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talked/were talking

English translation: were talking


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12:42 Dec 27, 2011
English to English translations [Non-PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
English term or phrase: talked/were talking
Which one I should use for the following sentence:
"When I walked in they talked/were talking about babies."?
meoww
English translation:were talking
Explanation:
Grammatically, both are possible, but logically you will need the continuous form to show that this activity was continuing.

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Note added at 4 mins (2011-12-27 12:46:51 GMT)
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The simple form would imply that they waited until you arrived before starting to talk about babies - possible but unlikely. More likely in those circumstances would be "When I walked in they/we started talking about babies"
Selected response from:

Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 02:05
Grading comment
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +6were talking
Sheila Wilson


  

Answers


2 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +6
were talking


Explanation:
Grammatically, both are possible, but logically you will need the continuous form to show that this activity was continuing.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 mins (2011-12-27 12:46:51 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

The simple form would imply that they waited until you arrived before starting to talk about babies - possible but unlikely. More likely in those circumstances would be "When I walked in they/we started talking about babies"

Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 02:05
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 20

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  airmailrpl: -
12 mins
  -> Thanks
agree  Thayenga: :)
1 hr
  -> Thanks
agree  Stephanie Ezrol
1 hr
  -> Thanks
agree  B D Finch
1 hr
  -> Thanks
agree  Veronika McLaren
1 hr
  -> Thanks
agree  Armorel Young
1 day5 hrs
  -> Thanks
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