A proud Crow, a clever Fox, and a piece of cheese.
Aesop’s Fables · Part 2 · The past simple: irregular verbs and questions
The Fox and the Crow
Found, flew, saw, said, and questions with did: the grammar for the most famous trick in Aesop, with a proud Crow and a hungry Fox.
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SOPHIA
MARCOS
I know this one. The Crow sings!
The fable
After Aesop
One day, a Crow found a piece of cheese. She took it in her beak and flew up into a tall tree.
A hungry Fox saw her. He sat under the tree and said: “Good morning, Crow! What beautiful feathers you have! I’m sure you have a beautiful voice too. Please sing for me!”
The Crow felt very proud. She opened her beak and sang: “CAW!”
The cheese fell, and the Fox caught it. “Your voice is terrible,” he said, “but the cheese was delicious. Never trust a flatterer!”
Don’t believe people who say nice things only to get something from you.
Irregular verbs
DEMETRIA
The Crow found the cheese. She flew up. The Fox saw her.
SOPHIA
These verbs are irregular: they don’t add -ed. find → found, fly → flew, see → saw, say → said, eat → ate, sing → sang, take → took. You learn them one by one.
Questions with did
PHILO
Did the Crow sing? Yes, she did.
SOPHIA
For past questions, use did + the base verb: Did she sing? What did the Fox want? Careful: Did she sang is wrong. After did, the verb goes back to the base form.
Negatives with didn’t
MARCOS
In my story, the clever Crow didn’t sing!
SOPHIA
Good ending, Marcos. Negative: didn’t + base verb: She didn’t sing. The Fox didn’t get the cheese. Again, not didn’t got.
Sophia’s summary
| Form | Use | From the fable |
|---|---|---|
| find → found, fly → flew | irregular past | The Crow found some cheese. |
| see → saw, say → said | irregular past | The Fox said: “Sing!” |
| Did + subject + base verb? | past questions | Did she sing? |
| What did… + base verb? | wh- questions | What did the Fox want? |
| didn’t + base verb | past negative | She didn’t sing. |
Practice
Answer all the questions, then press “Check my answers”. You can try again as many times as you like.
A · Choose the best answer
Choose the right word.
1. The Crow ___ some cheese.
2. She ___ up into a tree.
3. ___ the Fox see her?
4. The Fox ___: “Sing for me!”
5. The Crow ___ sing.
6. What did the Fox ___?
B · Complete the sentence
Write the missing word or words.
7. The Fox the cheese in one bite. (eat)
8. The Crow a song. (sing)
9. Did the Fox the cheese? (get)
10. She see the trick. (negative)
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
11. “Did the Crow sang?”
12. “The Fox saw the cheese.”
13. “She flied to the tree.”
Now be the Crow yourself. Will you sing for the Fox?Play the gamebook →