Uses of the

simple past and

past progressive
 Uses of the simple past:
We use the simple past for actions or events completed at a
definite time in the past.

The sun rose at 7:15 this morning .

Did Mary go to San Francisco last weekend.

I locked the door when I left the house this morning.
Brian graduated from college twenty years ago.

PAST
PAST PRESENT FUTURE
PRESENT
 Uses of the past progressive:
We use the past progressive for ongoing or continuing actions in the
past:

Come in, Jack We were just talking about you.

At 8:00 last night, Mary was watching a movie on TV.

Your sister wasn´t living in Miami a year ago, was she?
While Ed was driving, his wife was looking at the map.

PAST
PAST PRESENT FUTURE
PRESENT
 Using the simple past with the past progressive
To indicate a continuing action in the past during which another
(simple) past action takes place, in other words, an action was already
in progress(and probably continued) when another action occurred.

Was it raining when the accident happened?

As John was leaving the office, he heard a loud noise.
Cathy had a part-time job while she was going to school.

Note: The past progressive is often used in phrases containing as or while.

PAST
PAST PRESENT FUTURE
PRESENT