Narrative Tenses

Article excerpt · target grammar marked

In August 2022, Valentina Guerrero landed at an airport in northern Europe for the first time. She had packed one suitcase and had memorised three bus routes. She stood at the bus stop for twenty minutes, completely soaked.

Grammar Reference · Narrative Tenses

Past simple

Completed actions that move the story forward. She packed her bag and left the next morning. — the main events of your story

Past continuous

Background actions or actions interrupted by a main event. He was walking to class when he saw a familiar face. — sets the scene

Past perfect

An action completed before the main story moment. By the time she arrived, she had already memorised three bus routes. — earlier background

Common error

When I had arrived, I called. ✗ → When I arrived, I called. ✓ — two quick sequential events both take past simple

01Exercise 1 — Form · Write the Correct Form

Narrative Tenses

1.She her umbrella at home, so she got completely wet at the bus stop.

2.He his friends on video call when someone knocked at his door.

3.By the time she found the supermarket, she around the neighbourhood for an hour.

4.While he to understand the bus timetable, a local woman offered to help.

5.She three different flats before she finally felt settled.

6.The city strange to him for the first few weeks.

02Exercise 2 — Transform

rewrite with the new structure

1.She finished the call. Then she went to sleep.

2.He cooked dinner. A friend arrived.

3.They packed their bags. Then they left early in the morning.

4.She walked to the café. She heard a familiar song.

5.He tried to order in English. The waiter switched to Spanish.

6.She studied the map for weeks. Then she got lost on the first day.

7.They worked together for a month. They became close friends.

8.He thought about calling home. His phone ran out of battery.

03Exercise 3 — About You

in your notebook

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

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