What Are Narrative Tenses? - The Books Issue

Narrative tenses are the verb tenses that we use to talk about past events and to tell stories. They are used to make an anecdote more interesting. They are:

·        Past Continuous: to introduce the context of a story or an event in the story.

·        Past Simple: to describe the main events in the story.

·        Past Perfect : to go back in the past to previous events.

Example of narrative tenses in use: 

“When Rob opened the door he noticed the window curtains were blowing. He entered very slowly, looked carefully around the room as he walked in. Clearly someone else had been there.”

• Exercise: Complete the following fragment of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice's Adventures in Wonderland”, with one tense from the box.

thought      -    was beginning   -   had    -  could  -      was reading had peeped   -  ran       -       made  -        was considering

CHAPTER I. Down the Rabbit-Hole

Alice ..............................to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she ................................ into the book her sister.................................., but it ...........................no pictures or conversations in it, 'and what is the use of a book,' ....................................Alice 'without pictures or conversation?'

So she ............................... in her own mind (as well as she..................................., for the hot day ......................................her feel very sleepy and stupid), whether the pleasure of making a daisy-chain would be worth the trouble of getting up and picking the daisies, when suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes .....................................close by her.

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