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

Speaking: Storytelling & Narrative Skills A2 - Lesson 2

Recounting a Simple Past Event (e.g., "My weekend")

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.

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A Model Story: My Last Weekend

A common type of story is to recount¹ a past event. To do this, we must use Past Simple verbs. Let's look at a story about a student's weekend in Siem Reap.

"Last weekend² 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 met⁴ 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 read⁵ a book. It was a great weekend."

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Your Storytelling Toolkit

1. recount (an event): to tell a story about something that happened in the past: ការរៀបរាប់ពីព្រឹត្តិការណ៍ ↩
2. last weekend: the Saturday and Sunday before this week: ចុងសប្តាហ៍មុន ↩
3. yesterday: the day before today: ម្សិលមិញ
4. meet / met: to see and talk to someone / the irregular past tense of meet: ជួប / បានជួប ↩
5. read / read: to look at and understand words / the irregular past tense of read (pronounced "red"): អាន / បានអាន ↩
6. go / went: to move from one place to another / the irregular past tense of go: ទៅ / បានទៅ
7. eat / ate: to consume food / the irregular past tense of eat: ញ៉ាំ / បានញ៉ាំ

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record_voice_over Pronunciation Focus: Past Tense Verbs

Remember to use the correct pronunciation for past tense verbs.

• Regular Verbs (-ed): Remember the three sounds: /t/ (helped, walked), /d/ (stayed, played), and /ɪd/ (wanted, needed).
• Irregular Verb "read": This is a special word. The spelling is the same in the present and past, 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)

lightbulb Structuring Your Past Story

To tell a good story about the past, follow these steps.

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 (regular or irregular).

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

sports_esports Practice Your Storytelling

Activity 1: Change to Past Tense

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

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 what you did last weekend. Use sequencers to tell your partner three things that you did. Your partner must listen and ask one follow-up question.

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

task Your Storytelling Mission

This week in Siem Reap, 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. Tell your story to a friend or classmate.