Present Tense Narration
Story Telling
Using past vs. present tense in narration
| A REPORTED EVENT | STORY TELLING |
|---|---|
Normally, the past tense is used to report a completed event. For example, in a news story, a reporter uses the past tense to retell a series of events. |
In contrast, when telling a joke or story, we use present and present progressive tenses to recreate the event in an active (dynamic) manner. The joke or story teller relates the story as if it is/were happening at the moment by using simple present tense and often quoted speech. |
A man went to a psychiatrist. The man said that nobody listened to him. The doctor called for the next person to come in. (It is unclear why the doctor called for the next person. It is just a series of events. It is not funny) |
A man goes to his psychiatrist and says, "Nobody listens to me!" |
A man asked his wife where she wanted to go for their anniversary. She replied that she wanted to go somewhere she had never been. He suggested the kitchen to her. (not funny in past tense) |
I asked my wife, "Where do you want to go for our anniversary?" |
An example of present tense narration in a "Blonde Joke"
The repair guy, noticing that she is blonde and quite dingy (not too smart) when she speaks, decides to have some fun and tells her to blow into the tail pipe of the car really hard when she gets home, and that doing this will cause all of the dents to pop out. |
The first blonde tells the second blonde that the repair guy told her to blow into the tail pipe real hard and the dents would pop out. Her girlfriend says "Duh ! You need to roll up
the windows first!" |
duh (informal expression) – everybody knows that, I'm not stupid
Practice
Narrating a Joke
Use the present tense to tell this joke.
- Select the verb from the menu that best completes the sentence.
- Check your responses to the answers by clicking the "check button" to the the right.