Writing your story using the past continuous

 

*When you write a story, use time linkers such as:

-when

When I returned, Harry wasn’t there.

-while

While you were looking for your glasses, I heard a noise in the yard.

-as soon as

As soon as my friend heard it, he said, “No way! We’ll get in trouble!

Also, use adverbs such as:

-suddenly

Suddenly, we heard a strange noise.

-luckily

Luckily, I found a taxi quickly.

-unfortunately

We went downstairs, but unfortunately, the lights weren’t working.

*Have a look at these two stories. One is about a suspenseful anecdote, and the other one is an account of a trip. You can find the features mentioned above in both texts.

They are marked as follows:

Completed actions in the past - Actions in progress in the past - Time linkers -

Useful adverbs

SUSPENSE NARRATIVE

Last weekend my brother Quentin and I went on a day trip to the forest near our town. While we were walking, we saw a small lake and stopped to have lunch there. We were very hungry! We were eating our sandwiches when suddenly it started raining. Unfortunately, Quentin and I didn’t have umbrellas with us, so we decided to leave. While we were running in the rain, I saw a small house. Quentin was cold, so we went into the house. There was nobody there, but it was nice and clean. When the rain stopped, we got up to leave. We closed the door of the house when a man arrived. We didn’t want to talk to him, so we ran away and didn’t look back.

TRIP NARRATIVE (by way of a postcard)

Dear ALL,

This is my last day on the island.

Yesterday was very sunny so I spent all day on a beach called Lady’s Smile and I had a wonderful time. I was swimming for a few hours when suddenly, the sky became cloudy. Before long, it started raining. The people there said that rain is common for this time of the year, but I was sorry I had to stop swimming.

Later, I met my friends and we went to a restaurant to have fish. Delicious! While we were eating, some musicians were playing the guitar and singing. Everyone was so polite and friendly, that I felt like home. The owner of the restaurant gave us some traditional dessert for free, which was fantastic.

I think, this was the best vacation of my life.

Jake

 

*Before telling your own story you can answer questions like the ones below and get the substance you need.

When did the story happen? OR When did you go there?

Where were you?

Who were you with?

What was the weather like?

What were you/other people doing?

What happened?

What did you/other people do?

How did you feel?

What happened in the end?

 

 

 

Taken from

Mitchell, H. Q. (2008). LETS SPEED UP STUDENTS BOOK (Vol. 3). pp 59 & 61. MM PUBLICATIONS / EMPRESER.

Adapted by H.J.A.S