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L'enfant pleurait quand la terre a tremblé.

L'enfant pleurait quand la terre a tremblé.
The child was crying when the earth shook.
From Lesson 133:Past tense contrast: descriptions vs. completed actions·French

Questions & Answers about L'enfant pleurait quand la terre a tremblé.

Why is pleurait in the imparfait but a tremblé in the passé composé?
This is the classic interruption pattern! Pleurait (was crying) is an ongoing background action, so it uses the imparfait. A tremblé (shook) is a sudden, completed event that happened during the crying, so it uses the passé composé.
Could I use pendant que (while) instead of quand in this sentence?
Not in this exact spot. Quand (when) is placed right before the sudden event (la terre a tremblé). If you want to use pendant que (while), it must go before the ongoing background action instead: La terre a tremblé pendant que l'enfant pleurait (The earth shook while the child was crying).
How do we get the form pleurait from the verb pleurer?
To build the imparfait, you start with the present tense nous form, which is nous pleurons. Drop the -ons to get the stem (pleur-), and then add the imparfait ending for il/elle (since we are talking about l'enfant). That ending is -ait, giving us pleurait.
Why doesn't tremblé have an extra e at the end to match the feminine subject la terre?
Because trembler uses avoir as its helping verb (a tremblé). In the passé composé, verbs that use avoir do not change their past participle to match the subject. You only add an extra e or s for the subject when the helping verb is être.

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