Telling stories with

Narrative
Tenses
Contents 1 Narrative tenses

2 Past Simple

3 Past Continuous

4 Past Perfect Simple

5 Past Perfect Continuous

 Narrative Tenses
Narrative tenses are used to describe past events. They are
typically used to tell stories or narrate anecdotes.
Past Simple
We use the Past Simple tense to narrate:
• completed actions in the past
• past events in chronological order
• past habits and past states

Formula: verb + -d / -ed / -ied

My family and I went to the Alps last year.

We skied in the mountains in the morning.

They trained from 9am to 11am and then had lunch.

When I was a kid, I never wore jeans. I didn't like them!

Past Continuous
We use the Past Continuous tense to:
• set the background to a story
• describe a scene or situation that lasted for
some time
• refer to an ongoing action which was
interrupted by another one
Formula: was / were + present participle (verb + -ing)

It was a cold winter morning. It was snowing heavily.

They were living together in those days, but then split up.

I was taking a bath when you phoned.

Past Perfect Simple
We use the Past Perfect Simple tense to refer to:

• events that took place before another event in

the past
• past states and situations that started earlier in
the past
Formula: had + past participle

When we arrived at the airport, the plane had already left.

I had never seen such beauty before!

We'd worked together for 30 years before he retired.

Past Perfect
We use the Past Perfect Continuous tense to
Continuous describe:
• events that were happening over a long period
of time before another event in the past

Formula: had been + present participle (verb + -ing)

Negotiations had been going on for months before our company

agreed to merge.

They had been exchanging love letters before they finally got
married in 1920.

We'd been walking for hours when we finally found the hotel.
 Practice Sample
Look at the image. Can you describe the
Answer
situation?
Here's a model short story based on the
picture on the left.
Here are some ideas to guide your discussion:
It was a sunny spring morning in New York.
Chad and Noah were going on their dream trip to
• What was the weather like that day?
Europe. They had been planning it for years.
• Where were they going?
They were so excited that the day had finally
• How were they feeling?
come!
• What had they done before calling the taxi?
• What were they doing when the taxi
They had called a taxi to take them to the airport.
arrived?
and they were waiting for it on the sidewalk
Note to the teacher: Press 5 to set a 5-minute timer. when it arrived. Their adventure had finally
started!
Happy storytelling!