بينما كنت أنتظر الحافلة، كانت جارتي تقرأ صحيفة قرب المحطة.

While I was waiting for the bus, my neighbor was reading a newspaper near the station.

Breakdown of بينما كنت أنتظر الحافلة، كانت جارتي تقرأ صحيفة قرب المحطة.

• ي: my
• يقرأ: to read
• الحافلة: bus
• المحطة: station

Questions & Answers about بينما كنت أنتظر الحافلة، كانت جارتي تقرأ صحيفة قرب المحطة.

What does بينما mean here, and how is it used?

بينما means while here. It introduces a clause that gives the background time for another action.

So in this sentence:

بينما كنت أنتظر الحافلة
= While I was waiting for the bus

It sets up the time frame for the second action:

كانت جارتي تقرأ صحيفة قرب المحطة
= my neighbor was reading a newspaper near the station

In MSA, بينما is a common way to connect two actions happening at the same time.

Why does the sentence use كنت أنتظر instead of a simple past verb?

Because Arabic is expressing an action that was in progress in the past: I was waiting.

• كنت = I was
• أنتظر = I wait / I am waiting

Together, كنت أنتظر means I was waiting.

If Arabic used a simple past verb instead, it would suggest a completed action, more like I waited, which is not the same as the English meaning here.

So this pattern:

كان / كانت + المضارع

often corresponds to English was/were doing.

Why does the second clause also use كانت ... تقرأ?

For the same reason: it describes an ongoing action in the past.

• كانت =