Narrative tenses Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs

in brackets.

1 We (sit) on the beach when it

(start) to rain.

2 Simon (give back) the money he

(borrow) a week earlier.

3 While I (shop) in the market, my purse

(steal).

4 I (not can send) any emails yesterday

because my computer (crash).

5 While he (travel) in central Africa,

Michael (catch) malaria.

6 When I (wake up), a man

(stand) next to me, asking me my name.

7 When Paula (read) the book, she

(lend) it to me.

8 Sonia (hit) by a car when she

(cycle) to school.

9 We (carry on) the rest of our journey as

soon as we (fill up) the car with petrol.

10 I (stand) there for hours when at last it

(be) my turn at the front of the queue.

11 Frank (know) he (make) a

terrible mistake as soon as he (see) the

message ‘file deleted’.

12 When I (open) the curtains this morning,

I (realize) it (snow) all night.

1. We were sitting on the beach when it started to rain.
Explanation: The action of sitting on the beach happened before the action of starting to rain. Both actions happened in the past, so we use the past continuous tense ("were sitting") for the first action and the past simple tense ("started") for the second action.

2. Simon gave back the money he had borrowed a week earlier.
Explanation: Simon borrowed the money in the past, and then he returned it a week later. Since both actions happened in the past, we use the past simple tense ("gave back" and "borrowed").

3. While I was shopping in the market, my purse was stolen.
Explanation: The action of shopping happened before the action of the purse being stolen. Both actions happened in the past, so we use the past continuous tense ("was shopping") for the first action and the past simple tense ("was stolen") for the second action.

4. I couldn't send any emails yesterday because my computer crashed.
Explanation: The action of the computer crashing happened before the action of not being able to send emails. Both actions happened in the past, so we use the past simple tense ("crashed") for the first action and the past simple tense ("couldn't send") for the second action.

5. While he was traveling in central Africa, Michael caught malaria.
Explanation: The action of traveling happened before the action of catching malaria. Both actions happened in the past, so we use the past continuous tense ("was traveling") for the first action and the past simple tense ("caught") for the second action.

6. When I woke up, a man was standing next to me, asking me my name.
Explanation: The action of waking up happened before the action of the man standing next to me. Both actions happened in the past, so we use the past simple tense ("woke up") for the first action and the past continuous tense ("was standing") for the second action.

7. When Paula read the book, she lent it to me.
Explanation: The action of reading the book happened before the action of lending it. Both actions happened in the past, so we use the past simple tense ("read") for the first action and the past simple tense ("lent") for the second action.

8. Sonia was hit by a car when she was cycling to school.
Explanation: The action of being hit by a car happened while the action of cycling to school was in progress. Both actions happened in the past, so we use the past simple tense ("was hit") for the first action and the past continuous tense ("was cycling") for the second action.

9. We carried on the rest of our journey as soon as we filled up the car with petrol.
Explanation: The action of filling up the car with petrol happened before the action of carrying on the rest of the journey. Both actions happened in the past, so we use the past simple tense ("filled up") for the first action and the past simple tense ("carried on") for the second action.

10. I had been standing there for hours when at last it was my turn at the front of the queue.
Explanation: The action of standing there happened before the action of it being my turn at the front of the queue. Both actions happened in the past, so we use the past perfect continuous tense ("had been standing") for the first action and the past simple tense ("was") for the second action.

11. Frank knew he had made a terrible mistake as soon as he saw the message 'file deleted'.
Explanation: The action of knowing happened after the action of making a mistake but before the action of seeing the message 'file deleted'. All actions happened in the past, so we use the past simple tense ("knew" and "saw") for all three actions. We also use the past perfect tense ("had made") to indicate that the mistake happened before Frank knew about it.

12. When I opened the curtains this morning, I realized it had been snowing all night.
Explanation: The action of opening the curtains happened before the action of realizing it had been snowing all night. Both actions happened in the past, so we use the past simple tense ("opened" and "realized"). We also use the past perfect continuous tense ("had been snowing") to indicate that the snowing started before the curtains were opened and continued until that moment.