4.5.2 Narrative styles

Overview of Narrative Styles in German

Narrative style is not only vocabulary and grammar. It is how you shape a story in time, what perspective you choose, and how you guide the reader or listener. At B2 level you should start to consciously choose a style, not just “tell what happened.”

In this chapter you will see how German uses different narrative voices and time structures, and how this affects verb tenses and the overall effect of a text.

Narrative Perspective: Who Is Telling the Story?

The most basic choice is the narrative perspective. In German stories you will often find three main types: first person, third person personal, and third person neutral or omniscient.

First Person Narration: “Ich-Erzähler”

Here the narrator speaks as “I” and is part of the story world.

Example:

Ich ging gestern spät nach Hause. Es war dunkel, und ich hatte ein bisschen Angst.

This style feels subjective and close. You show thoughts and feelings directly.

Common language features:

• Frequent use of “ich,” “wir,” “mein,” “unser”
• Opinions and evaluations marked clearly, for example “Ich fand das komisch.”
• Limited knowledge: the narrator only knows what this character knows

Third Person Personal: “Personaler Erzähler”

The story uses “er/sie” but stays close to one main character. The narrator reports that person’s perceptions, thoughts, and feelings, but not the inner world of all characters.

Example:

Sie ging gestern spät nach Hause. Es war dunkel, und sie hatte ein bisschen Angst. Sie fragte sich, ob jemand ihr folgte.

Features:

• Pronouns “er/sie”, nouns for the character instead of “ich”
• Access to thoughts of one focal character: “Sie fragte sich…”, “Er dachte…”
• Other characters are described only from the outside

This style combines some closeness with more distance than first person. It is very common in modern German prose.

Third Person Omniscient: “Auktorialer Erzähler”

The narrator is outside the story and knows everything about all characters and events, including the past and future. The narrator can comment, judge, and summarize.

Example:

Es war eine Nacht, die ihr Leben verändern sollte, auch wenn Anna es noch nicht wusste. Während sie nach Hause ging, saß Jonas schon in der Küche und wartete ungeduldig.

Here the narrator knows more than Anna and Jonas. The narrator even knows that “it will change her life.”

Typical signs:

• Knowledge of several inner worlds: “Anna ahnte nichts, aber Jonas war nervös.”
• Comments and general statements: “So ist das mit der Liebe.”
• Jumps in time and place, summaries of long periods

At B2 level it is useful to recognize these types in texts and to experiment with first person and third person personal in your own writing.

Time Structure in Narratives

Narrative style is also about how you organize time. In German narrative texts you combine past tenses and you play with narrative speed.

Basic Time Levels: Erzählzeit vs. erzählte Zeit

German literary studies use two terms:

• “Erzählzeit”: the time it takes to tell the story (reading or listening time)
• “Erzählte Zeit”: the time that passes in the story

You do not need to know the theory for the exam, but the idea helps. A long time in the story can be told in one sentence, or one short moment can be stretched over a whole page. This is part of narrative style.

Summary and Scene

When the story jumps quickly through time, we speak of summary. When time in the story and time in the telling are similar, we have a scene.

Summary example:

In den nächsten drei Jahren arbeitete er hart, lernte viel und sparte jeden Euro.

Here, “drei Jahre” pass in one sentence.

Scene example:

Er trat ins Büro. Die Uhr an der Wand tickte laut. Seine Hände zitterten, als er die Tür hinter sich schloss.

Here, a few seconds in the story become several sentences. This creates tension and focus.

Flashbacks and Foreshadowing

Stories often do not follow a simple chronological line. Two important elements are flashback and foreshadowing.

A flashback (Rückblende) goes back to an earlier moment in the story. In German, the tense often shifts from preterite to past perfect, or you use time markers.

Chronological frame:

Am Abend saß sie allein im Café. Sie wartete auf eine Nachricht.

Flashback:

Vor zwei Jahren hatte sie denselben Tisch gewählt, als sie ihn zum ersten Mal getroffen hatte.

You mark the change with time expressions such as “früher”, “damals”, “vor zwei Jahren”, and with the past perfect.

Foreshadowing (Vorausdeutung) gives a hint of something that will happen later. German often keeps the narrative tense but uses modal verbs or comment phrases.

Example:

Sie lachte über die Nachricht, ohne zu wissen, wie sehr sie diese Worte später bereuen würde.

Even at B2 level you can start to use simple flashbacks and foreshadowing in stories, for example in exam tasks where you narrate an experience.

Typical Tense Choices in Narrative Texts

Narrative style includes the choice of basic tense. In German you often see “Präteritum” (simple past) in written narratives, also in high-level informal writing. In spoken stories you often see “Perfekt.” This chapter focuses on written narrative styles, which usually prefer the preterite.

Preterite as the Neutral Narrative Tense

For stories in writing, preterite (Präteritum) is the standard narrative form for action in the past:

Es regnete, als ich aus dem Haus ging. Ich öffnete den Schirm und lief zur U-Bahn.

In first person and third person, preterite gives a neutral narrative effect. For short exercises at B1/B2 you sometimes still find “Perfekt,” but if a task asks for “eine Erzählung” or “eine Geschichte,” it is stylistically better to use preterite for the main action, if you can.

Past Perfect for Earlier Events

To create flashbacks or to show that one event happened before another past event, use the past perfect (Plusquamperfekt).

Example:

Ich war noch nie in Berlin gewesen, bevor ich im letzten Jahr dorthin zog.

Here “war gewesen” is earlier than “zog.” This makes the time structure clear and is part of narrative coherence.

Typical pattern in narrative texts:

1. Past perfect to open the flashback:
• “Davor hatte er viele Fehler gemacht.”
2. Then preterite again for the detailed description of that earlier period:
• “Er arbeitete zu viel, schlief kaum und stritt ständig mit seinen Freunden.”
3. Back to the “normal” time level, usually marked by a time adverb:
• “Jetzt, ein Jahr später, dachte er anders darüber.”

Historical Present and Its Effect

Sometimes German narratives use present tense for past events. This is called “historical present” and creates immediacy, as if the action is happening now.

Example:

Gestern, ich komme aus der U-Bahn, und plötzlich steht er vor mir.

Here “komme” and “steht” describe the past, but feel very direct. In written texts this style is used especially in reports, personal anecdotes, and journalistic texts.

You should be able to recognize this style and understand that the time is still the past, even if the verbs look like present tense.

Stylistic Position of the Narrator

Narrative style is not just technical, it is also about the narrator’s attitude. Does the narrator remain invisible, or speak directly to the reader, or comment on the characters?

Neutral vs. Commenting Narrator

A neutral narrator describes only what happens, without explicit judgment.

Neutral:

Er legte das Handy auf den Tisch und ging aus dem Zimmer.

Commenting:

Er legte das Handy auf den Tisch und ging aus dem Zimmer, wie immer, wenn er keinen Mut hatte, zu diskutieren.

Here “wie immer, wenn er keinen Mut hatte” is a narrator comment that interprets the action.

At B2 level, you can use small comments to show your evaluation.

Useful patterns:

• “wie immer, wenn …”
• “natürlich”
• “offenbar”
• “zu seiner Überraschung”
• “zum Glück”, “leider”

These adverbs and structures show narrator attitude without long explanations.

Addressing the Reader

In some narrative styles, especially essays or personal stories in magazines, the narrator speaks directly to the reader.

Example:

Sie kennen das sicher: Man hat einen langen Tag hinter sich, und plötzlich passiert etwas völlig Unerwartetes.

Formulas like “Sie kennen das sicher” or “Stellen Sie sich vor” create a direct relationship between narrator and reader. This is not typical for all stories, but it is common in journalistic and semi-literary texts.

Showing and Telling: How Much Detail?

A central stylistic choice in narratives is whether you “show” a situation through scenes and details or “tell” it through summaries and comments.

“Showing” through Concrete Details and Dialogue

Showing means you let the reader see and hear what happens.

Example:

“Du kommst schon wieder zu spät”, sagte Maria und verschränkte die Arme.
Thomas blieb in der Tür stehen. “Der Bus hatte Verspätung”, murmelte er.

Here you use direct speech, actions, and simple descriptions. The reader interprets the emotions.

Useful elements:

• Direct speech with “sagen”, “fragen”, “rufen”
• Verbs of body language, such as “lächeln”, “zucken”, “zögern”
• Short, simple sentences in important scenes

“Telling” through Summary and Evaluation

Telling means the narrator explains and summarizes.

Example:

Maria war oft genervt, weil Thomas so unpünktlich war.

This gives information and an evaluation, but without scenic detail.

A good narrative style often combines both: you tell to move quickly through less important parts, and you show key moments to make them vivid.

Typical Connectors and Time Markers in Narratives

Coherent narrative style depends heavily on clear connectors and time expressions. At B2 you should vary them to avoid repetition.

Ordering Events

Simple sequence:

• zuerst
• dann
• danach
• später
• schließlich / am Ende

More advanced sequence:

• zunächst
• im Anschluss
• kurz darauf
• wenig später
• in der Zwischenzeit

Example:

Zunächst war alles ruhig. Kurz darauf hörte er Schritte im Flur. In der Zwischenzeit hatte die Nachbarin bereits die Polizei gerufen.

Contrasts and Turning Points

To show changes and surprises, use contrastive connectors:

• aber
• jedoch
• trotzdem
• allerdings
• plötzlich

Example:

Er wollte gerade gehen, aber das Telefon klingelte.
Es war schon spät, trotzdem setzte er sich noch an den Computer.

These connectors guide the reader through the development of the story and shape its rhythm.

Rhythm and Sentence Length

Narrative style is influenced by the length and structure of your sentences. German allows long sentences, but in B2 narrative writing you should combine both long and short ones.

Short Sentences for Tension

Short sentences create speed and tension.

Example:

Er öffnete die Tür. Niemand. Nur Stille.

They are useful in exciting scenes or at key dramatic points.

Longer Sentences for Background

Longer sentences with subclauses (Nebensätze) are better for explanations and background information.

Example:

Als er an diesem Morgen die Tür öffnete, ahnte er noch nicht, dass dies der Beginn einer Reihe von Ereignissen war, die sein Leben völlig verändern würden.

A varied rhythm, with both short and longer sentences, gives your narrative a more natural and professional style.

Adapting Narrative Style to Text Type

At B2 you meet different text types that all use narrative elements, but with different styles.

Personal Experience Reports

In exam tasks you often write about a personal experience. The style can be partly informal, with some spoken elements, and sometimes with present perfect. However, if it feels like a written story, preterite is often more appropriate.

Typical phrases:

• “Ich erinnere mich noch gut, als …”
• “Damals war ich …”
• “Zuerst dachte ich, …, aber dann …”

Journalistic Narratives

Newspaper and magazine texts often mix narratives with information and opinions. You see:

• neutral third person or “wir”
• historical present mixed with past forms
• reported speech instead of direct dialogue

Example:

Wie kam es zu dem Unfall? Am Freitagabend fährt der 35-jährige Markus L. wie jeden Tag nach Hause. Plötzlich verliert er in einer Kurve die Kontrolle über sein Auto.

Here the present tense “fährt, verliert” describes a past event and creates dynamic effect.

Literary Short Stories

In literary texts you often find:

• consistent preterite
• complex time structures with many flashbacks
• symbolic details and strong imagery

You do not need to copy this style completely, but you should be able to recognize some of these features and understand why the author uses them.

Vocabulary List