Past Continuous and Past Simple

A. When we talk about two events or activities that went on over the same period of past time, we can often use the past continuous or the past simple for both:

1. Sally was reading to the children while Kevin was washing up. (or ...read...washed up.)

Using the past continuous emphasises that the event or activity ('was reading') was in progress during the past period of time (while Kevin was washing up').

Compare:

1. When I was learning/ learned to drive, I was living with my parents.

Was learning emphasises that the activity was in progress (I had lessons during this time') and learned emphasises completion ('I passed my test during this time').

B. We usually use the past simple rather than the past continuous to talk about repeated past actions:

1. We went to Spain three times last year.
2. Did you drive past her house every day?

However, we can use the past continuous, particularly in spoken English, when we want to emphasise that repeated actions went on for a limited and temporary period of past time:

1. When Carlo was in hospital, we were visiting him twice a day. (or ...we visited...)
2. To lose weight before the race, I wasn't eating any sweets or biscuits for weeks. (or ...I didn't eat...)
   or to talk about something that happened surprisingly often:
3. Last week I was having to bring work home every night to get it all done. (or ... had...)
4. When the builders were here I was making them cups of tea all the time. (or ...made...)

C. We often use the past simple in a narrative (e.g. a report or a story) to talk about a single complete past event and the past continuous to describe the situation that existed at the time. The event might have interrupted the situation or happened while the situation was in progress:

1. Erika dropped her bag while she was getting into her car.
2. She was shaking with anger as she left the hotel.

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Language Level