Lesson 11 · Lesson guide
Narrative Tenses — Past Simple, Continuous and Perfect
Hello, my dear student!
Welcome to Module 2! Its theme is work: jobs, careers and the world of employment. We start with grammar you need for every story about your life: the three narrative tenses.
In IELTS Speaking Part 2 you often describe a past event: your first job, a time you were late, a person who helped you. In Writing Task 1 you describe changes that finished in the past. To do this well, one past tense is not enough. You need the past simple for the main events, the past continuous for the background, and the past perfect for things that happened even earlier.
By the end of this lesson you will know which tense each part of a story needs, and you will hear the difference in Listening and see it in Reading.
See you in the exercises,Your teacher
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Three tenses in one story
Think of a story as a film: the main events, the background scene, and a flashback.
Main events
Past simple: what happened
Finished actions, one after the other: I got up, had breakfast and left for work.
- I joined the company in 2019.
- She opened the email, read it and smiled.
Background
Past continuous: what was going on
An action in progress at a past moment, often interrupted by a short action in the past simple.
- I was writing a report when the phone rang.
- At nine o’clock, everyone was working.
Flashback
Past perfect: what had happened before
had + past participle: an action before another past action or before a past time.
- When I arrived, the meeting had already started.
- By 2020, she had worked in four countries.
Remember!
Main events → past simple. Background → past continuous. Earlier → past perfect.
Words that link the events
when the phone rang
when + a short action (past simple)
while I was working
while + a long action (past continuous)
by the time I arrived
the other action → past perfect
had already left
already: before that moment
had never worked … before
experience up to a past moment
Common mistakes
Not: When I arrived, the meeting already started.Say: When I arrived, the meeting had already started.
The meeting started first → past perfect.
Not: I was knowing the answer.Say: I knew the answer.
Know is a state verb: no -ing form.
Not: I have met my boss when I was at university.Say: I met my boss when I was at university.
A finished time (when I was at university) → past simple.
Check yourself
“I was cooking when she called.” Which action was longer?
“When I got there, they had left.” Who moved first?
Which tense comes after “by the time + past simple”?
Now it’s your turn!
8 short parts, each a little harder than the one before. Take your time: mistakes are how we learn.
— Your teacher