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Telling a story people want to hear

Structure and the past tenses that make a story clear.

15 minutes · A free lesson from Stories, opinions and small talk

Tense Use Example
past simple the main events, in order I ran to the ticket office.
past continuous the background, interrupted I was waiting for the bus when…
past perfect what had happened earlier I had left my phone at home.

Lesson quiz

Check what you have learned. Choose an answer to see whether it is right, and why.

Quick check: Which tense says what had happened earlier?

  1. The past perfect: “I had left my phone at home.”
  2. The past simple: “I ran to the ticket office.”
  3. The past continuous: “I was waiting for the bus.”
Show the answer

A: The past perfect: “I had left my phone at home.” — The past perfect steps back to before the main events.

Quick check: Which tense gives a background that is interrupted?

  1. The present simple
  2. The future
  3. The past continuous: “I was waiting for the bus when…”
Show the answer

C: The past continuous: “I was waiting for the bus when…” — The past simple then tells the event that interrupted it.

Quick check: What is the last step of a story?

  1. Setting the scene
  2. How you felt, or what you learned
  3. The problem
Show the answer

B: How you felt, or what you learned — Since then, I always…

Practise: telling a story in the past
Marked as soon as you finish — free with an account.Practise now
Practise: tell a story
Marked as soon as you finish — free with an account.Practise now

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