Question

Directions: What is the difference in the following pair of sentences? Explain your answer. Pair 1 S1: The cat climbed the tree.
S2: The cat was climbling the tree.
Pair2
S3: The trouble started when the police arrived.
S4: The trouble had started when the police arrived.

Answer 1

S1 is in simple past tense. The cat completed the task of climbing the tree in past.

S2 is in past continuous tense. The cat was doing the task of climbing the tree. It had not completed it and someone saw it and may have said this sentence.

S3 is in simple past tense. The trouble started as the police arrived. Someone caused trouble exactly at the time the police had come or the trouble may have started because of the police.

S4 is past perfect tense. The trouble started before the arrival of the police.