Answer :
Final answer:
The sentence uses both past continuous tense (for ongoing actions) and simple past tense (for single, completed actions). The completed sentence should read: 'When I came in, they were sitting round the fire. Mr. Kumar was doing a crossword puzzle, Mrs. Kumar was knitting, the others were reading. Mrs. Kumar smiled at me and said, 'come and sit down.'
Explanation:
The sentence, when completed with the correct verb tense, reads: 'When I came in, they were sitting round the fire. Mr. Kumar was doing a crossword puzzle, Mrs. Kumar was knitting, the others were reading. Mrs. Kumar smiled at me and said, 'come and sit down.'
The correct tense to use for describing actions that were ongoing in the past (as in this scenario) is the past continuous tense, which is formed by 'was/were' + present participle (verb ending in -ing). The verbs 'say' and 'smile' are in simple past tense because they describe single, completed actions.
