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Help Agent 006 complete his highly confidential (and slightly embarrassing) mission report by selecting the correct verbs.
While I _________________________ past the laser beams, my phone suddenly _________________________ loudly. The guards _________________________ cards at the time, but they immediately dropped their snacks and ran toward me.
Answers and Explanations:
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While I was sneaking...
We use the past progressive (was/were + -ing) for longer background actions that were in progress at a specific moment in the past. Since "I" is singular, we use "was."
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...my phone suddenly rang loudly.
We use the past simple for shorter, sudden actions that interrupt a background action.
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The guards were playing cards at the time...
The phrase "at the time" emphasizes that this action was already in progress before the phone rang, so we use the past progressive. Since "guards" is plural, we use "were."