Narrative Tenses Practice
Narrative Tenses Practice
Narrative Tenses Practice
Procedure
Focus
Give each student a copy of the two-page worksheet. Students
Narrative tenses: past
begin by reading a short story and choosing the correct forms of
simple, past continuous,
verbs to practice four narrative tenses.
past perfect, past perfect
continuous Exercise A - Answer key
Make one copy of the Students then match the four narrative tenses to their descriptions.
two-page worksheet for
each student. Exercise B - Answer key
Intermediate (B1) Next, students use prompts to create sentences using the
narrative tenses.
1. decided 5. picked
2. had been planning 6. drove
3. had never been 7. stopped
4. were 8. were standing
A. Read the short story and choose the correct forms of the verbs.
being a small house in the suburbs with small windows. While we (6) were walking / had
walked around the house, I (7) noticed / was noticing how dark and depressing it (8) was
/ had been. I (9) was always living / had always lived in a house with a lot of light and big
windows, so I instantly (10) hated / was hating it. We (11) saw / had seen a few more houses
after that which were all quite nice. We (12) ended / had ended up buying the second house
that we (13) visited / were visiting. We (14) had been seeing / had seen it twice before we
(15) bought / had bought it, just to be sure. I (16) had been dreaming / was dreaming of this
day for a long time. Now, we have moved in. I'm really happy.
1. ........................................ is used for an action that took place before another action or
2. ........................................ is used for an action in the past that was in progress before
C. Use the prompts to create sentences using the four narrative tenses.
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2. While / I / do my homework / my sister call me
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3. She / take a cooking lesson only once / before / she cook for me
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4. I / buy a new laptop / after / I use my old one for years
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5. The stylist / already cut the girl's hair / before / she / change her mind
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6. By the time my guests arrive / I already start eating
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D. Complete the first part of the story using the verbs below in their correct form.
Then, continue the story using the four narrative tenses and your own ideas.
America before, so we (4) .......................... both really excited about the trip ahead. We (5)
.......................... up the rental car from the airport and (6) .......................... it out on to
the highway. After a few hours of driving, we (7) .......................... at a gas station. While we
(8) .......................... outside the gas station, a long black limousine pulled up next to us. ..
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