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Narrative Tenses

Past Perfect · Past Simple · Past Continuous in storytelling
About this worksheet
Exercises practising Narrative Tenses. Total: 32 points. Vocabulary from the B2 word bank is used throughout.
Type or tap your answers, then submit at the bottom to see your score and review.
Exercise 1
Which narrative tense?
8 points
Tap the correct form.
1
It was a grey morning. Commuters were rushing / rushed / had rushed through the departure lounge.
2
When the journalist arrived / was arriving / had arrived, investigators were already there.
3
The entrepreneur realised she had made / was making / made a serious error the previous year.
4
While the team celebrated / was celebrating / had celebrated their win, the coach gave a speech.
5
By the time the new data privacy laws were introduced, companies already shared / had already shared / were already sharing user data for years.
6
The redundancy notice arrived / was arriving / had arrived without warning on a Monday morning.
7
She was working / worked / had worked on the algorithm for three hours when the system crashed.
8
Once the company had addressed / was addressing / addressed its carbon footprint, investors returned.
Exercise 2
Complete the narrative
12 points
Use the verb in brackets in the most appropriate narrative tense.
1
The entrepreneur (sit) in her office when she first (read) about automation.
2
By the time the redundancies (begin), the workforce (already / sense) something was wrong.
3
While the protest (take place) outside, directors (hold) an emergency meeting inside.
4
The investigation (reveal) that the company (violate) data privacy laws for years.
5
She (land) a major contract after she (spend) months building her network.
6
The sustainability report (show) that carbon emissions (rise) steadily for a decade.
Exercise 3
Write a short narrative
8 points
Write 4–6 sentences about a professional turning point. Use all three narrative tenses. Include a past perfect for background, past continuous for setting, past simple for main events.
1
Exercise four — Production
Write original sentences using the target structure. Feedback appears automatically as you type.
Scoring: full marks for correct structure · partial for present but imperfect · zero for absent.
1
Write a narrative sentence that correctly combines past perfect continuous with past simple.

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