2A.

Narrative
Tenses

English V
 Narrative Tenses

Simple Past V2

TOC Past Continuous Was/were+ ING

Past perfect had+V3

 Narrative tenses are used to talk about
past events and to tell stories

Narrative The most common of these is the past

simple.

tenses
The other three tenses, the past
continuous, the past perfect simple and
the past perfect continuous, can help us
to say what we want more efficiently.
Simple Past
(emphasis
on
completion)
 We use the past continuous to describe the
background events in a narrative.
Past • One fall afternoon, was sitting in the kitchen

Continuous • Last night, it was raining, and we were watching TV on the sofa.

We also use the past continuous to describe an

action that was in progress when a completed
(emphasis action happened (WAS INTERRUPTED)
• She was having breakfast when someone knocked on the door.

on • was taking a shower when the phone rang.

We Often use When and While to connect past

duration) events.

• I was walking along the beach When found a wallet.

• While they were waiting for the bus, it started to rain.
 In some sentences, you can use either
without a great change in meaning.

A word Generally, if you want to focus on an action that has

on when a duration being in progress:

use while + a progressive tense.

vs. while • While I was washing the dishes, my wife came home

In other cases when you don’t need to emphasize

that an action was in progress or the action is
short and without a significant duration:
use when + a simple tense.
• When it started to rain, we went inside
 We use the past perfect to describe
Past Perfect an action that happened before
another action in the past.

• I called James at his office, but he had already gone home.

• They decided to go for a drive in Paul's new car. He had bought it only two
days before.
Past Continuous (emphasis on duration)

We also use the past

We use the past continuous to describe an We Often use When and
continuous to action that was in progress While to connect past
when a completed action events.
describe the happened (INTERRUPTED)
background events in • She was having • I was walking along the
a narrative. breakfast when beach When found a
• One fall afternoon, was someone knocked on wallet.
sitting in the kitchen the door. • While they were
• Last night, it was • was taking a shower waiting for the bus, it
raining, and we were when the phone rang. started to rain.
watching TV on the
sofa.