Why do we use 'did' with questions using the simple past tense?



Where did you go last night?
Where went you last night?



Is there a reason we say the first of the previous two sentences as opposed to the last one?


I know the second sentence is ungrammatical. I was just wondering if there was more of a rule than just "asking questions in the simple past needs 'did' + verb in the present tense."



Answer



First note: In Modern English questions are formed by inverting the subject and the first auxiliary verb (the operator) to create question syntax: You have been looking for a job--> Have you been looking for a job?


The role of 'do': If no auxiliary verb is apparent, we add an operator--the verb 'do'--and inflect it for number/tense as appropriate. It is then inverted with the subject: You found a job--> Did you find a job? He reads the help wanted ads--> Does he read the help wanted ads? Notice that the main verbs here ('find' and 'read') are not in the present tense as you imagined, but are simply base forms of the verb. The tense is carried by your operator, the auxiliary verb appearing as do/does/did.


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