Past Tense - Series of Events: Focusing on a Series of Events in the Past

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Past Series

Focusing on a Series of Events in the Past

When talking about a series of events the focus is on the activity not duration.

What were the events and what happened first and what happened next?

Use past tense to report a series of events.
Use past perfect tense to emphasize an earlier event.

Sequence of Events – Jack's Day Dream

Jack dozed off.	Babes waved.	One winked.	He raced.	He heard a siren.	An officer followed.	He awoke.

dozed off = fell asleep
wink = communicating something by closing one eye quickly
siren = sound a police car makes when following
babes = very informal word for young women

Past vs. Past Perfect

PAST	PAST PERFECT
The past tense is used to report a series of events.	The past perfect tense is used to contrast two events in the past: earlier past from later past
Jack dozed off. (fell asleep)
Two "babes" (young women) in a Corvette waved at Jack.
They pulled up next to his car and one winked, which he understood as an offer to a race.	Jack had noticed the women in their Corvette, before they pulled along side of his car and challenged him to race.
He raced them down the highway.
He heard a police siren.
A highway patrol officer chased after him.	Jack had passed them at 120 mph, when he noticed the highway patrol behind him.
He awoke from his nap (daydream).	Jack awoke to find he had been dreaming.

Practice

Jack's Day Dream

Select the verb that best completes the sentence.
An asterisk (*) indicates an incorrect choice.

#	ANSWER	YOUR RESPONSE
1.	I an average guy,	am was
2.	so you can imagine my delight when two gorgeous babes at me.	smiled had smiled
3.	Was I going to ignore them? Not me, especially since my new, red Porsche (be) the the "hottest set of wheels" on the road.	was had been
4.	The brunette (wink) at me.	winked had winked
5.	and I (blow) a kiss back	blew had blown
6.	and (step) on the gas pedal.	stepped had stepped
7.	My Porsche (take off) in an awesome display of power.	took off had taken off
8.	I (fly) across a desert road at the speed of light, like a meteor in the sky.	flew had flown
9.	Suddenly, the sound of a siren (catch) my attention.	caught had caught
10.	I (look) behind me and saw a highway patrol car instead of the Corvette.	looked has looked
11.	I (try) to get away,	tried had tried
12.	but the highway patrol (keep) close behind.	kept had kept
13.	I (be) in big trouble.	was had been
14.	What (will) he do with me - jail?	would would have
15.	"Nooo!" I (scream) .	screamed had screamed
16.	as I nearly (fall) out of my desk chair ."	fell had fallen
17.	Whew! I woke up and realized I (dream) everything. (whew = a sound of relief, astonishment, dismay)	dreamed had dreamed had been dreaming
18.	Which tense was used to tell the sequence of events in the narration above?	past past perfect
19.	Why was the past perfect used in the last sentence, #17?	to report the last event in the series. to contrast the difference in time of the events to emphasize how the earlier event affected the later event.