Narrative tenses · Tempos narrativos
Telling a story
- Good storytelling uses several past tenses together.
- Past simple (events), past continuous (background), past perfect (the earlier past).
- Each tense plays a different role in the timeline.
While I was looking for my notes, I realised the dog had been studying them.
Contando uma história
- Boas histórias usam vários tempos passados juntamente.
- Past simple (eventos), past continuous (fundo), past perfect (o passado mais antigo).
- Cada tempo tem uma função diferente na linha do tempo.
Enquanto eu procurava minhas anotações, percebi que o cão estava estudando-as.
Events and background
- Past simple = the main events, one after another.
- Past continuous = what was already happening (the scene).
- The sun was shining when we left. She was cooking when the phone rang.
Eventos e fundo
- Past simple = os principais eventos, um depois do outro.
- Past continuous = o que já estava acontecendo (a cena).
- O sol brilhava quando saímos. Ela estava cozinhando quando o telefone tocou.
What is each tense doing in the story? · O que cada tempo está fazendo na história?
Past simple = events; past continuous = background; past perfect = earlier. · Past simple = eventos; past continuous = fundo; past perfect = anterior.
Choose the background action: The sun ___ when we left. · Escolha a ação de fundo: The sun ___ when we left.
Background scene → past continuous: “was shining”. · Cena de fundo → past continuous: “was shining”.
The earlier past
- Past perfect (had + past participle) = something that happened before.
- When we arrived, the film had already started.
- It shows which event came first.
O passado mais antigo
- Past perfect (had + particípio passado) = algo que aconteceu antes.
- Quando chegamos, o filme já tinha começado.
- Mostra qual evento veio primeiro.
Complete: When we arrived, the film had already ___ (start).
Earlier action → past perfect: had + started. · Ação anterior → past perfect: had + started.
Putting them together
- Background → past continuous; events → past simple; earlier → past perfect.
- Together they make the order of a story clear.
Juntando-os
- Fundo → past continuous; eventos → past simple; anterior → past perfect.
- Juntos, eles tornam a ordem de uma história clara.
Do we use the past continuous for the background scene of a story? · Usamos o past continuous para a cena de fundo de uma história?
Yes — past continuous sets the scene; past simple gives the events. · Sim — past continuous estabelece a cena; past simple dá os eventos.
Translate into English: 我们到时,电影已经开始了。 · Traduza para inglês: 我们到时,电影已经开始了。
Earlier action → past perfect: “… the film had already started.” · Ação anterior → past perfect: “… the film had already started.”
Common mistakes
- ❌ When the phone rang, she cooked dinner. (she was mid-task) → ✓ she was cooking dinner.
- ❌ She had finished the report, then she had sent it. → in-order events → past simple.
- ❌ It was the first time I saw snow. → ✓ …the first time I had seen snow.
Erros comuns
- ❌ When the phone rang, she cooked dinner. (ela estava no meio da tarefa) → ✓ ela was cooking dinner.
- ❌ She had finished the report, then she had sent it. → eventos em ordem → past simple.
- ❌ It was the first time I saw snow. → ✓ …the first time I had seen snow.
Match the storytelling job to its tense. · Combine a função narrativa com seu tempo verbal.
was doing sets the scene, did drives the plot, had done jumps back, had been doing stresses duration. · was doing estabelece a cena, did move a trama, had done salta para trás, had been doing enfatiza duração.
Complete: The sun ___ shining when we left. (be)
Background weather → past continuous: was shining. · Clima de fundo → past continuous: was shining.
- Past simple = events; past continuous = background scene.
- Past perfect = the earlier of two past actions.
- Mix them to tell a clear, layered story.
- Past simple = eventos; past continuous = cena de fundo.
- Past perfect = o mais antigo entre duas ações passadas.
- Misture-os para contar uma história clara e camada por camada.
Begin a short story. Write one sentence that uses two past tenses (for example, past continuous + past simple). · Comece uma história curta. Escreva uma frase que use dois tempos passados (por exemplo, past continuous + past simple).
Example: “I was walking home when I saw an old friend.” · Exemplo: “I was walking home when I saw an old friend.”