Notes: past simple and past continuous

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EventA general term expressing that somebody or something does something or that something happens. E.g.: An apple fell on Isaac’s head.s and background descriptions in a story

In a story which is told in past time the events are expressed with past simple, whereas for background description past continuous is used.

Ten people were sitting around the table. It was raining outside. Suddenly the door opened and a woman entered the room. She was wearing flared trousers. Everyone stared at her but she didn't say anything. She slowly went to the table and put an envelope on it. They were just staring at her as she left the room.

Notice the difference between these two sentences in the story:

Everyone stared at her...
They were just staring at her...

The first one expresses a momentary event, while the second one a continuous action, let's say a stateA condition that exists at a particular time. E.g.: I am sick. This melon weighs two kilos. . Here is another example for this contrast:

I went home at 7. (completed action)
At 7 I was going home. (action in progress)

The Sleeping Beauty

The story of The Sleeping Beauty might help to understand the differences. In the original story:

...while she was sleeping, the prince kissed her.

This means that she was asleep when he kissed her (once). First, let's put both clauseA group of related words containing a subject and a verb.s into the past continuous:

...while she was sleeping, the prince was kissing her.

This means that during the time she was asleep he kept kissing her (several times or for some time). Now let's see what happens if both clauses are in the past simple:

...she fell asleep when the prince kissed her.

...she fell asleep and the prince kissed her.

In the first case first he kissed her and then she fell asleep, while in the second sentence it is just the opposite, she fell asleep and then he kissed her. The last version of the story is as follows: