Narrative Tenses

Article excerpt · target grammar marked

Camila had never lived outside Colombia before. She was walking along the River Liffey when her phone died. While she was waiting for her phone to charge, the two women started to talk. She had studied some English in Bogotá, but she had never spoken it every day.

Grammar Reference · Narrative Tenses

Past simple

Use for completed actions. She walked into the café and asked for help. Most of your story uses this tense.

Past continuous

Use for background or interrupted actions. It was raining when she left. Sets the scene.

Past perfect

Use for things that happened before the main story. She had never visited Ireland before.

Common error

Don't use past perfect for every past action. When I arrived, she left. ✓ Simple sequence = past simple.

01Exercise 1 — Form · Write the Correct Form

Narrative Tenses

1.She (never / be) to Dublin before she moved there.

2.I (walk) home when it started to snow.

3.By the time we arrived, the film (already / start).

4.While he (cook), his phone rang.

5.She (not / meet) her neighbour before last week.

6.They (sit) in the park when the rain began.

02Exercise 2 — Find and Correct the Error

find the error · rewrite the sentence

1.She was never eat Irish food before she arrived.

2.I was cook dinner when my friend has called.

3.By the time he got home, she already left.

4.We walked past the shop when we seen the sign.

5.I never spoke to an Irish person before I came here.

6.While I waited, she was arrive with the coffee.

7.He had study English for one year before he moved.

8.They were not see each other for six months when they met again.

03Exercise 3 — About You

in your notebook

Personalise: complete five sentences about yourself using the target grammar.

Narrative Tenses01classplan.ai