{"id":50441,"date":"2020-05-13T01:15:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-13T01:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/127.0.0.1\/aee\/aee-1364-grammar-3-tell-a-story-and-hook-your-audience-with-past-progressive\/"},"modified":"2023-04-25T15:41:41","modified_gmt":"2023-04-25T15:41:41","slug":"aee-1364-grammar-3-tell-a-story-and-hook-your-audience-with-past-progressive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.allearsenglish.com\/aee-1364-grammar-3-tell-a-story-and-hook-your-audience-with-past-progressive\/","title":{"rendered":"AEE 1364: Grammar Part 3: Tell a Story and Hook your Audience with Past Progressive"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"past<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Have you heard somebody tell a good story in English?<\/p>\n

Have you wondered what made it a good story?<\/p>\n

Better yet, have you ever thought about what it takes to be a good storyteller?<\/p>\n

We\u2019re going to look at what makes a good story, and why this matters in English conversations and what specific English grammar you need to use to tell a good story.<\/p>\n

In this next installment in our grammar series you\u2019re going to learn about the past progressive, why it matters so much to story telling, and how to use it in your conversations and stories. <\/p>\n

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What Makes A Good Story Teller?<\/h3>\n

You have probably heard plenty of good and bad stories\u2013you may have told your fair share of both too.<\/p>\n

So what makes someone a good storyteller? <\/p>\n

This is an important thing within American culture because people love to tell and hear good stories, but it may be different in other cultures.<\/p>\n

Recognizing that it plays an important part in English conversations, you want to learn what it takes to become a good story teller.<\/p>\n

In the last episode in our grammar series on Episode 1361, we talked about how to use parallel structure to compose polished and professional business emails.<\/a><\/p>\n

Today is the next installment in our series, and we\u2019re focusing on how to use the past progressive to tell engaging stories.<\/p>\n

You will use past progressive to talk about something that was happening when something else occurred. <\/p>\n

You will find that you use it a lot when telling stories, and it\u2019s a really important part of this process.<\/p>\n

You would say something like \u201cWe were watching a baseball game when the lights went out. We couldn\u2019t see anything!\u201d <\/p>\n

This is great for setting context when something surprising happened.<\/p>\n

It also helps to get your listeners interested and wanting to learn more out of your story.<\/p>\n

You will come to understand how this works, and why the past progressive is such a powerful part of good story telling. <\/p>\n

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Why Is Past Progressive Important For Storytelling?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

We\u2019ll get into what past progressive is, but you want to start by understanding how a good story should go.<\/p>\n

Have you ever told a story to a group of people and in the middle of the story you see their eyes glaze over?<\/p>\n

Just as you are getting into the details of your story, you notice that your audience looks bored and uninterested!<\/p>\n

If you have had that feeling, then you know how awful it is!<\/p>\n

Truthfully it happens to all of us, and so you want to figure out how to avoid this problem with storytelling.<\/p>\n

Have you ever asked yourself what was missing from the story you were telling?<\/p>\n

If you really stop to think about it there\u2019s a good chance that most stories that go in the wrong direction are missing one thing\u2013a good hook!<\/p>\n

This is what draws people in and makes them want to listen to your story. <\/p>\n

You can start a story by saying, \u201cLast night something interesting happened to me.\u201d <\/p>\n

This is a hook that that will get your listener interested and wanting more.<\/p>\n

Another example is if you said something like \u201cI was sitting at home watching TV when the craziest thing happened!\u201d<\/p>\n

That hook draws them in and makes them want to hear your story.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s interesting, it is open ended, it leaves them guessing, and it makes them want to listen to your story to learn more.<\/p>\n

A good hook is an important part of story telling, and it usually comes at the beginning.<\/p>\n

You will learn that past progressive is what good stories are made of, so you want to understand what that means and how it works.<\/p>\n

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So What Is Past Progressive?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

We talked about past progressive and the important role it plays in storytelling.<\/p>\n

You know that storytelling is an important part of conversation, and so you want to look at the one element that helps yours to be successful.<\/p>\n

You will come to see why past progressive is so important, so let\u2019s get into what it is and how it exists.<\/p>\n