Narrative Tenses

Narrative Tenses

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Inglés 7

empezar

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Index

Past Simple

Practice

Past Perfect

Past Continuous

Tip

Past Simple and past Continuous

Video

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Past Simple

We use the past simple to describe the main events of a story in the order they happened: We met each other a few years ago. He offered to help me fix my car. Later, we became good friends.

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Past Continuous

We use the past continuous:

• to describe the situation at the beginning of a story

That day, I was driving home from university for the summer.

• for longer actions in comparison with shorter actions in the past simple

Where were you going when I saw you by the road? I was trying to get home with some heavy bags when he stopped to help me.

• when actions are interrupted by main events in the past simple.

I was skiing in the French Alps when I had my accident.

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Past Simple and past Continuous

We can connect past simple and past continuous actions with as, while and when: Somebody stole my bag when I wasn't looking. Your sister phoned while you were out shopping. He looked out of the window while the train was going through the countryside. The car broke down as I was driving down the road. We met our friends while we were trying to get home.

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Past Simple and past Continuous

Don't use the past continuous for state verbs. Use the past simple instead: We met when I was a student. NOT when was being a student

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Past Perfect

We use the past perfect to describe an event that happened before the story started, or earlier in the story than a main event: That summer, I had just finished my second year at university. When we met, my car had broken down by the side of the road.

Past I hadn't taken my phone with me, so I couldn't phone for help.

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Tip

We can use by + a time with the past perfect to show what happened sometime before a point in the past: I started reading it on Monday and by Friday I'd read the whole book. They were really late for the party. By the time they arrived, everyone else had gone home.

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Video

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Practice