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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
Simple past with while
Hi,
1. ''Irish people emigrated because so many were dying of starvation.''
An exercise gives the following explanation to the above sentence:''People were dying while others emigrated.''
My questions:
Do the sentences: ''People were dying while others were emigrating''and While people were dying,others emigrated and' People died while others emigrated give the same meaning? '
What is the difference these sentences provide?
Using simple past with while creates a problem for me understanding the tense.I need your help please.
Thanks.
1. ''Irish people emigrated because so many were dying of starvation.''
An exercise gives the following explanation to the above sentence:''People were dying while others emigrated.''
My questions:
Do the sentences: ''People were dying while others were emigrating''and While people were dying,others emigrated and' People died while others emigrated give the same meaning? '
What is the difference these sentences provide?
Using simple past with while creates a problem for me understanding the tense.I need your help please.
Thanks.
Top answer
There are slightly different meanings. ''People were dying while others were emigrating ". Some people were dying.
- There are slightly different meanings.
- ''People were dying while others were emigrating ".
- Some people were dying.
- Some people were emigrating.
- These actions happened over a period of time, and happened at the same time.
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3 Answers
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There are slightly different meanings.
''People were dying while others were emigrating". Some people were dying. Some people were emigrating. These actions happened over a period of time, and happened at the same time. While has a meaning of "at the same time" or "as".
People died while others emigrated. Some people died, but others em
''People were dying while others were emigrating". Some people were dying. Some people were emigrating. These actions happened over a period of time, and happened at the same time. While has a meaning of "at the same time" or "as".
People died while others emigrated. Some people died, but others em
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AlpheccaStarsThere are slightly different meanings. ''People were dying while others were emigrating". Some people were dying. Some people were emigrating. These actions happened over a period of time, and happened at the same time. While has a meaning of "at the same time" or "as". People died while others emigrated. Some people died, but others emigrated. Both of thes
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People were dying while others emigrated. Do the two actions happen simultaneously? Yes.
The progressive tenses show duration - that is, the action ocurring on a continuous basis, over a period of time. The simple past is used for an action in the past.
Writers use these tenses depending on how they want to describe the actions to the reader.
Often when+
The progressive tenses show duration - that is, the action ocurring on a continuous basis, over a period of time. The simple past is used for an action in the past.
Writers use these tenses depending on how they want to describe the actions to the reader.
Often when+
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