Past Continuous
Lesson 5 of 7 · ~7 minutes

Lesson 5 · Past Continuous

Two actions

Two actions

In a story about the past, two actions meet in one of two ways. Either both were in progress together, or one was already in progress and the other happened inside it. That decides which tense goes where.

Two processes side by side

  • both in progressWhile I was cooking, Maya was talking on the phone — two processes, both continuous
  • background + eventI was cooking when the lights went out — the long one is continuous, the short one is simple
  • orderthe parts can swap places with the same meaning: When the lights went out, I was cooking

What happens

both actions were in progress
background and an event inside it
the same meaning, a different order

How to say it

While I was reading, Tom was cooking
I was reading when Tom called
When Tom called, I was reading
What happens
How to say it
both actions were in progress
While I was reading, Tom was cooking
background and an event inside it
I was reading when Tom called
the same meaning, a different order
When Tom called, I was reading

I was walking home when I saw Alex.

While I was cooking, Maya was talking on the phone.

Where people usually slip

A short event doesn't stretch. If the lights went out in one second, it's the lights went out, not the lights were going out.

The continuous stays with the action that was already in progress and went on.

When and while don't choose the tense by themselves. Compare: When I arrived, she was reading — the reading was already in progress; When she finished the book, she went out — two short events one after the other.

Don't look at the linking word; look at what was in progress and what happened.

In short

  • both in progresswas / were + -ing in both parts
  • backgroundwas / were + -ing
  • eventPast Simple
  • order of partsany; the meaning doesn't change
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