quiz
intermediate englishProve your knowledge in the Arena

At the intermediate level of English, when telling short stories and fables, we use more elaborate structures, such as the Simple Past and the use of introductory phrases that help to start the story. A fable is a story that usually teaches a lesson or moral.

Let's understand this with an example:

Once upon a time, there was a brave knight. He lived in a small village and dreamed of becoming the greatest warrior in the kingdom. One day, a terrible dragon attacked the village. The knight decided to fight the dragon to save everyone. Armed with his sword and shield, he bravely faced the dragon. After a fierce battle, the knight defeated the dragon and became a hero. The villagers celebrated his victory, and he was rewarded with a large castle and gold.

In this example, we use Once upon a time, a common phrase to begin stories, especially fables. We use the Simple Past to narrate the events, such as was, lived, decided, and defeated, which indicate past actions.

In addition, the sequence of events structure helps to make the story clear and engaging.

At the intermediate level of English, when we talk about travel and tourism, we learn to use more complex structures to describe past and future experiences in detail.

Let's understand how to use the Simple Past to describe travel, as in the example:

Last summer, I went to Paris and visited the Eiffel Tower.

Here, we are using the Simple Past, which is used to talk about actions or events completed in the past. Went and visited are past tense forms of the verbs go and visit, respectively.

To make the story more interesting and detailed, we can include sequence words, such as:

First

Then

After that

At night

The next day

Example of a more elaborate text:

>Last summer, I went to Paris. First, I visited the Eiffel Tower. Then, I walked along the Seine River and saw many famous landmarks. At night, I went to a café and tasted some delicious French pastries.

Notice that by detailing the events, the sequence of actions becomes clearer. In addition, we can include adjectives to describe places and feelings, such as beautiful, amazing or incredible.