Narrative Tenses: Past Simple, Past Continuous, Past Perfect

• We use narrative tenses to tell stories and describe past incidents in sequence. They show background actions, main events, and actions that happened earlier.
• Tense
• Use
• Example
• Past Simple
• Main completed actions in chronological order
• The driver called dispatch right after the crash.
• Past Continuous
• Background action in progress at a specific time
• Rain was falling heavily when the car cut in front.
• Past Perfect
• An action that happened before another past action
• The state trooper had already arrived before I phoned.
• Remember
• Use the past continuous for an ongoing background activity that was interrupted by a short action.
• Use the past simple for single completed past actions or a list of events in order.
• Use the past perfect to make clear that one action finished before another action in the past occurred.
• Examples
• The trucker was driving south on I-95 when another rig swerved.
• By the time the fleet manager called back, the driver had secured the scene.
• When the dispatcher answered the line, the driver reported that a vehicle had rear-ended the trailer.
• Common mistakes
• While I drove on I-95, the airbag deployed suddenly.
• While I was driving on I-95, the airbag deployed suddenly.
• The state trooper arrived after the driver called already.
• The state trooper arrived after the driver had already called.

Complete the sentences

• When the state trooper arrived, the driver (place) ____ the warning triangles behind the rig.
• The dispatcher (notify) ____ the safety department right after receiving the emergency call.
• While the trucker (drive) ____ through Baltimore, heavy rain started to fall.
• Before the insurance company called, the fleet coordinator (download) ____ the dashcam footage.
• The airbag (deploy) ____ when the vehicle hit the barrier on I-95.
• At 3 PM yesterday, the agent (review) ____ the incident report in the Chicago office.

Sources: photo by PNW Production on Pexels