Chronological narrative
Develop stories and turning points through a focused writing itinerary.
Writing task
Write a 180–220 word first-person story for a travel blog about a journey that did not go to plan. The reader does not know you. Start with the destination and reason for travel, describe the setting, explain what you had done before the problem, and tell the main events in time order. End with a concrete result and one sentence about what you learned. Use the imperfetto for background, the trapassato prossimo for an earlier action, and the passato prossimo for the events.
- Fortunatamente, avevo portato il telefono e ho chiamato un taxi.· Fortunately, I had brought my phone and called a taxi.
- Quando sono arrivato, Marta era già partita.· When I arrived, Marta had already left.
- Pioveva, ma abbiamo deciso di uscire.· It was raining, but we decided to go out.
- Avevo già letto il messaggio.· I had already read the message.
Revision checklist
Draw a short timeline of the events before you revise. Underline one trapassato form and connect it to the later past event it precedes. Check two imperfetto forms for scene-setting and at least three passato prossimo forms for completed actions. Make sure the final sentence explains the turning point rather than merely saying the trip ended.
- Eravamo usciti prima della pioggia.· We had gone out before the rain.
- Appena ho aperto la porta, ho sentito un rumore.· As soon as I opened the door, I heard a noise.
- Quando è successo?· When did it happen?
- Stavo per…· I was about to…
In context
The words of this lesson in sentences from other B1 lessons.
- Che cosa è successo ieri?· What happened yesterday?Tappa 1 · The missed connection
- Stavo andando alla stazione quando mi sono accorto di aver lasciato il biglietto a casa.· I was going to the station when I realised I had left the ticket at home.Tappa 1 · The missed connection
- Solo dopo la pausa ho fatto l’intervista. Le risposte erano diverse da quelle che mi aspettavo: non parlavano soltanto del fiume, ma anche delle persone che si erano conosciute grazie a quel lavoro. Ho scattato poche fotografie. Per la prima volta, però, sapevo davvero che cosa stavo fotografando.· Only after the break did I do the interview. The answers were different from what I expected: people spoke about the river and the relationships made through the work. I took few photos, but for the first time I truly knew what I was photographing.Tappa 1 · A personal podcast story
- Mi faccia un esempio di un problema che ha risolto durante un'attività. Che cosa è successo?· Please give me an example of a problem you solved during an activity. What happened?Tappa 5 · Job interview