Simple past and past progressive.

1. The Past Progressive Tense and the Simple Past Tense
I was watching T.V. last night (when) The telephone ran at ten o´clock
Timeline
past now future
past continuous or progressive: was watching
simple past: ran

English II FC-1224
Periodo: Enero-Marzo 2012

2. The Past Progressive Tense and the Simple Past Tense
 We use the past progressive to describe past situations or actions that were in
progress at some time in the past. The structure to form the past progressive
tense is:
Subject + aux. to be + main verb with ing + complement.
I was watching T.V last night.
 We use the simple past tense to show an action that occured one time and then
stopped. The structure to form the simple past tense is:
Subject + main verb in simple past + complement.
The telephone ran at ten o´clock.

3. The Past Progressive Tense and the Simple Past Tense
 We use the past progressive and the simple past tense to show one event
interrupting an action in progress.
I was watching T.V when the telephone ran.
When the telephone ran, I was watching T.V.
 We use the past progressive and the simple past tense to emphasize the fact that
two or more actions were in progress at the same time.
I was working in the garden while my wife was cooking dinner.
While I was working in the garden, my wife was cooking dinner.