they / to arrest / the wrong man
15. the lady of the manor / to write / not / a convincing memoir

Answers:

1. The postman was late again.
2. Felicity grew tomatoes in her garden.
3. He did not understand the project.
4. We failed to finish in time.
5. They did not give us the bag of flour.
6. Liam did not ask the question politely.
7. The hummingbirds built a nest in our attic.
8. The piano looked too old to use.
9. She said we were wrong.
10. I did not pick the right flowers.
11. Our cake did not taste right.
12. We drove all the way to Scotland.
13. You did not bring the green umbrella.
14. They arrested the wrong man.
15. The lady of the manor did not write a convincing memoir.