{"id":6319,"date":"2017-04-02T18:13:23","date_gmt":"2017-04-02T16:13:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/?p=6319"},"modified":"2021-10-11T09:28:01","modified_gmt":"2021-10-11T07:28:01","slug":"the-narrative-tenses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2017\/04\/the-narrative-tenses\/","title":{"rendered":"The Narrative Tenses"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Narrative tenses<\/strong> are the grammatical structures that you use when telling a story, or talking about situations and activities which happened at a defined past time.<\/p>\n<p>When narrating past events,\u00a0<strong>DO NOT\u00a0<\/strong>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.<\/p>\n<p>Here are the most common narrative tenses and how they are used:<\/p>\n<p><strong>A<\/strong>.\u00a0<strong style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Simple Past Tense.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The past simple is used<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0to express a <strong>completed action<\/strong> at a <strong>definite time<\/strong> in the <strong>past<\/strong>. The separate events which occur in sequence in a narrative are expressed using this tense.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Ex. \u00a0 \u00a0I <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>woke<\/strong><\/span> up (1) at 8am, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>took<\/strong><\/span> a shower (2) and <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>had<\/strong><\/span> some breakfast (3). I <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>left<\/strong><\/span> for work (4) at 8am.<\/p>\n<p>*The past simple is the most common tense after &#8216;When?&#8217; in questions.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0 to express <strong>past habits<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Ex. I\u00a0<strong>went<\/strong> to school in Canada until my family moved to the U.S.<\/p>\n<p><strong>NOTE:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Used to + verb<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>is often used to express past\u00a0<strong>habits<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>states<\/strong>\u00a0that happened in the past, but do not happen now. Used to can not be used for actions which only occurred once.<\/p>\n<p>Ex. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 I <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>used to work<\/strong><\/span> for IBM. (I don&#8217;t work for them now)<\/p>\n<p>I <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>didn&#8217;t use to like<\/strong><\/span> living in China. (I do like it now)<\/p>\n<p>Where <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>did<\/strong> <\/span>you <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>use to go<\/strong><\/span> for lunch? (You don&#8217;t go there now)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Would (+ adverb of frequency)<\/strong> + verb can be used to express past habits which do not happen now.<\/p>\n<p>Ex.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My grandfather <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>would always read<\/strong><\/span> the newspaper at breakfast time. (He doesn&#8217;t do it now)<\/p>\n<p>Using &#8216;would&#8217; instead of &#8216;used to&#8217; often gives an idea of nostalgia. However, if the adverb of frequency is stressed, it can give the idea that the habit was annoying.<\/p>\n<p>Ex.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My mother <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>would\u00a0never\u00a0let<\/strong><\/span> me do what I wanted to do.<\/p>\n<p><strong>NOTE: <\/strong>\u00a0&#8216;WOULD&#8217;can not be used in past states.<\/p>\n<p>Ex. \u00a0<em>I would live in Canada.<\/em> (wrong)<\/p>\n<p><strong style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">B. The Past Continuous Tense.\u00a0<\/strong><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">As with all continuous tenses, the past continuous gives the idea of activity and duration.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The past continuous is used:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0To describe the situation in which the events of the narrative occurred.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Ex. \u00a0When I woke up at 8am (1) the sun <strong>was shining<\/strong> (2) and the birds <strong>were singing<\/strong> (2). I had a shower (3), ate some breakfast (4) and left for work at 9am. (5)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0to express an activity in progress at a time in the past.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Ex. What <strong>were<\/strong> you <strong>doing <\/strong>(1) when I c<strong>alled<\/strong> (2) you?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0the past continuous also expresses the idea of<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>1. An interrupted activity<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Ex. \u00a0She <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>was reading<\/strong><\/span> a book \u00a0when the door bell rang. (She read a book = she finished it)<\/p>\n<p><strong>2.<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>An unfinished activity<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Ex. I <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>was reading<\/strong><\/span> the book you lent me. (I read the book&#8230; = I finished reading the whole book)<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a03.\u00a0A repeated action<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Ex. They <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">were shooting<\/span> at the enemy. (They shot&#8230;. = They fired the gun one time only)<\/p>\n<p><strong>4.<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>A temporary situation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Ex. She <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">was standin<\/span>g<\/strong> on the corner waiting for a bus. ( She stood on the corner. = Permanent situation)<\/p>\n<p><strong>C. The Past Perfect Simple Tense.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>he past perfect simple is used<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0to show that an action or situation happened <strong>BEFORE<\/strong> the events in the narrative described in the simple past.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Ex. When I woke up at 8am (1), the sun was shining and the birds were singing. I <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>had slept<\/strong><\/span> (2) really well the night before. I had a shower (3), ate some breakfast (4) and left for work at 9am.<\/p>\n<p>NOTE: \u00a0If the subject of two verbs is the same, you don&#8217;t have to repeat the &#8216;had&#8217; auxiliary.<\/p>\n<p>Ex..\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 When I arrived, he <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>had finished<\/strong><\/span> his lunch and left the room.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Making a narrative more interesting to read.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It is generally seen as bad literary style to have too many verbs in the same tense. In English it is always best to <strong>avoid repetition<\/strong> where possible.<\/p>\n<p>This same sentence could be improved for dramatic effect by using the past perfect simple.<\/p>\n<p>E.g. I woke up at 8am and left for work after<strong>\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">I&#8217;d had<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>a shower and\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>eaten<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0some breakfast.<\/p>\n<p>*CONJUNCTIONS (After, As soon as, Before, By the time, Once, till, When, Unless, Until)<\/p>\n<p>With these conjunctions of time, the past perfect shows that the\u00a0<strong>first action MUST BE COMPLETED before the second action begins<\/strong>, otherwise the past simple is used.<\/p>\n<p>Ex.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<strong>After<\/strong>&#8230;.she finished, they left \/<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>she had finished, they left. (She had to finish first)<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As soon as<\/strong>&#8230;we arrived she said &#8220;hello&#8221;. \/ I had done it, I sent it to her. (I had to do it first)<\/p>\n<p>She wouldn&#8217;t sign the contract\u00a0\u00a0<strong>before<\/strong>&#8230;. seeing it \/ she had seen it. (She had to see it first)<\/p>\n<p>They wouldn&#8217;t go\u00a0<strong>unless<\/strong>&#8230;.she came with them \/ they had seen it was safe.<\/p>\n<p>(It was important to finish checking that it was safe before going)<\/p>\n<p><strong>D.\u00a0<\/strong><strong style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Past Perfect Continuous Tense.<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0The past perfect continuous is used for longer activities that were happening continuously up until a specified time in the past.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Ex. He looked very tired (1), he <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>had been working<\/strong><\/span> very hard (2) over the past three weeks.<\/p>\n<p>As with the past continuous, the past perfect continuous can show the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Unfinished activity<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Ex.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>hadn&#8217;t heard<\/strong><\/span> the telephone ring because <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>he&#8217;d been<\/strong><\/span> reading.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0<strong>Repeated activity<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Ex.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I was tired. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>I&#8217;d been cleaning <\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>the house\u00a0all day.<\/p>\n<p>*With the past perfect simple, the focus is on the completed activity.<\/p>\n<p>Ex. He <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>had written<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0three letters that morning.<\/p>\n<p>He <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">had<\/span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u00a0delivered<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>twelve\u00a0parcels today<strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">E.\u00a0<\/span><strong style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Future in the Past.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The future in the past is used to look into the future from a point of time in the past. However, this &#8220;future&#8221; event still occurred at a time before the present time.<\/p>\n<p>Ex. I woke up (1) at 8am yesterday. I <strong>was meeting<\/strong> my boss (2) at ten o&#8217;clock that morning, so I wouldn&#8217;t be able to have lunch (3) with Susan. I <strong>wasn&#8217;t going<\/strong> to get home (4) again until late that night.<\/p>\n<p>*Depending on the situation, the following tenses are used in the future in the past:<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>past simple<\/strong> (a timetabled event)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The <strong>past continuous<\/strong> (an arrangement)<\/p>\n<p><strong>would<\/strong> (a prediction) \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <strong>was going to<\/strong> (a plan)<\/p>\n<p><strong>would be doing<\/strong> (an action at a specific time)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <strong>would have done<\/strong> (action completed before<\/p>\n<p>a specified time)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; 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,\u00a0DO NOT\u00a0mix past and present tenses (avoid using the present perfect and present simple), as these will confuse the reader\/listener about when things really [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[309],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grammar"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v16.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Narrative Tenses | phone english blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2017\/04\/the-narrative-tenses\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Narrative Tenses | phone english blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&nbsp; 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. 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