grammar - Why do we use the base form of verbs instead of the past form in past tense questions?


In regard to this answer, my question is similar but that answer is not clear. I want to know why we use base form of verb, e.g. 'go' to form the past tense instead of past form such as 'went'?



Question: Did you go to a bank? (Why we use 'go' here, rather than 'went'?)
Answer: I went to a bank.



Am I confusing verb forms with tenses? Please note that I'm not a native speaker so some clarification or reference on this would be helpful.



Answer



The rule is that there is at most one tense marker in each clause.


There may be no tense markers, as in the gerund clause going to the Moon or the infinitive clause to go to the Moon; but there can't be more than one.




  • In I visited the bank the single (past) tense marker is the -ed in visited.




  • In I did visit the bank the single (past) tense marker is the did (instead of do or does).




It's spread out this way because Question Formation, Negative Formation, and a number of other syntactic rules all require there to be a first auxiliary verb; and if there is no auxiliary verb (i.e, if there is only one verb) in the clause, then they all require Do-Support to provide that auxiliary verb.


Finally, the rules of English grammar require that the single tense marker goes on the first auxiliary verb, or on the main verb if there is no auxiliary verb. That's why it was on the single main verb before Do-Support; but afterwards, it has to go on the new auxiliary verb, which becomes did.


Silly, I know, but that's English syntax for you.


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