Business English B1 · Lesson 8A

Grammar Bank

The rules behind this lesson — form, use, model sentences and the mistakes to avoid.

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Grammar focus of this lesson

Past continuous + past simple (interrupted action)

1 structure

Past simple & past continuous
The continuous sets the scene; the simple tells what happened.
I've got this
Rules & form
- ›was / were + verb-ing for the longer background action.
- ›Past simple for the shorter, completed action that interrupts.
- ›while + continuous · when + simple.
- ›Two parallel actions: while I was cooking, she was working.
Examples
- “While we were shipping the order, the system crashed.”
- “I was reading the contract when she called.”
- “It was raining, so we took a taxi.”
Watch out · Don't use the continuous for a sequence of finished events.
Your own example