The Narrative Tenses

The Narrative tenses are the grammatical structures that you use when telling a story, or talking about situations and activities which happened at a defined past time.

When narrating past events, DO NOT mix past and present tenses (avoid using the present perfect and present simple), as these will confuse the reader/listener about when things really happened.

Here are the most common narrative tenses and how they are used:

A. The Simple Past Tense.

The past simple is used

•  to express a completed action at a definite time in the past. The separate events which occur in sequence in a narrative are expressed using this tense.

Ex.    I woke up (1) at 8am, took a shower (2) and had some breakfast (3). I left for work (4) at 8am.

*The past simple is the most common tense after ‘When?’ in questions.

•   to express past habits.

Ex. I went to school in Canada until my family moved to the U.S.

NOTE: 

Used to + verb

is often used to express past habits and states that happened in the past, but do not happen now. Used to can not be used for actions which only occurred once.

Ex.       I used to work for IBM. (I don’t work for them now)

I didn’t use to like living in China. (I do like it now)

Where did you use to go for lunch? (You don’t go there now)

Would (+ adverb of frequency) + verb can be used to express past habits which do not happen now.

Ex.     My grandfather would always read the newspaper at breakfast time. (He doesn’t do it now)

Using ‘would’ instead of ‘used to’ often gives an idea of nostalgia. However, if the adverb of frequency is stressed, it can give the idea that the habit was annoying.

Ex.     My mother would never let me do what I wanted to do.

NOTE:  ‘WOULD’can not be used in past states.

Ex.  I would live in Canada. (wrong)

B. The Past Continuous Tense. As with all continuous tenses, the past continuous gives the idea of activity and duration.

The past continuous is used:

•  To describe the situation in which the events of the narrative occurred.

Ex.  When I woke up at 8am (1) the sun was shining (2) and the birds were singing (2). I had a shower (3), ate some breakfast (4) and left for work at 9am. (5)

•  to express an activity in progress at a time in the past.

Ex. What were you doing (1) when I called (2) you?

•  the past continuous also expresses the idea of

1. An interrupted activity

Ex.  She was reading a book  when the door bell rang. (She read a book = she finished it)

2. An unfinished activity

Ex. I was reading the book you lent me. (I read the book… = I finished reading the whole book)

 3. A repeated action

Ex. They were shooting at the enemy. (They shot…. = They fired the gun one time only)

4. A temporary situation

Ex. She was standing on the corner waiting for a bus. ( She stood on the corner. = Permanent situation)

C. The Past Perfect Simple Tense.

he past perfect simple is used

•  to show that an action or situation happened BEFORE the events in the narrative described in the simple past.

Ex. When I woke up at 8am (1), the sun was shining and the birds were singing. I had slept (2) really well the night before. I had a shower (3), ate some breakfast (4) and left for work at 9am.

NOTE:  If the subject of two verbs is the same, you don’t have to repeat the ‘had’ auxiliary.

Ex..     When I arrived, he had finished his lunch and left the room.

• Making a narrative more interesting to read.

It is generally seen as bad literary style to have too many verbs in the same tense. In English it is always best to avoid repetition where possible.

This same sentence could be improved for dramatic effect by using the past perfect simple.

E.g. I woke up at 8am and left for work after I’d had a shower and eaten some breakfast.

*CONJUNCTIONS (After, As soon as, Before, By the time, Once, till, When, Unless, Until)

With these conjunctions of time, the past perfect shows that the first action MUST BE COMPLETED before the second action begins, otherwise the past simple is used.

Ex.     After….she finished, they left / she had finished, they left. (She had to finish first)

            As soon as…we arrived she said “hello”. / I had done it, I sent it to her. (I had to do it first)

She wouldn’t sign the contract  before…. seeing it / she had seen it. (She had to see it first)

They wouldn’t go unless….she came with them / they had seen it was safe.

(It was important to finish checking that it was safe before going)

D. The Past Perfect Continuous Tense.

•  The past perfect continuous is used for longer activities that were happening continuously up until a specified time in the past.

Ex. He looked very tired (1), he had been working very hard (2) over the past three weeks.

As with the past continuous, the past perfect continuous can show the following:

• Unfinished activity

Ex.     He hadn’t heard the telephone ring because he’d been reading.

•  Repeated activity

Ex.    I was tired. I’d been cleaning  the house all day.

*With the past perfect simple, the focus is on the completed activity.

Ex. He had written three letters that morning.

He had delivered twelve parcels today.

E. The Future in the Past.

The future in the past is used to look into the future from a point of time in the past. However, this “future” event still occurred at a time before the present time.

Ex. I woke up (1) at 8am yesterday. I was meeting my boss (2) at ten o’clock that morning, so I wouldn’t be able to have lunch (3) with Susan. I wasn’t going to get home (4) again until late that night.

*Depending on the situation, the following tenses are used in the future in the past:

The past simple (a timetabled event)                     The past continuous (an arrangement)

would (a prediction)                                                     was going to (a plan)

would be doing (an action at a specific time)         would have done (action completed before

a specified time)