Hi in today's lesson you will learn about the narrative tenses in English. We use narrative tenses to talk about the past. We can use them to tell a story or to describe past events including personal anecdotes. The four narrative tenses are the past simple, past continuous, past perfect and past perfect continuous. So let's see an example of a story using these four tenses.
The sun was shining. Here we're using the past continuous to set the scene. I got in my car. Here we use the past simple for a completed action in the past.
It had been raining. Here we're using the past perfect continuous to describe Something that has been happening before we got in the car over a period of time. And finally, all my washing had got wet.
Here we use the past perfect to describe an action that was completed before I got in the car, before another action in the past. In exams, if you're asked to write a story, It's important that you demonstrate that you can use all of these narrative tenses correctly. So let's look at them one by one so you are clear on which tense to use.
So firstly the past simple. We can use past simple for actions that started and finished in the past. So completed actions.
For example, a series of events in someone's life. Andy Murray grew up in Dunblane and began playing tennis at the age of three. In 2004, he became the world's number one junior after winning the US Open Junior title.
The past simple is also often used in stories and dialogues too. Sam whispered, did you hear the argument last night? Fred didn't answer.
Your brother went out last night. He didn't come back. Moving on to the past continuous.
We use the past continuous for background information and to describe a scene or situation that continued for some time. Or an action in progress in the past. For instance, at 8pm, Lee was still sleeping.
This action continued for some time. It's setting the scene. Or the dog was barking loudly.
Again, this action continued for some time and gives you background information. So, let's now look at the form. So it's the subject plus was or were and the ing form of the verb. For example, I was working. You were working.
He, she or it was working. We and they were working. In the negative it becomes wasn't and weren't and the ing form of the verb.
So now let's look at how these tenses work together. We often use the past simple and the past continuous together when one action interrupts another. For instance, I was walking on the pavement when I saw a cat in a tree.
Imagine a timeline. So this is the past and we have I was walking. Here, which is a longer action in the past.
Which was. interrupted by the short completed action I saw. Here it's represented by the cross. We also often use the past simple and past perfect together in a sentence to describe an action that happened before another action in the past. When Paul arrived I had cooked a meal.
Again thinking of our timeline, ask yourself which action happened first? And that goes in the past perfect. So I cooked the meal and then Paul arrived.
So we use had cooked. and arrived. The past perfect for the action, the earlier action and the past simple for the following action. The form is I had plus the past participle of the verb.
Had is the same for all subjects. So you had, he, she, it had, we had, they had, etc. In spoken English we usually use the contracted form of had. I'd, you'd, he'd, she'd, it, we'd, they'd.
In the negative we say hadn't plus the past participle and again it's the same for all subjects. Finally let's look at the past perfect continuous. We use this tense to describe an action that started in the past and continued up until another time in the past.
So it's an action that takes place over a period of time. So let's think back to my original story, my original example of the narrative tenses. It had been raining. It started raining in the past up until I got in the car. Let's look at the timeline.
It's like the past perfect tense but is happening over a period of time. It happens before and over a period of time up until and I got into my car or another action in the past. So let's look at the form. So you have the subject plus had been and the verbs present participle which is the in form of the verb and it's the same for all subjects. So I have a challenge for you.
Write a sentence using a combination of narrative tenses in the comment section down below. And I promise, promise to give you feedback on what you write. So that's it for now.
I hope you feel more confident using the narrative tenses in English and therefore writing stories and anecdotes and things like that. Remember to like this video if you found it useful, share it with your friends and colleagues learning English and subscribe to my channel Oxford English Now so you don't miss out on any new English language videos. Bye bye, take care and see you very soon.