Language Focus

Writing a narrative paragraph Narrative Tenses Reported SpeechAdverb Clause of Time

Narrative TensesPast Simple & Past Progressive Past Perfect Simple & Past Perfect Progressive

Past Simple vs. Past Progressive

•Main event in the story

•Complete action [result is not important]

•Past state

•Background story

•Progress at a particular time in the past

Past Simple

Main event in the story

Brin and Page met at Stanford in 1995. They founded Google in 1998.

Past Simple

Complete action

Messi scored a hat trick in the last game.

Past Simple

State, situation, feeling in the past

They liked each other and became good friends.

Past Progressive

Background story

She was watching the nightly news when there was a knock on the door.

✖

== was watching ==

was

Past Progressive

Progress over a period of time in the past

They were building a town over the summer.

Past Perfect Simple vs. Past Perfect Progressive•Event beginning

before the time talked about in the past

•3rd conditional

•Event beginning before the time talked about in the past

•Repeated events up to a moment in the past

Past Perfect Simple

Event beginning before the time talked about in the past

The ship had sailed by the time we arrived.

I thought you had heard the news.

1st event 2nd event

2nd event 1st event

Past Perfect Simple

Third conditional [past unreal]

If + past perfect, would have + V3

If I had studied hard in high school, I would have had the scholarship. [The fact is I didn’t

study hard in high school, hence no scholarship]

Using Past Perfect Simple with Past Simple

Earlier event

By the time I arrived home, Kitty had gone to bed.

Reason or background of past event, often used with because

She was late because she had forgotten to set up an alarm clock.

Past Perfect Progressive

Event began and kept on going before the time talked about in the past

When I came to the meeting, they had been discussing a new strategy. [The discussion

was happening and stopped before I came in]

Discussion had happened before and been going until I came in

Past Perfect Progressive

Repeated events up to a moment in the past

I had been going to the gym for months before the race. [Use past perfect progressive to indicate the repeated action. The action

stopped before the race.]

Past Perfect Simple & Progressive

Use either Past Perfect Simple or

Progressive

some verbs e.g. live, play, wear, work

Daniel had played/been playing football for

quite some time.

Reported Speech Writing a narrative paragraph

Direct Speech vs. Reported Speech•Direct speech

“We will have a test next month” said the teacher.

•Reported Speech

The teacher said that we would have a test the following month.

Reported Speech

To report what was said at a later time

A conversation took place on Monday.

“Are you going to the library?” Jack asked Jill

The conversation was ‘reported’ to other person on Tuesday

Jack asked Jill whether she was going to the library.

Reporting Verb

•Verb we use to introduce the report

Jill: We should leave now.

Jill said that they should leave now.

Jack: It is going to rain.

Jack told Jill that it was going to rain.

Say vs. Tell

•Say is followed by “that” clause

Jill: Jack, we need to go now.

Jill said [to Jack] that they needed to go now.

•Tell is followed by an indirect object

Jill: Jack, we need to go now.

Jill told Jack that they needed to go now.

From Direct to Reported Speech

Pronoun Change

Tense Change

Time & Place Expression Change

Reporting clause: that | if/whether | wh-word

Pronoun change

Jack: “I have a headache”.

Jack said that he had a headache.

Jill: “You should see a doctor.”

Jill told Jack that he should see a doctor.

Jill asked Jack “Will you have lunch with me?”

Jill asked Jack if he would have lunch with her.

“I lost my phone” Jack shouted

Jack shouted that he had lost his phone.

•Tense is changed into ‘more past’

Tense change

•Exception : no change for

Past Perfect

No tense is ‘more past’ than Past Perfect

Could | Would | Should | Might

Jack: Jill, could you hold the cat?

Jack asked if Jill could hold the cat.

Jill said “I am going to the market today.”

Jill said that she was going to the market that day.

Jack: “I will take a driver’s license test tomorrow.”

Jack mentioned that he would take a driver’s license test the following day.

•Past : last ... >> previous ...|... before

•Future >> the following ....

Change of time & place expression

•When it is a statement, add “that”

“Your English is good” The teacher said to Jill.

The teacher told Jill that her English was good.

Jack: Jill, you should have a part-time job.

Jack told Jill that she should have a part-time job.

Reporting clause

•When it is a yes/no question, add “if/whether”

Jill: Do you want to come along?

Jill asked if Jack wanted to come along.

•When it is a wh-question, use the same wh-word

Jack: What should I bring?

Jack wondered what he should bring.

★Pay attention - put the subject before the verb

Time

Time

Time

Time

Adverb Clause

What is it?

An adverb clause is used to modify the main clause

It may answer the question

Why

When

How

Forming Adverb Clauses

•A subject + a verb

•Dependent clause

Needs to be with a main clause

Otherwise, it causes ‘fragment’

Punctuation

•In general, use a COMMA [,]

When an adverb clause begins the sentence

While I was studying, it started to rain.

I realized that I forgot my cell phone when I left the house. [no comma]

Main clause

Subordinating conjunction

Adverb clause

Structure

Complex Sentence - Adverb Clause

•When I arrived, everyone had left.

When >> subordinating conjunction

When I arrived >> adverb clause

Everyone had left >> main clause

★Adverb clause CANNOT stand alone

Adverb Clause of Time

•Adverb clause <<<time>>> - explains the time/duration when the main clause happens

Answer the question ‘when’

When it does not rain for a long time, drought happens.

When does drought happen?

•After drought has happened for a long time, famine ensues.

When does famine ensue?

Famine ensues >> main clause

After drought has happened >> adverb clause >> it answers the question ‘when’

When?

Subordinating Conjunction

When, before, after

Whenever

As soon as

As, while [usually with progressive]

Since

Until

Reducing Time Clause

•Can reduce a time clause when the subjects in both clauses are the same

•Omit the subject, and use -ing

While I was studying, I felt hopeful and determined. [same subject in both clauses]

While studying, I felt hopeful and determined.