Narrative Tenses

When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth

100

Last year I ------ (spend) my holiday in Ireland.

Last year I spent my holiday in Ireland.

200

Which tense do we use to set the scene of a story?

Past Continuous

300

I told John not to drive because he ------- (drink) all night.

Past Perfect Continuous

I told John not to drive because he had been drinking all night.

400

When she ------ (open) the door, she ------ (pretend) that we weren´t there and she ------ (go) to her room.

Past simple

When she opened the door, she pretended that we weren´t there and she went to her room.

500

Which narrative tense is used to talk about repeated actions from earlier in the past?

Past Perfect Continuous

Name that cereal

100

I ------ (not/drink) any beer last night.

I didn´t drink any beer last night.

200

We often ------ (go) to the bar for a drink before dinner.

Past Simple

We often went to the bar for a drink before dinner.

300

He really ----- (like) sport, and ------ (be) very fit.

Past simple

He really liked sport, and was very fit.

400

Last night, I -------- (walk) home and -------- (listen) to my ipod when....

Past Continuous

Last night, I was walking home and listening to my ipod when...

500

I realised that I ------ (be) there before.

Past Perfect

I realised that I had been there before.

70s disco music

100

Which narrative tense is used to talk about actions in progress in the past? (Or longer actions interrupted by interrupted by shorter actions in past simple).

Past Continuous

200

She told me she ----- always -------- (hate) her sister.

Past Perfect

She told me she had always hated her sister.

300

When she opened the door, we -------- (talk) about her.

Past Continuous

When she opened the door, we were talking about her.

400

Which narrative tense do we use with stative verbs to talk about states or situations that had started earlier in the past? (We often use how long, for, since, always...)

Past Perfect

500

The burglar ----- (try) to open the safe when he ----- (hear) the owner come in.

Past Continuous

The burglar was trying to open the safe when he heard the owner come in.

History of Canada

100

Why did you change the channel? I ------ (watch) that movie.

Past Continuous

Why did you change the channel? I was watching that movie.

200

Which narrative tense is used to talk about past events in chronological order?

Past Simple

300

Which tense do we use to talk about earlier events and experiences, or single actions completed earlier in the past?

Past Perfect

400

We ------ (drive) 500 miles and we needed some rest.

Past Perfect

We had driven 500 miles and we needed some rest.

500

I couldn´t believe it. She --------- (write) a letter everyday for over a year.

Past Perfect Continuous

I couldn´t believe it. She had been writing a letter every day for over a year.

Guess the tiktok

100

He admitted that he ------- (take) all the money from the box.

Past Perfect

He addmitted that he had taken all the money from the box.

200

When he entered the room somebody ------ (hit) him in the head.

Past Simple

When he entered the room somebody hit him in the head.

300

I was very angry. I -------- (wait) for him in the cold, and he didn´t call to say he´d be late.

Past Perfect Continous

I was very angry. I had been waiting for him in the cold, and he didn´t call to say he´d be late.

400

I knew he ------ (cry) because his eyes were red.

Past Perfect Continuous

I knew he had been crying because his eyes were red.

500

Which narrative tense do we use with dynamic verbs to talk about longer continuous actions that started earlier in the past than the main events of the story?

Past Perfect Continuous