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Grammar lesson: Telling a story or anecdote

Watch a recording of our live lesson to learn about narrative tenses and practise using them to tell a true story.

Date

30 May 2023

What is the event about?

This live event is a free lesson for learners studying English: Conversations – telling a story or anecdote.

In this lesson, listen to Jo telling a true story about a surprising experience! Then watch the grammar explanation and learn some vocabulary for sequencing and linking actions in stories. Finally you can write your own short, true story. Why not share it on this page for others to read? 

 

Average: 5 (4 votes)
Profile picture for user Mariana C

Submitted by Mariana C on Fri, 23/02/2024 - 14:20

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Hi
Thanks for the lesson. It is very important for my learning

Submitted by mashka10 on Tue, 18/07/2023 - 07:52

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I am not getting any information

Submitted by User_1 on Tue, 30/05/2023 - 15:17

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Hi Jo,
Thanks for your lesson.
Please, could you tell me if I used the narrative tenses correctly?

The story is about a particular day.
It happened when a group of friends decided to go to the beach together.
It was a beautiful July day, with no clouds in the sky.
While they were looking for the right place for their 3-year-old child, sleeping on the couch, they remembered the day before, while they had been driving to the city, the car had broken.
So, how could they get to the sea? It was unthinkable to miss such a beautiful day and stay at home.
Meanwhile, they were thinking about that, the baby was dreamed of riding a motorcycle, so once awake he said: "Daddy, why don't we go to the beach on the motorbike?"

They had bought it a few months ago, while they had been searching for an alternative way to the car to travel.
So this idea came to their mind, and in the end they found a way to reach the beach and spend a beautiful day together.

Thanks a lot for your help.

Hi User_1,

I'm pleased to read that you attended the live lesson, and I hope you found it useful. 

You've used the past continuous, past simple, past perfect simple and continuous really well, and I can see that you've used sequencing and linking words too, as we talked about in the lesson.

I would just suggest an alternative to the sentence that begins 'Meanwhile...'

While they were thinking about that, the baby was dreaming of riding a motorcycle, so once he woke up he said ...

Thanks for sharing your story - I really enjoyed reading it!

 

Best wishes,

Jo (LearnEnglish team)