Narrative Tenses
Prepared by Samantha Arias
What are narrative tenses?

Narrative tenses are the tenses we use in
a language to tell a story. They are all of
the forms in past that a person can
possibly use.
Simple Past
Use
Form
Affirmative
Negative
Interrogative
One time past
actions
Verb + ed
Or
Verb in past
form
I played soccer.
I went shopping.
I didn’t play
soccer.
I didn’t go
shopping.
Did you play
soccer?
Did you go
shopping?
I woke up (1) at half past seven yesterday, I had a shower (2) and ate some
breakfast (3). I left for work (4) at quarter past eight.
Remember that there are phrases and helpers in your sentence that
can help you identify the simple past tense. They are called Key Words.
Key Words:
Last
ago
in 1990
yesterday
Past Continuous
Use
Form
Affirmative
Negative
Interrogative
An action that
happens in the
middle of
another action
Was/ were +
verb + ing
I was playing
soccer.
I was going
shopping.
I wasn’t playing
soccer.
I wasn’t going
shopping.
Were you playing
soccer?
Were you going
shopping?
Something that
someone did at
a certain time
in the past
When I saw her (1), she was wearing (2) a blue dress and was driving (2) a Mercedes.
Key Words:
When
while
Present Perfect Simple
Use
Form
Affirmative
Negative
Interrogative
An action that
happens in the
past but
connects to the
present
Have / has +
verb in the
past
participle
I have played
soccer.
I have been
shopping.
I haven’t played
soccer.
I haven’t been
shopping.
Have you played
soccer?
Have you been
shopping?
An action that
started in the
past but
continued up to
the present
Key Words:
Already
yet
Since
for
just
still
recently
ever
so far
up to now
Present Perfect Continuous
Use
Form
Affirmative
Negative
Interrogative
An action that
happens in the
past and puts
emphasis on
the duration of
the action
Have / has +
been + verb
+ ing
I have been
playing soccer.
I have been
going shopping.
I haven’t been
playing soccer.
I haven’t been
going shopping.
Have you been
playing soccer?
Have you been
giong shopping?
An action that
started in the
past and may
have continued
to the present
Key Words:
All day
the whole day
Since
for
how long
•
Past Perfect Simple
Use
Form
Affirmative
Negative
Interrogative
An action that
happens in the
past before
another past
action
Had + verb
in the past
participle
I had played
soccer.
I had been
shopping.
I hadn’t played
soccer.
I hadn’t been
shopping.
Had you played
soccer?
Had you been
shopping?
The past of the
present perfect
I woke up (1) at half past seven yesterday. I had slept very badly (2)
because there had been a power cut (3) during the night.
Key Words:
Already
just
never
by the time
Past Perfect Continuous
Use
Form
How long
Had+ been +
something was verb + ing
happening
before
another past
action started
Affirmative
Negative
Interrogative
I had been
playing soccer.
I had been going
shopping.
I hadn’t been
playing soccer.
I hadn’t been
going shopping.
Had you been
playing soccer?
Had you been
giong shopping?
He looked very tired (1), he had been working very hard (2) over the past three
weeks.
Key Words:
How long
Since
for
Practice
Put the verb in brackets into the correct form in the gap AFTER the verb. Where
no verb is given, put one of the following linking words into the gaps.
While finally and although however as soon as but then before when
The Unlucky Burglar
One evening Paul (watch) ____________ the television ____________
(eat)____________ his supper ____________ the door suddenly (open)
____________ and a burglar (come) ____________ in. He (wear)
____________ a mask and (carry) ____________ a sack. ____________ doing
anything else he (tie) ____________ Paul to the chair. ____________ he went
upstairs to look for money. ____________ he (not find) ____________ any
money he (find) ____________ a lot of jewelry, which he (put) ____________
into his sack. In his rush to get downstairs he (not see) ____________ the dog (lie)
____________ at the bottom of the stairs, and he (fall) ____________ over it,
losing his glasses. ____________ the burglar (look for) ____________ them, Paul
(try) ____________ to free himself. ____________ Paul (manage)
____________ to escape and he (phone) ____________ the police.
____________ the burglar (find) ____________ his glasses he (run)
____________ out of the house. ____________ unfortunately for him, the police
(wait) ____________ for him at the end of the garden.
Expansion
Put the verb in brackets into the correct form. Where possible, use 'used to' and
'would'.
Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens ____________ (born) in 1812 in Portsmouth. The family
____________ (move) to London in 1823. When he was twelve he
____________ (work) in a blacking factory. He worked by a window facing the
street and passersby ____________ (pause) and watch him at work. Everyday he
____________ (trudge) through the London streets from Camden Town to
Southwark. His family ____________ (be) very poor. His mother ____________
(hope) to open a small school. While she ____________ (try) to do this, her
husband ____________ (send) to prison for being £40 in debt. When Charles
____________ (be) twenty-four, his first work, sketches by Boz, ____________
(publish). This ____________ (follow) by Pickwick Papers with which he
____________ (achieve) financial security and popularity. For the rest of his life,
work simply ____________ (pour) from his pen. He ____________ (die) of a
stroke in 1870.