English Teaching

Telling Your Story: Narrative Tenses (B1 Grammar)

function checkA(el,c,exp,q){
document.querySelectorAll(‘input[name=”q’+q+'”]’).forEach(function(r){r.disabled=true;});
var fb=document.getElementById(‘fb’+q);fb.style.display=’block’;
if(parseInt(el.value)===c){fb.style.background=’#c6f6d5′;fb.style.color=’#276749′;fb.innerHTML=’✓ Correct! ‘+exp;}
else{fb.style.background=’#fed7d7′;fb.style.color=’#9b2c2c’;fb.innerHTML=’✗ ‘+exp;}
}
function checkF(id,ans){
var v=document.getElementById(‘fi’+id).value.trim().toLowerCase();
var fb=document.getElementById(‘ff’+id);fb.style.display=’block’;
if(v===ans.toLowerCase()||v.replace(/s+/g,’ ‘)===ans.toLowerCase()){
fb.style.background=’#c6f6d5′;fb.style.color=’#276749’;fb.innerHTML=’✓ Correct: ‘+ans+’‘;}
else{fb.style.background=’#fed7d7′;fb.style.color=’#9b2c2c’;fb.innerHTML=’✗ Answer: ‘+ans+’‘;}
}

B1  ⏱ 5 min

📖 Telling Your Story: Narrative Tenses

The night I left Sydney for the last time, I needed every past tense in English to explain what had happened.

📖 Three Narrative Tenses

  • Past simple — main story events: I packed my bags.
  • Past continuous — background: It was raining when I left.
  • Past perfect — what happened BEFORE the story: I had worked in Sydney for 12 years.

✈️ My Story (Colour-coded)

It was raining [background] when I landed [main event] in Paris. I had never seen [before arrival] snow on a runway. Vanessa was waiting [background] at arrivals.

Which tense is used for background context in a narrative?

‘By the time I arrived, she ___ already left.’ Which tense?

I ____________ (work) as a barista when the phone call changed everything.

She told me she ____________ (live) in Réunion for three years.

✏️ Write a Short Narrative

In 3-4 sentences, describe a significant moment from your past. Use all three tenses. Try to colour-code them if you can.

Independent project; not affiliated with, endorsed by, or accredited by Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Confers no qualification.