a strap

A "strap" is a long, flat, narrow piece of material which you use to hold things together. Some examples of things that have straps include:

• a guitar
• a backpack
• a heavy camera
• a watch

a cheap (something)

The word "cheap" means "inexpensive" but it also means "low in quality". It especially has this meaning when you talk about the material that something is made of:

• cheap leather
• cheap plastic
• cheap materials

(something) breaks into pieces

When something breaks apart, you can say that it "breaks into pieces". You can also say how many pieces there are:

It fell on the floor and broke into a thousand pieces.

Aside from "break", you can also use other similar words that describe how something broke like "snap", "shatter", "tear", "crack", "explode", etc. For example:

I think I actually heard the bone cracking into two pieces when he hit it.

as (someone did something), (something happened)

Here's a rather formal way of describing two things that happened at the same time:

As I was waiting at the bus stop, a dark rain cloud blew in from the north.

A more casual way to describe the same situation would be:

I was waiting at the bus stop when I saw a dark rain cloud coming my way.

"As I ___, ___" is more common in written stories than in stories told out loud.

(something) snapped

When you say that something "snapped", it means that it broke. But "break" is a very general word. English has several more specific words to describe different ways of breaking:

• snap
• shatter
• tear
• crumble
• crack

"Snapping" is specifically a kind of breaking that happens quickly and often makes a noise. Some things that "snap" include:

• a small stick that you break with your hands
• a rope that's pulled too tightly

Sometimes when you talk about things "snapping", you talk about how many pieces they snapped into:

It snapped in two.