Integrated Listening & Speaking Skills
  • Review: Past Narrations & Descriptions

    • Review: Past Narrations & Descriptions

    Simple, Progressive, and Perfect
    Accurately narrating and describing events in the past is one of the markers of advanced language use. Although at your level you have control over the basics, it is always good to review and to practice the variations of past narrations and descriptions to improve your fluency and accuracy.

    Objectives

    1. Understand the difference between the three major aspects of past
    2. Use time and aspect changes to relate detailed narrations
    3. Combine narration and description to create paragraph-length ideas

    Tense & Aspect Review

    When we talk about narrations in terms of grammar and language, there are two very important vocabulary words: tense and aspect. These two concepts give us different, but essential, information about the story we are listening to. 

    Grammar Vocabulary

    Tense
    tells us WHEN in time a verb occurred. Think of this as a timeline.
    Aspect
    adds information by telling us HOW that verb happened. Did it occur over time? Or in one specific moment?
    At this stage in your language learning, the basic aspects of past should be natural for you. You may still occasionally make mistakes with ed pronunciation or with an irregular past tense verb, but you are accurate overall. Instead of focusing this lesson on how to use these verbs, we will practice other aspects of speaking in the past.

    Simple Past

    We use simple to talk about an action that occurred in one specific moment in time in the past OR that was a habit or routine occurrence. The simple past uses -ed ending for regular verbs (start = started), while some verbs are irregular and change forms for the past (drive = drove).

    Examples

    I presented my ideas to my supervisor. (specific moment in the past)

    The mail typically arrived at 4:30pm last year. (habit or routine in the past)

    She did not (didn't) practice the piano yesterday. (negative specific event in the past)

    Did he get the job? (yes/no question in the simple past)

    When was the product released? (wh- information question in the simple past)

    Regular past -ed endings can be pronounced three different ways.
    dtid

    L - call

    B - rob

    M - trim

    N - clean

    R - offer

    G / J - damage

    V - love

    S - use

    W - follow

    Y - play

    Z - amaze

    (Th) - bathe

    (any vowel sound)

    P - help

    K - look

    SS - kiss

    C - dance

    X - fix

    Sh - wash

    Gh / F - laugh

    Ch - watch 

    (Th) - mouth

    T - want

    D - need

    Past Progressive

    We use progressive to talk about an action that occurred over time. Often this verb is interrupted by a simple past verb. The past progressive uses the be verb in the past + the verb in the -ing form.

    Examples

    The phone was ringing. (ongoing action)

    I missed the meeting because I was presenting at a conference. (ongoing action which was "interrupted" by another action in the past)

    He was not (wasn't) watching the game. (negative ongoing action in the past)

    Were you considering the idea? (yes/no question in the past progressive)

    Where were they filming the commercial? (wh- information question in the past progressive)

    Past Perfect

    We use perfect to talk about an action that was already completed in the past. We use this when we are telling a story in the past, but we want to indicate that one action happened before this point in the story. The past perfect uses had + the past participle.

    Examples

    I had seen paintings more beautiful than the ones in the museum. (comparison of all the moments before that point in the story)

    The voters had made their decision before the debate. (completed before)

    She hadn't studied English before she came to the ELC. (negative comparison of all the moments before that point in the story)

    Had the meeting started when you arrived? (yes/no question in the past perfect)

    Who had experienced an earthquake before this one? (wh- information question in the past perfect)

    Exercise 1: Listen & Speak

    Watch this video and listen for the simple past and past progressive verbs. Then click below to listen again with the transcript. The past verbs are bolded to help you focus on listening for the examples.

     

    Transcript

    Interviewer: So, John you got to spend time here.

    John: Absolutely! Yeah.

    Interviewer: Now, is it correct... do we

     need to apologize? Were we not that welcoming to you?
    Emily: No!
    John: No. Most people are so welcoming. Um... customs agents, not so much. I'm sure customs is pain for everyone, right? It's a bit of like, "Oh, I've got somewhere to be." No? You guys love it?
    Interviewer: They live here! It's quite easy to get in. You just walk through.
    John: I'm in the line of 1800. No. I went up to... when she was shooting, I was shooting something in Montreal, so I flew back to see the kids and my wife. And I remember going through customs, and everything was fine. And then one week I just got unlucky and there was a guy about my age... seemed a bit grumpy... and he said, "Let me see." He said,"Are you an actor?" And I said, "Yeah." He goes, "What do I know you from?" And I said, "I don't know if you'd know. I mean, we did the American version of your British Office." Strike one. "Oh? I love that show... the UK version." I was like, "I get it. I get it." And then he said, "Who are you visiting? I said, "My wife." And he said, "Is she an actress?" And I said, "Yeah." He said, "Would I know her?" I said, "I don't know." And he said, "What's her name?" And I said, "Emily Blunt" as he was writing something. And he went, "You? You?" And I'm like, "Yeah." He goes, "Alright. Get out of here." He like stamped my passport in fury.
    Emily: John, also, I did encourage him that he would be welcome more if he stopped wearing a baseball cap. Because I just said, "You look so American!"
    John: That makes it better! You're so American! Take off your baseball cap!
    Emily: I just wanted you to blend in a bit.
    John: That's just called prejudice is what that is. 
    Emily: So he went out and bought himself a tweed flat cap. No! He looked awesome!
    Interviewer: Was that good?
    Emily: He looked like something out of a Guy Ritchie film! You looked great. And he walked down the street, and it was like the sun came out! Because suddenly a guy turned him and went, "Alright."
    John: What does that say about your country? That it's just like, "Well, if you just lose the baseball cap and get a flat cap..."
    Emily: Just wear tweed! That's what that says.

    Speaking Practice

    • Tell the two stories in your own words. Try to use a combination of regular and irregular past tense verbs as well as some past progressive sentences. 
    • Watch the video and try to read the transcript at the same speed as the speakers telling the stories.

    Exercise 2: Did you hear it?

    Watch this video to practice listening for past narrations. Make a list of examples of simple, progressive, and perfect past verbs as you listen.

     

    Exercise 3: Family Event

    Tell a partner about a recent family event you attended. Provide details and try to use the three different aspects in your answer.

    Find a new partner and tell that person about the family event your partner shared.


    Exercise 4: Video Summary

    Watch this animated video. Practice narrating the story using a combination of tense and aspect.

     


    Exercise 5: Interview

    In this activity, you will practice interviewing someone.

    1. Create a list of questions as a class about someone's past.
    2. The teacher will choose a student to be the first "famous person" to interview.
    3. Each student in the class will ask a question to interview their classmate.
    4. After everyone has asked a question and you have listened to the classmate's answer, the teacher will choose a new student to be interviewed.

    Exercise 6: Speaking Prompts

    Prompt 1 - Personal

    Talk about a "first day" experience. You can talk about your first day in a new job, at a new school, or in a new place. Include as many details as you can about the experience. Remember to organize the events clearly and to tell the story in the past. Try to use a variety of verbs and aspects of the past.

    Prompt 2 - Personal

    Talk about your most recent birthday. Include as many details as you can about what you did, who you were with, and how you felt on that day. Remember to organize the events clearly and to tell the story in the past. Try to use a variety of verbs and aspects of the past.

    Prompt 3 - Personal

    Share a funny experience. Include as many details as you can about the experience and why it was funny. Remember to organize the events clearly and to tell the story in the past. Try to use a variety of verbs and aspects of the past.

    Prompt 4 - Community

    Talk about an event you recently attended in your community. Include as many details as you can about the experience. Try to talk about the event and your community in general, rather than talking about your specific experience. Remember to organize the events clearly and to tell the story in the past. Try to use a variety of verbs and aspects of the past.

    Prompt 5 - Work

    Share an experience from work when you solved a difficult problem. Include as many details as you can about what caused the problem and the process of solving it. Remember to organize the events clearly and to tell the story in the past. Try to use a variety of verbs and aspects of the past.

    Prompt 6 - Academic

    Think about an important event or person in your field of study (ex. the life of a scientist, the discovery of a new species, or the invention of a new technology). Narrate a story about that event or person and include as many details as you can. Remember to organize the events clearly and to tell the story in the past. Try to use a variety of verbs and aspects of the past.


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