Past Simple

We can use the Past Simple to talk about a finished action in the past:

I asked her about the presentation.

The poor man looked up surprised.

They didn't remain silent.

...a repeated action or habit in the past:

I took some driving lessons again.

The prime-minister called the president three times last week.

...a state in the past:

You were always the smartest student.

She always believed in him.

...to ask when an action in the past took place:

What time did the concert start?

When was your last vacation?

...we also use it with expressions such as the first/last time:

The last time I was sick was two years ago.

I can't remember the first time I visited France.

'ago' and 'last'

Past Continuous

We use the Past Continuous to talk about an action that was in progress when another action occurred.

I was doing my laundry when I heard a knock on the door.

The villagers were still recovering from the first earthquake when a second one hit.

I wasn't looking for a new jacket, but then I saw a fantastic one in the shop window.

She was waiting at the bus stop when he said hello.

...two continuous actions that happen simultaneously:

The police was chasing the criminal while he was running away.

While the woman was shopping inside the store, the small dog was waiting outside.

...past habits(usually with words indicating repetition such as always, constantly, etc. See also adverbs and expressions of frequency ):

Sarah was always listening to music in her room.

They were constantly flirting with each other.

The girls were giggling the entire time.

...ongoing actions at a certain point in the past and giving background information:

The customer was complaining about the poor service.

He wasn't being rude.

The government was selling weapons to the rebels.

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Here are the rules for its formation:

(subject) + was/were + verb+ing. Negative sentences change was/were to wasn't/weren't.

Let's look again at two of the first examples:

I was doing my laundry when I heard a knock on the door.

She was waiting at the bus stop when he said hello.

As you can see, one action is of longer duration than the other. Doing laundry and waiting for the bus are longer duration actions. We use the Past Continuous here. Hearing a knock and saying hello are shorter duration actions. Here, we use the Past Simple.

Depending on the context, the longer duration action might continue:

She was waiting at the bus stop when he said hello(and she probably continued waiting).

Be aware that the order of such sentences may vary, depending on the emphasis.

I heard a knock on the door when I was doing my laundry

He said hello to her while she was was waiting at the bus stop.

We often use words like when and while to connect the two actions in time. While should only be used together with a continuous action, when can be used in more cases. They can go in the middle or the beginning of the sentence.

While I was watching the movie, I fell asleep.

I fell asleep while I was watching the movie.

I was watching the movie when I fell asleep.

I was watching the movie while I fell asleep.

Because 'falling asleep' is an instantaneous action, we can't use while in this case. It's possible to pair while with a Past Simple verb, if the action it accompanies is continuous. In that case, it's not very different from using a Past Continuous form.

The mother was checking the price on the bottle while the child tugged at her skirt.

We don't normally use the Past Continuous with so-called non-action, or stative verbs, such as remember, believe, like, love, seem, appear, want and others. These are verbs that refer to feelings and states, rather than actions. Some examples:

He remembered his childhood. NOT He was remembering his childhood.

It seemed like a great opportunity at the time NOT It was seeming like a great opportunity at the time.

The old man wanted to see his country again. NOT The old man was wanting to see his country again.

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Questions in the Past Continuous are made in the following way:

Short answers follow the usual formula of yes/no + subject + auxiliary (in this case was/were and wasn't/weren't).

Was he being serious?

Yes, he was. / No, he wasn't.

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