Speaking: Storytelling & Narrative Skills A2 - Lesson 2: Recounting a Simple Past Event (e.g., "My weekend")

Speaking: Storytelling & Narrative Skills A2

Recounting a Simple Past Event

What you will learn: By the end of this lesson, you will be able to tell a simple, well-structured story about a past event using the Past Simple tense and time sequencers.

A Model Story: My Last Weekend 📝

To recount a past event, we use Past Simple verbs. Let's look at a story about a student's weekend and analyze its parts.

"Last weekend was very relaxing. On Saturday morning, first, I helped my parents at our shop. It was busy, but it was fun. Then, in the afternoon, I met my friends and we went to a café. We drank coffee and talked for about two hours. On Sunday, I didn't do much. I just stayed home and read a book. It was a great weekend."

Your Storytelling Toolkit 🧰

To tell a good story about the past, you need three things.

1. Set the Scene

Start with a time phrase to tell your listener WHEN the story happened.
Examples: "Yesterday...", "Last weekend...", "On Saturday morning..."

2. Use Past Tense Verbs

All your action words must be in the Past Simple tense. Remember both regular (-ed) and irregular verbs.
Examples: helped, stayed, went, ate

3. Use Sequencers

Use words like First, Then, After that, and Finally to show the order of events clearly.

Pronunciation Tip

🗣️ Pronouncing Past Tense Verbs

• Regular Verbs (-ed): Remember the three sounds: /t/ (helped, walked), /d/ (stayed, played), and /ɪd/ (wanted, needed).
• Irregular Verb "read": The spelling is the same, but the pronunciation changes.
  • Present: "I like to read /riːd/ books." (long 'ee' sound)
  • Past: "Yesterday, I read /rɛd/ a book." (short 'e' sound, like the color red)

Practice Your Storytelling 🎯

Activity 1: Change to Past Tense

Change these present tense sentences to the past tense using the time phrase.

1. I go to a café. (Yesterday)
   → "Yesterday, I went to a café."
2. She watches a movie. (Last night)
   → "Last night, she watched a movie."
3. We eat noodles for lunch. (On Tuesday)
   → "On Tuesday, we ate noodles for lunch."

Activity 2: Tell Your Weekend Story

Work with a partner. Think about your last weekend. Use sequencers to tell your partner three things you did. Your partner should listen and ask one follow-up question.

You: "First, I helped my mother. Then, I met my friends. Finally, I did my homework."
Partner: "Oh, cool. Where did you meet your friends?"

Key Vocabulary

• recount (Verb) | ការរៀបរាប់
  To tell a story about something that happened in the past.
• last weekend / yesterday (Time Phrases)
  The Saturday and Sunday before this week / the day before today.
• go → went (Irregular Verb) | ទៅ → បានទៅ
• eat → ate (Irregular Verb) | ញ៉ាំ → បានញ៉ាំ
• read → read (pronounced /rɛd/) (Irregular Verb) | អាន → បានអាន
• meet → met (Irregular Verb) | ជួប → បានជួប

Your Storytelling Mission ⭐

This week, your mission is to tell a short, true story about your past.

Think about what you did yesterday. Prepare a short story (3-4 sentences). Use at least two past tense verbs and two sequencers (e.g., "First... Then..."). Tell your story to a friend or classmate.