Mara swept the sari-sari store floor. The broom smelled of dust and rain. She was six again in Bohol, sweeping her lola's yard. A jeepney horn pulled her back to Cubao. Which sentence begins the flashback?

Coach Ilagan watched the team warm up. He was fifteen again, running drills in Naga. His knees had ached then too. The referee's whistle brought him back to the gym. Which sentence returns the story to the narrative present?

Nanay refused to sell the old bangka. Years before, in Catbalogan, that boat had carried her family through a flood. Now she scrubbed its cracked wood every Sunday. What does the flashback reveal about Nanay?

Lito walked home from school. He had eaten lunch late that day. Suddenly he was eight again, holding his father's hand on that street. A tricycle beeped and the memory ended. Which sentence is a flashback?

In a story, which detail most clearly marks the end of a flashback?

Aling Rosa never lit candles indoors. One rainy night her nipa hut in Iloilo had burned while she slept. Her grandchildren thought she was only strict. What does the flashback explain?

The ferry pulled out of Batangas port. Karina held the rail. Two summers earlier she had stood here waving at her brother's boat. Now the horn sounded and she watched the water. Which sentence leaves the narrative present?

Ben sold his guitar and told no one why. Ten years before, his mother had pawned her own guitar to pay his tuition. Why does the writer use a flashback here instead of straight chronology?

Divina climbed the stairs to her classroom. She had forgotten her ID again. On the third step she was back in Grade 4, crying at the same landing. Her teacher called her name. Which sentence reports an earlier event without shifting the scene?

Tita Beth argued with her sister over the land. Long before, the two had shared one mat and one blanket in Antique. What does the flashback add to the quarrel?

Jomar tightened his laces. He was back in Tacloban, his shoe coming apart at the finish line. Then the starter raised the gun. Which event happens last in real time?

Nica opened the balikbayan box. Inside was a red scarf. She was nine, watching her mother pack it before leaving for Riyadh. The tape crackled as she cut it. Which event happened earliest in time?

Which phrase most clearly signals that a story is shifting into a flashback?

Sir Ramon graded papers past midnight. He saw again the empty seat in his own Grade 7 room, the year he stopped attending. What does the flashback most likely explain?

Rain drummed on the covered court roof. Elias was ten again, dancing in a downpour in Sorsogon. His cousins' laughter had sounded like the rain. A teammate tapped his shoulder and passed the ball. Which sentence ends the flashback?

Which sentence works as a flashback rather than a simple report of an earlier event?

Ten years ago Marisol stood on this pier with her father. He let her hold the rope. Back then the boats were blue. Now the wind lifts her hair and she counts alone. Which sentence returns to the narrative present?

The barangay hall stood empty. Tonio recalled the night it was packed with families waiting out a typhoon, the generator humming. What does the flashback reveal about the empty hall?

A story tells its events from first to last with no time shift. What is this plot order called?

Which is the main reason a writer breaks a linear plot with a flashback?