Tell a story with a backstory
I can build a story where some events explain what happened next.
Declared core time. Two of the core blocks carry no figure at all, so the real lesson is longer than this sum.
Grammar
14 minIn B1 #1 the Past Perfect stood in one sentence next to the Past Simple. A real story is longer, and three past tenses work in it at once. Each has its own role, and if you mix them up, the listener stops understanding what happened after what.
The form — all familiar. Past Simple (A2 #1): I left, I didn't leave. Past Continuous (A2 #2): I was leaving, They were talking. Past Perfect (B1 #1): I had left.
Which tense does what:
| tense | role | which question it answers | example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Past Simple | the chain of events | what happened next? | I got up, had breakfast and left. |
| Past Continuous | the background, a process at that moment | what was going on around? | It was raining, people were hurrying to work. |
| Past Perfect | the backstory | what had happened before this? | I had forgotten my umbrella. |
It helps to imagine a story as a film. The Past Simple moves the plot: each new event is the next shot. The Past Continuous is the scenery — what was already going on when the shot began. The Past Perfect is a short look back: what happened before this scene and why it is the way it is.
How to find the point of the story. Ask yourself: which moment am I telling about now? Everything that happened at this moment and after it is the Past Simple. Everything that was already going on at this moment is the Past Continuous. Everything that finished before it is the Past Perfect. The point moves with the plot, so the same event is in the Past Simple at the start of a story, and a paragraph later it is remembered in the Past Perfect.
Conjunctions that hold the order:
| conjunction | meaning | example |
|---|---|---|
| when | at the time that | When I got home, my sister had made dinner. |
| after | later than the moment that | After I had finished the report, I went home. |
| before | earlier than the moment that | I checked the windows before I left. |
| as soon as | right after the moment that | As soon as I saw the time, I jumped up. |
| by the time | not later than the moment that | By the time we arrived, the shop had closed. |
After after and before the Past Perfect is not necessary: the conjunction itself says what came first. After I finished the report, I went home is just as correct as with had finished. With as soon as both verbs are usually in the Past Simple: one event comes straight after the other.
by the time almost always needs the Past Perfect in the main part. It means "not later than the moment when…", and the main event had already finished by that moment: By the time we arrived, everyone had left.
Compare three answers to the question of what my sister did when I came home:
| When I got home, my sister made dinner. | I came in — and then she started cooking. |
| When I got home, my sister was making dinner. | she was in the middle of cooking |
| When I got home, my sister had made dinner. | dinner was already ready |
One beginning, three stories. Only the tense of the verb makes the difference.
The rule of measure. The Past Perfect is there to step back, not to stay back. In a long backstory it goes in the first sentence or two, and then the story moves to the Past Simple — the order is already clear:
I had met Anna years before, in Edinburgh. We worked in the same café and shared a flat. Then she moved to Canada, and we lost touch.
The order of the parts is free. English often starts with the result and then explains the reason: I couldn't get in because I had lost my keys. If the part with the conjunction comes first, it is followed by a comma: By the time we arrived, the shop had closed.
Don't say this. ✗ After I had finished, I had gone home → ✓ After I had finished, I went home. The later event is the point of the story itself, so it takes the Past Simple.
Check yourself. What does When I got home, my sister had made dinner mean: did she start cooking while you were there, or was dinner already on the table? Do you need the Past Perfect in After I ___ (finish), I went home? Which tense usually goes in the main part after by the time?
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Common learner errors
written for your languageby the time when
✗ By the time when we arrived, the shop had closed
✓ By the time we arrived, the shop had closed
Spanish (para cuando llegamos) and Chinese (…的时候) build this phrase with the word for "when", so learners add when. In English by the time already contains the "when".
The Past Simple instead of the background
When I came in, everybody sat at the table and talked means: I came in, and then everyone sat down at the table and started talking. If you meant that they were already sitting and talking, you need ✓ everybody was sitting at the table and talking. German, Dutch and the Scandinavian languages have one simple past for both meanings; in English they are two different tenses.
The Present Perfect in the backstory
✗ I couldn't get in because I have lost my keys
✓ I couldn't get in because I had lost my keys
The keys are lost, so have lost seems right, but the story looks back from a moment in the past, not from now: the perfect of a story is had.
The Past Perfect in every sentence of the backstory
I had met Anna in Edinburgh. We had worked together. We had shared a flat… This is not an error, but the story becomes heavy, and a native speaker does not write like this. Learners of every language want to use a new form wherever the story is about "earlier". The first sentence with had is enough; after it — the Past Simple.
Pronunciation
4 minA long sentence is divided into groups of meaning, with a short pause between them:
By the time I got to the office ‖ the meeting had already started. I had set my alarm for half past six ‖ but I hadn't heard it.
The pause comes at the border between the parts, usually where there is a comma or a conjunction in writing. There is no pause between the subject and the verb.
At the end of the first part the voice goes up a little — this is the sign "more to come". It falls only at the end of the whole sentence. If you let your voice fall after By the time I got to the office, the listener will think you have finished.
had in a backstory is weak — /həd/, and after a pronoun just /d/: I'd set my alarm /aɪd ˈset maɪ əˈlɑːm/.
Text
5 minBy the time I got to the office on Monday, the meeting had already started. It was not a good beginning to my first week in a new job.
I had set my alarm for half past six, but I hadn't heard it. The night before, I had worked on my presentation until two in the morning and had fallen asleep on the sofa with my laptop on my knees. When I finally woke up, the sun was shining and the birds were singing. It was ten to nine.
As soon as I saw the time, I jumped up, put on yesterday's shirt and ran to the bus stop. It was raining hard, and of course I had left my umbrella at the office on Friday.
When I opened the door of the meeting room, everyone turned round. My new manager was standing by the board, and somebody had already written half of the plan on it. I said sorry and sat down.
After the meeting had finished, my manager asked me to stay. I expected the worst. But she just smiled and said, "Don't worry. On my first day here, I came to work in my slippers."
Exercises
30 min1. Gap fill.
- By the time I (get) to the office, the meeting (start)
- When I came in, my colleagues (discuss) the new project
- I (not / hear) my alarm because I (work) until two
- It (rain) hard, and I (leave) my umbrella at the office the day before
- As soon as she (see) the time, she (jump) up
- When we got to the party, most of the guests (already / go) home
- While I (wait) for the bus, I (realise) that I (leave) my phone at home
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2. Multiple choice.
- we got to the cinema, the film had already started. (by the time / as soon as)
- I saw the message, I called her back. (as soon as / by the time)
- I always check the windows I leave the house. (before / after)
- she had paid the bill, she left the restaurant. (after / before)
- I opened the door, the dog ran out into the street. (when / by the time)
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3. Join two sentences
- The shop closed. + We arrived. (by the time)
- I finished the report. + I went home. (after)
- Everyone left. + The police came. (by the time)
- She read the instructions twice. + She started. (before)
- The guests went home. + I finished the washing-up. (by the time)
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4. Error correction.
- By the time when we arrived, the shop had closed.
- After I had finished, I had gone home.
- When I came in, she was cooked dinner.
- I couldn't get in because I have lost my keys.
- By the time we got there, the shop has closed.
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5. Rewrite, starting with the result.
- I lost my keys, so I couldn't get in.
- She forgot her passport, so she missed the flight.
- We didn't book a table, so we had to wait.
- He worked all night, so he was exhausted.
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6. Expand the prompt into a full answer
- Why was the street wet? (it / rain / in the night)
- Why didn't you recognise Tom? (he / grow / a beard)
- Why was Anna so happy? (she / pass / her driving test)
- Why were you late for the meeting? (I / miss / the bus)
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7. Say it in English.
Each line tells what happened in simple steps. Say it in one sentence, with the tenses of this lesson. 1) Everyone left. We arrived later and found nobody there. 2) I came in. At that moment everyone was at the table, in the middle of a conversation. 3) I saw the message and phoned him straight after it. 4) I worked until two in the morning, and for that reason I didn't hear my alarm.
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Summary
Covered: three past tenses in one story, when, after, before, as soon as, by the time, the rule of measure, the order "result — reason". Next — lesson 3: the exact border of the perfect.
End of the core
The lesson counts as done once the exercises are done. Everything after this is optional.
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Vocabulary for your deck
15 words- alarm /əˈlɑːm/ a clock or phone sound that wakes you up
- set /set/ to put a clock or a machine to the right time or level (set an alarm)
- presentation /ˌpreznˈteɪʃn/ a talk in which you show information to a group
- fall asleep /ˌfɔːl əˈsliːp/ to start sleeping
- wake up /ˌweɪk ˈʌp/ to stop sleeping
- jump up /ˌdʒʌmp ˈʌp/ to stand up very quickly
- umbrella /ʌmˈbrelə/ a thing you hold over your head in the rain
- turn round /ˌtɜːn ˈraʊnd/ to turn your head or body to look behind you
- board /bɔːd/ a flat surface on a wall that you write on in a meeting or a class
- colleague /ˈkɒliːɡ/ a person you work with
- manager /ˈmænɪdʒə/ a person who runs a team, a shop or a company
- as soon as /əz ˈsuːn əz/ right after the moment that
- finally /ˈfaɪnəli/ at last, after a long time
- expect the worst /ɪkˌspekt ðə ˈwɜːst/ to think that the worst thing will happen
- lose touch /ˌluːz ˈtʌtʃ/ to stop talking or writing to someone
Writing
Six to eight sentences — a story about a morning or a day that went wrong. You need all three tenses: the chain of events, the background and the backstory.
Example
By the time I got to the airport, they had closed the check-in desk. I had left home early, but there had been an accident on the motorway. While we were sitting in the traffic, I was checking the time every minute. When I finally ran into the terminal, the screen said "Gate closed". As soon as I saw it, I called my sister. She laughed and said, "Come and stay with us instead."
Checklist
Practise this lesson in the other sections
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