IELTS Grammar Topics

When we tell stories or anecdotes about our past experiences we tend to use 4 past tenses, the past simple, past continuous, past perfect and past perfect continuous.

Past simple: I went, she did, he saw, you asked, we walked, they gave, etc.

Past continuous: I was eating, she was walking, they were talking etc.

Past perfect: I had finished, you had arrived, they had talked, etc.

Past perfect continuous: I had been eating, she had been reading, he had been running

Past Simple

The past simple is used to describe the main events in the story. The majority of the time you will use the past simple when telling stories.

The past simple will move the story forward in time. You describe the first event followed by the second event and then the third event, and so on.  Each event takes your story a step forward. This is the easy way to describe a past experience.

For example:

Past continuous

The past continuous describes what’s happening around these main events. The main event is described in the past simple, while the background, or what is happening around this event, is described with the past continuous. This means that the past continuous is very important to add detail and colour to the story.  It tells the listener what was happening around the main events.

Let’s go back to my past simple story and add some background with the past continuous.

Past perfect

The past perfect is used to go further back in time. If you begin by describing an event in the past, and then you need to describe something that happened before it (further in the past), you should use the past perfect.

It's often used to go further into the past to explain what caused the situation. So for example, in my story I could use the past perfect to say why the woman woke up late. 

The past perfect shows that she had forgotten to set an alarm further in the past, before she woke up late.

Maybe she woke up late for another reason, such as, she had stayed up late watching a series, or she had slept very badly.

Past perfect continuous

Finally, we have the past perfect continuous. The past perfect continuous tells us that something happened further in the past and continued happening until the moment in the past where we were in our story previously.

For example in my story, you could say:

This tells us that the woman had been sleeping deeply continuously until the moment when she woke up.

Or, you could also say:

Exercise 1:

Now let's use all of these narrative tenses to complete the story about this woman.

Choose the right narrative tense for each verb.

Last Friday, she ___________(wake up) really late because she ___________(forget) to set an alarm, and she ___________(oversleep). She ___________(rush) to the bathroom, but she ___________(can) get in because her sister ___________(take) a shower. She ___________(try) to find some clean clothes, but she ___________(can) because she ___________(do) any washing for several days. She ___________(leave) the house and ___________(run) to the bus stop and when she ___________(arrive), there was a crowd of people there. It seemed like they ___________(wait) for a long time. 

Exercise 2:

Complete the sentences using the verbs in brackets and decide on the correct narrative tense form.

1. I decided to start working much harder at school when I was 14 years old. Until then, I ___________ (not make) any effort in my school studies.

2. When I was a kid, I ___________ (play) football with my friends every Sunday afternoon.

3. This happened while I ___________ (study) at university.

4. As soon as I walked into the room I could tell that she ___________ (cry).

5.  I picked up a small stone and ___________ (throw) it at the window.

6. She asked me if I ___________ (see) the movie.

7. I suddenly realised that I ___________ (leave) house keys at work.

Exercise 3:

Choose between the past perfect and past perfect continuous. Sometimes both are possible so choose the most suitable for the context.

1. By the time we arrived at the party, most people ___________ (leave).

2. I ____________ (study) for hours when I finally took a break.

3. They __________ (play) tennis for an hour when it started raining.

4. He __________ (already/eat) breakfast when I called him.

5. I __________ (never/be) to Italy before I went last year.

6. He __________ (wait) for the bus for 30 minutes when it finally arrived.

Exercise 4:

Fill the gaps in the following story with the most appropriate tense (past simple/ past continuous/ past perfect).

I (get) at the airport at 10am. My flight (be) at 1pm so I wasn’t in a rush. I (locate) the check-in desk and (join) the queue to check in luggage. It looked like everyone (wait) for a long time. There were only two airline employees (work) at the desks so the queue (move) slowly. When it was finally my turn, I (can) find my passport anywhere! I realised that I (leave) it on the table in the kitchen. The night before I (take out) my passport to check-in online, and I (forget) to pack it in my bag afterwards. I immediately (call) a friend who lived in my neighbourhood, and begged him to bring my passport to the airport as quickly as possible. Fortunately, he (agree) to water my house plants while I was away, so I (give) him a set of keys to enter the house. He (find) my passport on the table and (rush) to the airport. Luckily, he (be) at home when I called, so he (be able) to arrive at the airport in time, and I could get on the plane!

Activity:

Think of a time you had a problem while travelling. It could be when you were driving somewhere, or travelling by bus, plane or boat.

Describe the events in 150 to 200 words. Try to include at least one instance of the past continuous and two instances of the past perfect in your story.