Past Simple vs Past Progressive (Continuous)
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!
Before this, learn: Past SimplePast Progressive (Continuous)
1.Finished or Not
1.1In Progress vs Completed Action
Past Progressive
for things happening at or around a time in the past. The action was not complete.
Past Simple
for completed actions.
| Past Progressive | Past Simple |
|---|---|
| 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 night. (completed action, focus on how long she slept) |
Test yourself
2.Background vs Story
2.1In the Middle of Something vs Chain of Events
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.
| Past Progressive | Past Simple |
|---|---|
| He phoned while we were having dinner. | He phoned and we started 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 after. |
Test yourself
3.Frequently asked questions
Past simple vs past continuous: what's the difference?
Use the past simple for a completed action and the past continuous for an action that was in progress at a moment in the past. "I did my homework in the evening" means the homework was finished. "I was doing my homework at 7 pm" means I was in the middle of it at that time. In a story, the past continuous often sets the scene and the past simple tells what happened: "It was raining when I got up."
When or while: which do you use with the past continuous and the past simple?
Use while with the longer past continuous action and when with the short past simple action: "While we were eating, the phone rang." The same idea with when: "We were eating when the phone rang." When can also introduce the past continuous ("When I was walking home, I saw an accident"), but while is more common there. Before a single short action, use when: "when the phone rang", not "while the phone rang".
"What were you doing?" or "What did you do?": past continuous or past simple in questions?
"What were you doing?" asks about an activity in progress at a past moment, while "What did you do?" asks about completed actions. So ask "What were you doing at 8 last night?" when you want the activity going on at that time: "I was watching a film." Ask "What did you do last weekend?" when you want the things that happened: "I visited my parents and went to the cinema." With a point in time, the continuous is the natural choice: "What were you doing when the lights went out?"
Is it correct to say "I was watching TV when the phone was ringing" in the past continuous?
No, say "I was watching TV when the phone rang": the short action that interrupts the longer one takes the past simple. The past continuous is for the longer action that was already in progress ("was watching"), and the past simple is for the event that happened in the middle of it ("rang"). Avoid the opposite mistake too: "I watched TV when the phone rang" sounds as if you started watching after the call. Another example: "I hurt my back while I was gardening."
Past simple or past continuous for a series of actions, one after another?
Use the past simple for actions that happened one after another: "He parked the car, locked it and walked to the office." The past continuous would show each action as unfinished and in progress, so "He was parking the car, was locking it and was walking to the office" does not work as a story. Keep the past continuous for the background around the events: "It was getting dark when he parked the car, locked it and walked to the office."
