Learn how to use narrative tenses, used to, and would in English storytelling. Clear B2 grammar explanations and practical exercises to improve your writing and speaking.
Narrative Tenses: Talking About the Past
We use narrative tenses to tell stories or talk about things that happened in the past in a clear order. These tenses help us show what happened first, what was going on at the same time, and what happened after that.
The four main narrative tenses are:
- Past Simple: for actions that are finished or main events.
- Past Continuous is used for actions or situations that are still going on in the background.
- Past Perfect is used for actions that happened before another action in the past.
- Past Perfect Continuous is used for actions that started before a past time and are still going on.
Examples:
- I woke up, had breakfast, and left for work. → (past simple: main events in order)
- It was raining when I left the house. → (past continuous: background action)
- By the time I arrived, the train had left. → (past perfect: earlier past action)
- She had been waiting for an hour when the bus finally came. → (past perfect continuous: duration before another event)
“Used To” and “Would”: Repeated Past Actions or States
We use “used to” and “would” a lot to talk about things we did over and over again in the past or habits that aren’t true anymore.
Used To
We use used to + infinitive to describe:
Repeated past actions
Past states (situations that were true in the past but not now)
Examples:
- I used to play the piano when I was a child.
- She used to live in London, but now she lives in Paris.
- We didn’t use to like spicy food.
You can use used to for both actions and states.
Would
We use would + infinitive to describe:
Repeated or habitual actions in the past
Not for states or situations
Examples:
- Every summer we would go camping by the lake.
- My grandfather would tell us stories by the fire.
- When I was a child, I would always get up early on Sundays.
Don’t use would for states:
I would live in London when I was a child.
I used to live in London when I was a child.
| Function | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Past events in sequence | Past Simple | I went to school and met my friends. |
| Background actions | Past Continuous | I was reading when he called. |
| Actions before another past action | Past Perfect | They had eaten before the guests arrived. |
| Duration before a past event | Past Perfect Continuous | She had been working for hours before lunch. |
| Past habits or states | Used to + base verb | I used to play football. |
| Repeated past actions | Would + base verb | We would visit our grandparents every summer. |
Common Mistakes
Incorrect: I would be tired after work. → (Incorrect: “would” can’t describe a state here)
Correct: I used to be tired after work.
Incorrect: I used to went to school by bus.
Correct: I used to go to school by bus.
Quick Tip
When telling a story, mix up the tenses:
When I was a child, I used to spend my weekends at my grandparents’ farm. My grandpa would tell me stories while my grandma was baking bread. They had been living there since they got married.
