S past continuous časom označimo daljše dejanje, tisto, ki “teče v ozadju”.
S past simple časom označimo krajše dejanje, ki prekine daljše dejanje v past continuous času.
Prekinitev dejanja je lahko resnična:
When I was doing the dishes, my phone rang. (so I stopped doing the dishes and I answered the phone)
Prekinitev dejanja je lahko le navidezna:
Jack was cleaning the flat when the postman came. (Jack continued cleaning the flat and thought that he must empty the mailbox later)
While I was jogging, I saw a deer.
We were eating when Josh came.
While she was swimming, she got sick.
I wasn’t reading when she came in.