student asking question

Would the meaning of the context changed if I say "What were you doing" instead?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

Yes, the meaning would change. If Grouchy had said, "what were you doing," he would be asking Smurfette about something that happened in the past. Grouchy wants to know why Smurfette is currently sitting on his bench. If he had said, "what were you doing" instead, he would have explained her past action. Smurfette sitting on the bench is what she is currently doing, not what she did in the past. Ex: What were you doing yesterday by the water? Ex: What are you doing? You can't be in here.

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