Sentence 1: John was walking down the stairs at his house. 
 Sentence 3: John caught himself on the bannister 
 Sentence 4:  His mother had watched the whole thing happen 
 Sentence 5:  John's mother told him to go slower down the stairs 
 Option 1: He was taking his time and was careful. 
 Option 2: He ran down to fast and started to slip.