Narrative tenses

Narrative tenses

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01

Simple Past

Subject+ past verb+ C

• Completed actions and states which

happened at a specific time.

• In storytelling, the simple past is

often used to narrate events in sequence.

Time expressions

• Yesterday
• Last week/month/year
• In (specific year)
• A week ago
• When I was younger

02

Past Continous

S+was/were + verb+ing+ C

• It is used for activities not states in progress at the time of the main events in the story.

Time Expressions

• Ongoing actions in the past
• Parallel actions
• Interruptions
• Describing atmosphere or mood
• Background information

• While
• When
• At that moment
• As

03

Past Perfect

S+had+past participle+C

When we want to focus on the results of an earlier completed action.

Time expressions

• Shows an action completed before

another past action.

• Establishing a sequence of events
• Provide background information
• Clarifying cause and effect

• Before
• After
• By the time
• Already
• Until

04

Past Perfect Continous

S+had been+ verb+ing+C

Before a result in the past to show the effect of an earlier activity Emphasizes the duration of an action leading up to another past action

Time Expressions

• For (duration)
• Since (time])
• Before
• When

Creating a Story

Setting the scene

Introducing the Main Action

Prior Events

Start by describing the background or ongoing actions to set the scene

Move to the main events or action that happened

Introduce events that occurred before the main action to provide context

Past continous

Past perfect

simple past

Creating a Story

Ongoing Actions Leading to Past Events

Aftermath

Wrap up the story by describing the aftermath or the resolution

Emphasize how long something had been happening before another past action

Simple past or past continuous

Past perfect continuous

As the heavy rain continued to fall, the rescue team from Guadalupe was driving through the flooded streets searching for anyone in need of help. After several hours of searching they finally spotted a car in soriana that was partially submerged in water. They had received reports of trapped individuals near the area, and their concern was growing. They had been coordinating their efforts with Zacatecas' emergency services since the storm began. At the end they managed to rescue two people from the vehicle, who were relieved to be safe.

Timeline

Storm

RT had received reports

RT were driving

It started to rain

2023

PAST

The car was submerged in water

RT rescued the people

RT had been coordinating their efforts with Zacatecas ES since the storm began

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Specific Time References

In 2019 she started her Master's Degree

Narrate events in sequence

She woke up, had breakfast and left for work.

Ongoing Actions

At 7 am, I was having breakfast with my family

Parallel Actions

While she was shopping, he was checking her phone

Interruptions

I was baking a pie, when the lights went out

Describing atmosphere

People were laughing, and music was playing softly in the background

Background information

They were living in Villas Universidad when they attended to college