narrative tenses telling a story

O1

Language

narrative tensestelling a story

Which tenses should I use?

Start

specific incidents in the past

PAST CONTINUOUS

SET THE SCENE

PAST CONTINUOUS

DESCRIBE ACTIONS IN PROGRESS

PAST SIMPLE

MAIN ACTIONS

TALK ABOUT EARLIER PAST ( things which happen before the main event)

PAST PERFECT (Simple and Continuous)

past continuous

past perfect

past simple

We went to bed..., I woke up..., I screamed...

My father had gone away..., I had been reading a story.

We were sleeping in my parents' bedroom

Someboby was standing in the doorway

past habits

Start

PAST SIMPLE

REPEATED THINGS IN THE PAST

We also use the Past Simple to talk about things that we did repeatedly in the past:

• My sister and I often walked to the harbour in the morning.
• We normally visited our granny on Sundays
• The birds sang every morning at the crack of dawn.

What did you often do in the past?

Where did you ussually go in the past?

used to?; would?; Past simple?; always + past continuous?

repeated Actions - changed states

used to

Every summer, my family used to rent an old house in the South of France

You can use used to to talk about things done repeatedly in the PAST

You can use used to to talk about past situations or states which have changed.

I used to have much longer hair when I was younger

Reflect

An alternative to "used to"

WOULD

3. e.g. I used to play the piano.

• to talk about that we did repeatedly in the past over a period of time.
• We do not use would with stative verbs, i.e. to talk about situations or states which have changed.
• We do not use would without a time reference.

Remenber: you can also use Would for PAST HABITS

Info

examples

My parents used to.........

My brother and I used to play astronauts

The planet would........

I would listen to.......

The clocks kept ......

We made.........

ALWAYS +

PAST CONTINUOUS

We can also use "always + Past Continuous" for things that happen repeatedly, especially when they were irritating habits.

e.g. When I was a teenager, my friends were always teasing me because of my red hair.

Learning situation

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN "USED TO+ INF." and...

Be careful not to confuse "used to + inf." and "be/get used to+gerund"

I am used to getting around the cities I visit by consulting paper maps.

I am getting used to the drumstick

I am not yet used to navigating with compasses, but I will manage.

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Take advantage of this space to write a brief explanation that develops the correct answer and enhances understanding.

Follow

What did you used to do when you were a child?

Where did you usually go in the past?

Build a sentence

past simple

What did you often do in the past?

Build a sentence

past simple