Relating a Sequence of Events

I normally listen to or read stories more than I tell or write them, but when I do relate a sequence of events in Vietnamese, I often find myself searching for those typically used adverbs and linking phrases. Here are some basic ones that might help you out.

at first / initially / in the beginning	lúc đầu
then / after that	sau đó
during (+ verb phrase)	trong lúc
normally / usually	bình thường (thì)
slowly	từ từ
all of a sudden	đột nhiên
in the end	cuối cùng
it turns / turned out that	hoá ra là
I thought that	Tôi tưởng là
I didn't expect that	Tôi không ngờ là
I was surprised that	Tôi rất ngạc nhiên là

EXAMPLES

(Coming soon! Still need to brainstorm a short narrative to use as an example. If you're interested in sharing your own, please let me know!)