Storytelling four stories Monologue
A.- Present perfect and past simple. A.1.- Time up to now. Present perfect for actions which have happened in your life before now. These are often experiences. It isn't important exactly when these things happened. Conversations which begin like this in the present perfect usually continue in the past simple as the speaker adds details: - I've been to Málaga. - Really? Where did you go? - He's played in an Indie band. - What were they called? We often use the adverbs ever and never with the present perfect: - We've never been to Malta. - Have you ever been to the Santiaguera bar? A.2.- Recent events. Use the present perfect to talk about events which happened a short time ago. We often use the adverbs just, yet and already: - I've just finished his book. It was brilliant. - We've already eaten. - Have you done your homework yet? - We've seen a lot of Jude recently. A.3.- Present perfect or past simple? Use the past simple to talk about a specific event which happened at a specific time, at some time in my life up to now. We don't know when: - I've been to Valencia. We use past simple for a specific occasion and date: - We went to Valencia in 2002. B.- Narrative tenses. Past simple. Use the past simple for states and actions in the past. We often specify the time when they happened: I left the university in 1996. He didn't know the way to Sal's house. Past continuous. Use the past continuous to talk about the background information for a story. Use the past simple to talk about the main events. As I was walking through the park, the sun was shining and the birds were singing. Suddenly, I heard a loud noise. Often the past continuous action is interrupted by another action (in the past simple): I was having a bath when the phone rang. We can use conjunctions like as and while to talk about two actions which were happening at the same time: While I was reading the paper, I watched the women buying vegetables in the market. Past perfect. Use the past perfect to make it clear that one action happened before the other. I didn't have any money because I had lost my wallet. When before or after is used in the sentence it's already clear which action comes before the other, so we can use the past simple instead of the past perfect. She had lived in London for five years before she moved to New York. We often use the past perfect with 'thinking' verbs like remember, realise, think, discover, find out, etc... When I got to the school, I realised I'd left my books at home.
A.- Present perfect and past simple. A.1.- Time up to now. Present perfect for actions which have happened in your life before now. These are often experiences. It isn't important exactly when these things happened. Conversations which begin like this in the present perfect usually continue in the past simple as the speaker adds details: - I've been to Málaga. - Really? Where did you go? - He's played in an Indie band. - What were they called? We often use the adverbs ever and never with the present perfect: - We've never been to Malta. - Have you ever been to the Santiaguera bar? A.2.- Recent events. Use the present perfect to talk about events which happened a short time ago. We often use the adverbs just, yet and already: - I've just finished his book. It was brilliant. - We've already eaten. - Have you done your homework yet? - We've seen a lot of Jude recently. A.3.- Present perfect or past simple? Use the past simple to talk about a specific event which happened at a specific time, at some time in my life up to now. We don't know when: - I've been to Valencia. We use past simple for a specific occasion and date: - We went to Valencia in 2002. B.- Narrative tenses. Past simple. Use the past simple for states and actions in the past. We often specify the time when they happened: I left the university in 1996. He didn't know the way to Sal's house. Past continuous. Use the past continuous to talk about the background information for a story. Use the past simple to talk about the main events. As I was walking through the park, the sun was shining and the birds were singing. Suddenly, I heard a loud noise. Often the past continuous action is interrupted by another action (in the past simple): I was having a bath when the phone rang. We can use conjunctions like as and while to talk about two actions which were happening at the same time: While I was reading the paper, I watched the women buying vegetables in the market. Past perfect. Use the past perfect to make it clear that one action happened before the other. I didn't have any money because I had lost my wallet. When before or after is used in the sentence it's already clear which action comes before the other, so we can use the past simple instead of the past perfect. She had lived in London for five years before she moved to New York. We often use the past perfect with 'thinking' verbs like remember, realise, think, discover, find out, etc... When I got to the school, I realised I'd left my books at home.