Tell a past event without mixing up the tenses

For a past event, the map of your talk can be: when and where, what happened, what happened in the end? This is not a text to memorise but a support for gathering your thoughts.

For the main part of the event, Past Simple is used: went, met, decided. For an action in progress in the background, Past Continuous can be useful: We were waiting when…

Instead of adding “and then” to every sentence, also show the reason and the result.

Last winter, I missed the last bus after a class. I was waiting outside when a classmate offered me a lift. We talked on the way home, and that was how we became friends.

The time, the problem and the result are clear. Because a past event is being told, there is no switch to the present tense without a reason.

Prepare three short notes for the topic “Describe a time when someone helped you”:

• the situation
• the help
• the result

Then tell the story from your notes. Don't memorise full sentences in advance.