Require explanation in past continuity

[bkpsusmitaa]

People in India speak English like they
speak Hindi. For example,

suppose yesterday we went to a fair. We were moving around.
We observed that some were buying clothes while others were playing.

This is a transliteration of Hindi. In Hindi, we express
continuity of action explicitly.

But how do we express the above events in English? Should it be like:

We went to a fair yesterday. Some bought clothes, while others played
games.

Please explain.
Regards

[Barb_D]

There are many times when I've heard an Indian English speaker use the -ing form when the simple present or simple past would be used by most other English speakers.

In the first case of your fair, however, you can use either. You watched people for a while -- there was duration. In your second example, you just say "we went" not "we observed" so the simple past would sound more natural to me.

[bkpsusmitaa]

What do you mean by 2nd conditionals?

[5jj]

What do you mean by 2nd conditionals?

Please ask this question in a new thread.

[bkpsusmitaa]

I'm not a teacher, but I write for a living. Please don't ask me about 2nd conditionals, but I'm a safe bet for what reads well in (American) English

I asked it here because

Barb_D had the above signature under her post

[5jj]

Second conditionals

[bkpsusmitaa]

I am sorry I couldn't explain myself better :) . I should have added, "... in your (i.e., Barb_D's ) context".

[5jj]

I am sorry I couldn't explain myself better :) . I should have added, "... in your (i.e., Barb_D's ) context".

No problem. I thought you were being irrelevant. I was wrong. Sorry.

[Barb_D]

It means I don't know a lot of the finer points of grammar and I'm terrible at labels, but I can help you write naturally.

[bkpsusmitaa]

...but I can help you write naturally.

There aren't many who write naturally. Millions read English, but few are brilliant, original authors.
Because I am her dad, my daughter does not take me seriously. (This isn't bad, it's good that she treats me as her equal in English. That way she can argue and learn better). She needed an external, independent source to verify what I told her. A few positive posts really reinforced her views.
I thank you all for replying so quickly! I also liked 5jj's modesty, that he apologised, though it was I who couldn't explain myself better!
And what do you write, usually? If you don't like discussing personal detail in a forum you could drop a private message.