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Hole One a New See Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

Question about verb tenses (Simple Past and Past Continuos)

Hi everybody,

There is this sentence:

'She sang softly, as she beat the eggs.'

Why are these verbs in Simple Past? I could imagine the following versions (with explanations):

She was singing softly as she was beating the eggs. -> Two parallel actions (and we can't say for sure that one of them is shorter than the other).

She sang softly as she was beating the eggs. -> She suddenly started singing while she was beating the eggs.

Please, correct me if it is necessary. Please, explain me the meanings of all the possible combinations. (ONLY the possible combinations of Simple Past and Past Continuous matter now.).

Thanks for your answer in advance.
  

Top answer

Continuous forms are very often used to emphasise the limited duration of a situation. With past situations, the limitedness of the situation is usually evident. If there is no desire to emphasise the duration, then a continuous form is not needed.

— Fivejedjon

  • Continuous forms are very often used to emphasise the limited duration of a situation.
  • With past situations, the limitedness of the situation is usually evident.
  • If there is no desire to emphasise the duration, then a continuous form is not needed.
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2 Answers
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Continuous forms are very often used to emphasise the limited duration of a situation. With past situations, the limitedness of the situation is usually evident. If there is no desire to emphasise the duration, then a continuous form is not needed.
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Thank you, fivejedjon Emotion: smile

I try to apply your idea to this sentence. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

1. She
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