Telling a story

Goal: tell a clear story about something that happened to you. You will set the scene at the beginning, describe the main events in the right order using sequence connectors (first, then, after that, finally), and end with how the story finished — for example 'It was a quiet Sunday morning and we were drinking buna when, suddenly, the lights went out.'

It was a cold morning in Addis Ababa, and the market was just beginning to fill with people.

በአዲስ አበባ ቀዝቃዛ ጠዋት ነበር፣ ገበያውም በሰዎች መሞላት ጀምሮ ነበር።

First, I bought some vegetables; then, while I was paying, I noticed that my bag was open.

በመጀመሪያ አንዳንድ አትክልቶችን ገዛሁ፤ ከዚያም ስከፍል እያለሁ ቦርሳዬ ተከፍቶ እንደነበር አስተዋልኩ።

After that, a kind woman called Almaz helped me, and finally we found my phone under the table.

ከዚያ በኋላ አልማዝ የተባለች ደግ ሴት ረዳችኝ፣ በመጨረሻም ስልኬን ከጠረጴዛው ሥር አገኘን።

We were drinking coffee and laughing together when, suddenly, the rain started to fall heavily.

አብረን ቡና እየጠጣን እና እየሳቅን ሳለ፣ በድንገት ዝናቡ በኃይል መዝነብ ጀመረ።

slow

Useful storytelling words. To set the scene: 'It was (a quiet evening)…', 'The sun was setting…', 'Everyone was talking…'. To move the story along: 'First', 'At first', 'Then', 'Next', 'After that', 'A moment later', 'Suddenly', 'While'. To finish: 'In the end', 'Finally', 'At last'. To add feeling: 'luckily', 'unfortunately', 'to my surprise'.

It was a warm Saturday afternoon, and Hanna was sitting outside her house in Addis Ababa, preparing buna for her neighbours. The sun was shining, the children were playing in the street, and the smell of roasting coffee was filling the whole compound. First, her old friend Kebede arrived with a basket of fresh bread, and they sat down together on a small wooden bench. Then, while they were talking about their school days, a strong wind suddenly blew through the yard and knocked over the coffee tray. For a moment everyone was silent, because the best cups had fallen onto the ground. Luckily, none of them broke, and the children quickly ran to pick them up. After that, Hanna laughed and said, 'This is a story we will tell for years!' A little later, more neighbours came, and they all shared the bread and the rescued coffee. They talked until the sky turned orange and the first stars appeared. Finally, when the evening grew cold, everyone thanked Hanna, carried the cups inside, and walked home feeling happy. It was a simple afternoon, but to Hanna it felt like one of the best days of the whole year.

Recap: open by setting the scene with the past continuous — 'It was a warm afternoon and the children were playing.' Then tell the events in order with connectors — 'First, … Then, … After that, … Finally, …' — using the past simple for each step. A few feeling words like 'luckily' and 'suddenly' make your story come alive.

Check your understanding

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We were drinking coffee and laughing together when, suddenly, the rain started to fall heavily.