Narrative Tenses

Past Simple

An action in the past in the specific time (last

Past Continuous

To describe the scene or a background to a story

Past Perfect Simple

Past actions that took place before the main past

Past Perfect Continuous

Past actions in progress that took place before the

Cris’s car crashed because he was driving too fast and he

Used to + verb

Habits and states that took place in

STATES: USE ONLY WITH USED TO + verb

Examples:

+ I used to travel when I was younger.
- I didn’t

Would + verb

Habits that took place in the past but do

COULD or WAS/WERE ABLE TO

the possibility of doing something in the

USE ONLY! WAS/WERE ABLE TO

to talk about success in achieving something

MANAGE TO/SUCCEED IN

ability or success in achieving (or not achieving) something

MUST/HAVE TO

MUST in the past -> HAD TO
use when there is

could/may/might have + V3/ed

use could have/may have/might have to talk about

must have + V3/ed

use must have + past participle to express

should have + V3/ed

use should have/shouldn’t have to talk about regrets,

INVERSION WITH ADVERBIAL PHRASES

No sooner... than
Not only…, (but) also
Not until…
Such… that…
So

Ex. No sooner had I arrived at the station than the

Ex. Only by working hard we can succeed.
Ex. Hardly had