Use PRESENT SIMPLE to talk about the PAST! (It's more exciting!) #learnenglish

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Here's what happened to me at the weekend...Not at all embarrassing...(much!) This video gives an anecdotal take on how we tell a story that took place IN THE PAST and make it entertaining for the listener NOW. It is the best way to recount a conversation that happened in the past, to make it interesting an engaging to the listener.

Thank you so much, Meta!

When we are telling a story about something that happened in the past, we want to make it as engaging as possible, in order to entertain and keep the attention of the listener. If we use the past simple to do this, it is quite boring. So, we bring the story from the past and into the present and start from there.

This is how I described what happened to me at the weekend. I set the scene...

Hi! I want to tell you a story about something that happened at the weekend which really annoyed me. On Sunday morning I woke up; I looked at my phone and I saw that the alarm company had phoned during the night - at half past two in the morning. Now, we have a house; there is an alarm on our house - a burglar alarm - and we have a company, who looks after the alarm. (This is all good; we want to be safe - not a problem.) Then, I went downstairs and I got a text message from my next-door neighbour and she said, "The alarm company phoned me last night - at half past two in the morning. They said that your battery was low - on your alarm - and I said to them, "Could this not have waited until tomorrow morning?" And I looked at my phone and I thought: How ridiculous is that?!

So, my next-door neighbour is woken up by our alarm company in the middle of the night. (My phone is on silent, so I didn't hear my phone.) She is woken up by my alarm company and they tell her that my battery is low on my alarm. (I was not happy.) So, then I phoned the people who are responsible for our alarm, but of course their office was shut, because it was a Sunday.

So, on Monday I phoned them back...

Do we use the past simple to tell a story about something that happened in the past.

I can, of course, continue telling you what I did in the past using the past simple, but because I want to make my story interesting and engaging, I am going to take it from the past and I am going to bring it into the present.

This is how I recount a conversation that happened in the past to make it interesting:
So, I phone the alarm people and I speak to a very nice lady and she says, "Oh, yes, no, we must make an appointment, because the man has to come round to sort out your battery. Oh yes, fine!" So, she says, "When can he come?" and I say, "Well, he can come all this week, because I work from home, so he can come whenever he wants." So, she says, "Can he come on Wednesday?" I say, "Yes, he can come on Wednesday." So, we get an appointment for Wednesday. That's all fine - brilliant! Then, she's just about to say, "Thank you! Have a nice day!" and I say, "HANG ON A MINUTE! Can i just tell you what happened to us at the weekend?" So, she says, "Oh yes, is there a problem?" and I say, "Yes, there is - as a matter of fact." and she says, "Oh, tell me!" So, I say, "Well, I don't think it's very kind of the alarm centre to phone my neighbour at half past two in the morning, to tell her that my alarm battery is low - at half past two in the morning." and she says, "Oh no, that's not very sensible at all." and i say, "Well, no, I was really very cross about it." and she says, "Oh, well yes, I can imagine that." and I say, "Yes, and I don't want it to happen again." and she says, "No, I'm going to phone the alarm centre now, and I'm going to tell them." and I say, "Well, yes that's very kind of you. Thank you and have a nice day!" Because, of course, it's not her fault; she is just the lady at the other end of the phone. She did not phone my neighbour at half past two on a Saturday night.

So, I could have said: I phoned the alarm people.
I spoke to a lady.
She was very nice.
I told her that the alarm battery was low.
She said when could the alarm person come round.
I said he could come round anytime this week.

So, now I'm talking in the past tense, but it's not very interesting, because it's already happened. So, to make my story interesting to you, I'm pulling it from the past tense into the present tense and I'm saying:
So I phone the lady and I tell her this, and she does this, and she says, "Oh, yes, well, and..." And it makes the story more interesting to you. So, even though the story was in the past, by bringing it into the present, I am making the story more engaging for you.

And that is when we use the present tense for telling a story in the past tense.

I hope you found this lesson interesting, and I look forward to seeing you again soon. Thanks for watching! Bye for now!