NARRATIVE TENSES:

Past Simple:

To talk about consecutive actions in the past (for

the main events in a story)
 Past Continuous:
Was/Were + verb + -ing.

To describe a longer past action which was in

progress when another action happened, or to
describe an action that was not completed at a
past time.
 Past Perfect:

Had + past participle.

To talk about the earlier past

(things that happened before
the main events)
Past Perfect Continuous:
Had + been + verb +
-ing

To talk about longer

continuous actions that
started before the main
events and have
continued up to that
point (with action verbs)
Non action verbs are not
normally used.
 ACTIVITY
Exercise 1. Complete the sentences making them true for you.

When I left school, I had been / was going / had been going to ______
[number] countries.
When I left my last job, I worked / had been working / was working
there for _____ [number]
years.
When I got married I went out / was going out / had gone out / had
been going out with my girl
/boy friend for ______ [number] years.
I took / didnt take an umbrella with me this morning because it rained /
didn't rain / hadn't
rained / had rained / wasn't raining / was raining.
When I got to the class this evening, the lesson started / was starting /
hadn't started / had
started.