Telling a story: narrative tenses
Past simple for events, past continuous for the background, past perfect for what happened earlier
What you'll be able to do
Tell a story or explain what went wrong (a trip, a bad day at work, how you met someone) so that the listener always knows what happened first and what was going on at the time.
Three tenses, three jobs
| Tense | Job | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Past simple | the main events, in order | I got off the bus and ran to the station. |
| Past continuous: was / were + -ing | the background, something in progress | It was raining and everyone was rushing home. |
| Past perfect: had + past participle | an earlier event, before the main story | The train had already left. |
- I was walking home when my phone rang.background, then an interruption
- While we were eating, the lights went out.two things at the same time
- When I got to the station, the train had left.it left before I arrived
- When I got to the station, the train left.I arrived, then it left
when, while, by the time
- when + a short event: When the alarm went off, I was still asleep.
- while + an action in progress: While I was cooking, someone knocked at the door.
- by the time + past perfect in the other part: By the time the police arrived, the thieves had escaped.
Do you always need the past perfect?
No. If the order is already clear (with before, after, or simply by telling events in order), the past simple is fine:
- After I finished work, I went to the gym.the order is clear from after
Use the past perfect when you go back in time from the point the story has reached.
Common mistakes
When I arrived, they already left.If they left before you arrived: they had already left.I was knowing the answer.Know is a state verb: I knew the answer.While I walked home, I was seeing an accident.The long background action is continuous and the short event is simple: While I was walking home, I saw an accident.I had gone to Mexico in 2019.With no earlier point in the story, use the past simple: I went to Mexico in 2019.
Practice
- I _____ a shower when the doorbell rang.Options: was having · had · have had
Show the answer
was having — The shower was in progress (background) when the short event happened.
- By the time we got to the cinema, the film _____.Options: had started · started · was starting
Show the answer
had started — By the time: the film started before we arrived, so the past perfect.
- _____ I was waiting for the bus, I met an old friend.Options: While · During · By the time
Show the answer
While — While + an action in progress (was waiting).
- Which sentence means she arrived after the meeting ended?Options: When she arrived, the meeting had finished. · When she arrived, the meeting finished. · When she arrived, the meeting was finishing.
Show the answer
When she arrived, the meeting had finished. — Had finished: the meeting ended before she arrived.
- We couldn't get in because I _____ (forget) my keys at the office.
Show the answer
had forgotten — Forgetting the keys happened earlier than not being able to get in.
More on this topic: Talking about the past: English past tenses