We often use the past continuous and the past simple tenses together. When this happens, the past continuous describes a longer, ‘background’ action or situation and the past simple describes the action or events.
- When I woke up this morning it was raining and my father was singing in the kitchen.
- I was walking home, whistling happily, when I saw two masked men run out of the bank.
Often, the ‘action’ described by the past simple tense interrupts the ‘situation’ described by the past continuous tense.
- I broke my leg when I was skiing.
- I was playing a computer game when the doorbell rang.
Notice that the past continuous describes ‘situations’ that go on for some time – ‘skiing’ and ‘playing’ but the past simple describes ‘actions’ that happen quickly – ‘broke’ and ‘rang’.
Notice too important differences between these two sentences:
Notice too important differences between these two sentences:
- When they arrived, Jeff was cooking dinner. ➔ Jeff started cooking before they arrived.
- When they arrived, Jeff cooked dinner. ➔ Jeff started cooking dinner after they arrived.
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