Narrative Verb Tenses

PROF DR. CLAUDIA MARCHESE WINFELD

 Narrative verb tenses
Past Perfect
Simple Past
• Mary hated their untidy • Mary had liked to look at
bungalow. her mother from a
distance.
Past Progressive

• She was playing by

herself under a tree.
 ASPECT TENSE
• SIMPLE • PRESENT
• PROGRESSIVE • PAST
• PERFECT • FUTURE
Simple Past Form – Affirmative sentences
• The verb is conjugated.
• Regular verbs have the –ed suffix.
• Irregular verbs have other forms. 
Simple Past Form – affirmative, negative and
interrogative sentences

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

Mary hated their Mary did not hate Did Mary hate
untidy bungalow. their untidy their untidy
bungalow. bungalow?
Past Progressive Form – Affirmative
sentences
• Verb to be in the past [was/were] + main verb + ing
Past Progressive Form – affirmative, negative and
interrogative sentences

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

She was playing She was not Was she playing
by herself under playing by herself by herself under
a tree. under a tree. a tree?
Past Perfec form
• had + [past participle]. 
Past Perfect Form – affirmative, negative and
interrogative sentences

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

Mary had liked to Mary had not Had Mary likeD to
look at her liked to look at look at her
mother from a her mother from mother at a
distance. a distance. distance?
Grammar in context
Mary had liked to look at her mother from a
distance and she had thought her very pretty,
but as she knew very little of her she could
scarcely have been expected to love her or to
miss her very much when she was gone. She did
not miss her at all, in fact, and as she was a self-
absorbed child she gave her entire thought to
herself, as she had always done.
When do we use (qual ação ou estado ocorre
primeiro?):
PAST PERFECT SIMPLE PAST
• ACTION OR STATE 1 • ACTION OR STATE 2

• 2000 • 2010
When do we use (qual estado ou ação ocorre
primeiro?):
Past Progressive Past Perfect
• She was playing by • The boy had suffered an
herself under a tree accident when he was
when she saw a teenager three years old.
in a wheelchair.