YOU SAID:
the socks ate a bug from the earth
INTO JAPANESE
靴下は土の中の虫を食べた
BACK INTO ENGLISH
The socks ate insects in the soil.
INTO JAPANESE
靴下は土の中の虫を食べていました。
BACK INTO ENGLISH
The socks were eating insects in the soil.
INTO JAPANESE
靴下は土の中の虫を食べていました。
BACK INTO ENGLISH
The socks were eating insects in the soil.
That didn't even make that much sense in English.