Narrative tenses for storytelling
Write and tell engaging stories with the full range of narrative tenses, time linkers and techniques like flashback and suspense.
In this lesson you will
- Use all four past tenses in a narrative
- Create flashbacks and suspense
- Use advanced time linkers
Learn
Past simple moves the story forward; past continuous sets scenes and interrupted actions; past perfect creates flashbacks; past perfect continuous explains situations: She had been dreading this meeting for weeks.
Suspense: delay information, use short sentences, and verbs of perception: Something moved. She froze. Then she heard it again.
Advanced linkers: no sooner… than, hardly… when, the moment (that), just as, as soon as, by the time, meanwhile, eventually: *No sooner had I sat down than the phone rang.*
Future in the past: was going to / would: I was going to call you, but I forgot. Little did she know that she would never return.
Examples
- Just as I was leaving, the phone rang.
- She had been living abroad for years, so the city felt strange.
- The moment he opened the door, he knew something was wrong.
- I was going to tell you, but the time never felt right.
Vocabulary
flashback
a scene from an earlier time
suspense
a feeling of excitement about what will happen
dread
be very worried about something in the future
freeze
suddenly stop moving (froze)
meanwhile
at the same time
In real life
Read the opening of a short story.
The last train had already left by the time Mara reached the station. She had been running for ten minutes and her lungs were burning. Rain was hammering on the roof, and the platform was empty — or so she thought. Just as she turned to leave, a voice behind her said her name. She froze. Nobody in this town knew who she was. At least, nobody was supposed to.
Practice
Why were Mara’s lungs burning?
Speaking
Continue Mara’s story aloud for 90 seconds. Use a flashback (past perfect), at least two advanced linkers and a moment of suspense.
Writing
Write a short story (180–220 words) that begins with: “The last train had already left.”
- ☐ All four past tenses
- ☐ A flashback
- ☐ Suspense techniques
- ☐ Two advanced linkers
Lesson quiz
Hardly had we arrived ___ it started raining.
Review
Key points
- Simple, continuous, perfect and perfect continuous in stories.
- Flashbacks and suspense.
- no sooner… than, hardly… when, just as, the moment.
- was going to / would for future in the past.
What you learned
- ✓ I can write engaging narratives.
- ✓ I can create flashbacks and suspense.
- ✓ I use advanced linkers.
Grammar reference: Past perfect, Past continuous, Inversion for emphasis