Use narrative, background, suddenly, meanwhile accurately in context
Read and discuss a topic-specific article at A2 level
Practise speaking fluently on telling stories in the past
Complete written exercises with vocabulary in context
Teaching Notes
Warm-up: allow 8-10 min, let personal answers develop
Article: read together or have students read silently first
Vocabulary match: good for pair work
Speaking: encourage full sentences, not one-word answers
Exit questions: 5-min closer, no prep needed
Timing Guide
Warm-up: 8 min
Article + comprehension: 12 min
Vocabulary + match: 10 min
Exercises: 10 min
Speaking + discussion: 15 min
Exit + recap: 5 min
Teacher Question Bank
Click Next Question to begin
A2 · Lesson 37 · Telling Stories in the Past
Narrative Tenses
Telling Stories in the Pastnarrativebackgroundsuddenly
Getting started
Warm-Up Questions
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Read & Understand
Article
Narrative Tenses
Good storytelling uses three past tenses together. The past simple carries the main events: 'The client called on Monday morning.' The past continuous sets the scene and background: 'We were finishing the final slides when the phone rang.' The past perfect shows what had already happened before: 'We realised we had sent the wrong version the night before.' Time words make the story flow naturally: 'At first, everything seemed fine. Then, suddenly, the system crashed. Meanwhile, the client was waiting. Eventually, we called IT support. In the end, we solved the problem — but not before the most stressful three hours of the whole year.'
💡 Did you know? The human brain is wired for narrative — we remember stories up to 22 times better than isolated facts. This is why case studies and anecdotes are so much more effective in presentations than bullet points of data.
Topic: Telling Stories in the Past
Key words
Vocabulary
01
narrative
a story or account of a sequence of events
02
background
the situation or context before the main events of a story
03
suddenly
very quickly and unexpectedly, without warning
04
meanwhile
at the same time as something else was happening
05
eventually
in the end, after a long time or many attempts
06
at first
in the beginning, before things changed later
07
in the end
after everything had happened, as the final result
08
realise
to suddenly become aware of something you did not know before
09
turn out
to happen in a particular way, often surprising
010
nightmare
something very difficult or unpleasant, like a bad dream
Match the Words
Click a word on the left, then click its definition on the right.
narrative
background
suddenly
meanwhile
eventually
at first
in the end
realise
turn out
nightmare
to suddenly become aware of something you did not know before
at the same time as something else was happening
very quickly and unexpectedly, without warning
to happen in a particular way, often surprising
in the beginning, before things changed later
after everything had happened, as the final result
something very difficult or unpleasant, like a bad dream
in the end, after a long time or many attempts
a story or account of a sequence of events
the situation or context before the main events of a story
Say it right
Pronunciation
narrative
NAR-rat-ive
background
BAC-kgr-ound
suddenly
SU-dd-enly
meanwhile
MEA-nwh-ile
eventually
EVE-ntu-ally
at first
AT first
Read & Discuss
Short Dialogue
A:
Hi! Can I ask you about narrative?
B:
Of course! I think narrative is very important.
A:
What about background? Do you use it often?
B:
Yes, I do. Background helps me a lot at work.
A:
And suddenly? Is that difficult for you?
B:
Sometimes. But I practise every day.
A:
That is great. What is your advice?
B:
Just be consistent. Small steps every day!
Comprehension
What does person A ask about first?
How does person B feel about background?
What is person B's advice?
Practice
Exercises
Gap Fill
Complete each sentence using vocabulary from today's lesson.
1. A good business explains what happened and why it matters.
2. Let me give you some before I explain what happened.
3. , the system crashed and we lost all the data.
4. , the rest of the team continued with the presentation.
5. , we found a solution at midnight.
Error Correction
Find and correct the mistake in each sentence.
She is know a lot about narrative.
We was discussing background yesterday.
He don't have enough suddenly.
They have spoke about meanwhile before.
Speaking practice
Speaking Prompts
Discuss with your partner
Tell your partner about a stressful or funny thing that happened at work. Use all three narrative tenses.
Describe a time when something went wrong on a project. What happened? How did it end?
Use these words to tell a two-minute story: suddenly, meanwhile, eventually, it turned out.
Summarise today's topic in 3 sentences using vocabulary from this lesson.
Grammar focus: Narrative tenses used together: Past simple for main events (The client called. ... — can you give an example?
Open discussion
Discussion Generator
More Questions
Use with pairs or whole class · Encourage full answers
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End of lesson
Exit Questions
Discuss in pairs — 5 minutes
Recap
Vocabulary
narrative, background, suddenly, meanwhile, eventually, at first, in the end, realise, turn out, nightmare
Article
Narrative Tenses — reading & comprehension
Practice
Gap fill, error correction, vocabulary matching
Speaking
Prompts, discussion generator
Homework
Write a narrative (8-10 sentences) about something that went wrong at work and how you resolved it. Use past simple, past continuous, and past perfect. Include time expressions.
