   

Past continuous or past

simple?
 

Grammar > Verbs > Tenses and time > Past > Past continuous or past
simple?

from English Grammar Today

Past continuous = I was working Past simple = I worked

Choice of emphasis
Often there is little difference between the past
continuous and the past simple, except that the past
continuous suggests that the event(s) were in progress at
a time in the past or that they were happening as
background or temporary events. Whether we choose to
use the past continuous or past simple often depends on
how we see the past event(s).
Compare

Doctors were treating Past continuous:

patients in temporary beds writer chooses to
and they were trying to do show the events as
their best in a difficult ongoing at that time in
situation. the past.

Doctors treated patients in

Past simple: writer
temporary beds and they
chooses to show the
tried to do their best in a
events as finished.
difficult situation.

Events in progress in the past

We use the past continuous to talk about events and
temporary states that were in progress around a certain
time in the past. We use the past simple to talk about
events, states or habits at definite times in the past.
Compare

The past continuous emphasises

At 4 pm last the action or event in progress
Tuesday, I around a time in the past. The event
was working (working) was in progress at 4 pm.
in the office. The event was not completed at that
time.

The past simple emphasises the

At 4 pm last event that happened at a definite
Monday, I time in the past.
finished The focus is not on events in
work early progress but rather on the whole
and went events (finished work, went home).
home.
The events were completed at that
time.

Emphasising main events with the past

simple
When one event is more important than the other in the
past, we can use the past simple to emphasise the main
event. We can use the past continuous for the
background event (the less important one):

[background event] [main event]

I was listening to the radio when Helen phoned.
[background event]
I was sitting in the park and suddenly
[main event]
I saw an old school friend I hadn’t seen for 30
years.

See also:

Past continuous (I was working)

Past simple (I worked)

Future in the past

Reported speech

Online IQ Test
Official IQ Test Academy
This certified IQ Test gives
you a real IQ score in
minutes.

iqtestacademy.org

OPEN

Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes

Try a quiz now

BLOG

Twisting, rotating, and spinning: verbs for

circular movements
December 20, 2023

Read More

Contents To top 

LEARN 

DEVELOP 

ABOUT 

  

© Cambridge University Press & Assessment 2023