When telling a joke, a story or relating an anecdote, something strange can happen to English grammar.
In this programme we hear how and why present verb forms can be used to talk about past actions.
TRANSCRIPT
Callum
Hello. I’m Callum Robertson and this is How To.
Last night I was having a chat with one of my cousins about a recent business trip she’d had to Japan. She was telling me about a meeting she’d had during that trip.
But what was interesting was the language she used when talking about that meeting. And it made me think that would be an interesting topic for How To.
So today we’re going to look at a particular kind of language you can use for telling an anecdote or a story.
What is unusual about the language we use for this is that it doesn’t seem to follow the rules of grammar. Now to help me out in this I need the assistance of my colleague William. Hello, William.
William
Hello, Callum.
Callum
Now, William had an interesting experience last night and I’m going to ask him to tell us about it, but I want you to listen very carefully to what he says.
Listen particularly for the verb forms. OK, William, tell us what happened to you last night.
William
Yes. I was in the cinema and I was watching a film, and half-way through the person next to me – their mobile phone rang and this person answered it and began to have a conversation.
And lots of people were looking round and tutting, and then the manager came in and he told me to leave.
He thought it’d been me on the phone. So I had to go out and explain to him that it hadn’t been me; it’d been the man next to me.
He apologised and, because of the inconvenience, he gave me some free tickets. And, so, actually, it was OK because I hadn’t really been enjoying the film anyway.
Callum
OK. Well, thanks William. Now, William has just told us about something that happened to him last night. You heard him using the past simple and past continuous:
EXAMPLES
Last night I was in the cinema.
And lots of people were turning round and tutting.
I had to go out.
Callum
And also the past perfect:
EXAMPLE
He thought it’d been me on the phone.
Callum
This is perfectly correct. It’s accurate and natural. But sometimes, when we are telling a story about something surprising or unexpected that happens to us, we don’t use the grammar that you might expect.
Have a listen to this version of the same story. What’s the difference? Again, listen out particularly for the verb forms.
William
Well, last night I’m in the cinema, watching this film and half-way through the person next to me – their mobile phone starts ringing. And he answers it and he begins to have this conversation.
And lots of people are turning round and they’re looking and they’re tutting, and then in comes the manager and tells me to leave.
He thinks it was me on the phone! So I have to go out and explain to him that it wasn’t me, it was the man next to me.
And he apologises and, because of the inconvenience, he gives me some free tickets. And, actually, that was OK because I wasn’t really enjoying the film anyway.
Callum
Did you hear the difference? In this version, William uses different verb forms to tell the story of what happened to him. Instead of using past forms, he uses present forms:
EXAMPLES
Last night, I’m in the cinema.
And lots of people are turning round and tutting.
I have to go out.
Callum
And instead of using past perfect forms, he uses past simple forms.
EXAMPLE
He thought it was me on the phone!
Callum
So how can we use present verb forms to talk about something that’s happened in the past? William, what do you think?
William
It’s very engaging and it makes people who are listening to – it makes your conversation partner feel like he or she is there with you and that it’s happening now.
So it’s a very engaging way of talking and of telling a story.
Callum
Yes, you’re exactly right. This technique is very common in spoken English when you’re telling stories and anecdotes because it’s very engaging.
It sounds more immediate, more interesting and really involves the listener in the story.
We also use some other unusual grammatical forms when we’re telling anecdotes and stories. Listen to this part of the original story:
EXAMPLE
And then the manager came in.
Callum
Now listen to how this sentence is constructed in the new version:
EXAMPLE
And then in comes the manager.
Callum
The verb and particle have been reversed and put before the subject. Listen again. First, the original:
EXAMPLE
And then the manager comes in.
Callum
And in the new version:
EXAMPLE
And then in comes the manager.
Callum
And there’s one more thing to highlight here. Compare this:
EXAMPLE
I was watching a film.
Callum
With this:
EXAMPLE
I’m watching this film.
Callum
Note how William says this film rather than a film.
EXAMPLES
I was watching a film.
I was watching this film.
Callum
This is not the usual way we use this, but it’s very common when telling stories and anecdotes to replace some indefinite articles with this.
Well, that’s just about all for this programme.
Today we looked at how to tell a story or an anecdote in a very natural way. Rather than use past verb forms we use present verb forms and instead of past perfect we use the past simple. It’s a bit like reported speech in reverse.
We’ve also seen that we change the subject/verb order so, for example, The manager came in becomes, In comes the manager.
And finally the word this can be used instead of the indefinite article. For more information and activities on this topic, check the website www.bbc-story.com
Language from the programme
Telling a story
Read these two versions of the same event. Compare the differences.
Both versions are correct. The alternative version is a natural way in spoken English of telling a story/joke or relating an anecdote.
Original version
I was in the cinema and I was watching a film, and half-way through the person next to me – their mobile phone rang and this person answered it and began to have a conversation.
And lots of people were looking round and tutting and then the manager came in and he told me to leave. He thought it’d been me on the phone.
So I had to go out and explain to him that it hadn’t been me; it’d been the man next to me. He apologised and, because of the inconvenience, he gave me some free tickets.
And so, actually, it was OK because I hadn’t really been enjoying the film anyway.
Alternative version
Well, last night I’m in the cinema, watching this film and half-way through the person next to me – their mobile phone starts ringing.
He answers it and he begins to have this conversation. And lots of people are turning round and they’re looking and tutting and then: in comes the manager and tells me to leave.
He thinks it was me on the phone! So I have to go out and explain to him that it wasn’t me, it was the man next to me.
And he apologises and, because of the inconvenience, he gives me some free tickets. And, actually, that was OK because I wasn’t really enjoying the film anyway.
Telling a story – some features
Verb forms
Compare the verb forms between the original and the alternative version:
Past simple becomes present simple.
- I was in the cinema.
- Well, last night I’m in the cinema.
Past continuous becomes present continuous.
- I was watching a film.
- I’m watching this film
Past perfect becomes past simple.
- It hadn’t been me; it’d been the man next to me.
- It wasn’t me, it was the man next to me
Word order
Compare the word order of phrasal verbs between the original and the alternative version:
- The manager came in…
- In comes the manager…