Past Simple vs Past Progressive (Continuous)
Intermediate
Past simple is used for actions that happened and were completed at a specific time in the past, while past progressive describes actions that were ongoing or in progress at a particular moment in the past. Now you can learn how to see the difference!
Table of Contents
1.In Progress vs Completed Action
1.1compare:
| Past Progressive for things happening at or around the time of speaking.The action was not complete. | Past Simple for completed actions. |
|---|---|
| We were walking home from 5 to 6 PM. (in the middle of walking home) | We walked home after the party last night. (all the way, completely) |
| Kate was watching TV when we arrived. | Kate watched TV a lot when she was ill last year. |
| I was doing my homework at 7 PM. (I was in process) | I did my homework in the evening.(It was ready, done) |
| They were singing when she was sleeping. (two ongoing processes) | She slept all the night. (completed action, focus on how long she slept) |
2.In the Middle of Something vs Chain of Events
2.1compare:
| Past Progressive for things that happened (past simple) in the middle of something else (past progressive) | Past Simple to say that one thing happened after another. |
|---|---|
| He phoned while we were having dinner. | He phoned and we started the dinner. |
| It was raining when I got up. | I got up and it started raining. |
| I saw you in the park yesterday. You were sitting on the grass and reading a book. | He saw us in the park yesterday. Then we sat down and started reading our books. |
| I hurt my back while I was gardening. | I finished gardening and hurt my back soon. |
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