Zorg SpaceWhat was already happening
The rule
Use was / were + -ing for an action already in progress at a moment in the past. It is the background; the past simple is the thing that cuts across it. I was cooking when the phone rang — the cooking started first and carried on, the ring is one point inside it. After while you almost always want the continuous, and after when you usually want the simple. State verbs — know, want, believe, own, belong — have no continuous form.
was / were + verb-ing · I was cooking when the phone rang. · While I was cooking, the phone rang.
Examples
I was cooking when the phone rang.
They were waiting outside for twenty minutes.
It was raining, so we took a taxi.
What were you doing at eight o’clock?
Common mistakes
-
Wrong: I was cooking when the phone was ringing.
Right: I was cooking when the phone rang.
The long action takes the continuous; the short one that interrupts it takes the past simple.
-
Wrong: While I cooked, the phone rang.
Right: While I was cooking, the phone rang.
After while the background action is continuous.
-
Wrong: I was knowing the answer.
Right: I knew the answer.
State verbs like know, want and believe have no continuous form.
Practice questions
Try each one yourself first, then open “Show answer” for the solution and the reason.
-
1Choose the correct sentence.
- I was watching television when you called.
- I watch television when you called.
- I watched television when you called.
- I was watching television when you were calling.
Show answer
Answer: A I was watching television when you called.
The background action takes was/were + -ing; the call that interrupts it takes the past simple.
-
2Choose the correct sentence.
- While she was driving home, she saw the accident.
- While she drove home, she was seeing the accident.
- While she was driving home, she was seeing the accident.
- While she is driving home, she saw the accident.
Show answer
Answer: A While she was driving home, she saw the accident.
Seeing it was one moment; the driving was the longer action around it.
-
3Fill in the gap.
At nine last night I _____ the ironing.
- was do
- was doing
- did do
- were doing
Show answer
Answer: B At nine last night I was doing the ironing.
At a named moment in the past, the action in progress takes was/were + -ing.
-
4Fill in the gap.
They _____ about the rent when I walked in.
- were argue
- are arguing
- was arguing
- were arguing
Show answer
Answer: D They were arguing about the rent when I walked in.
They takes were, and the argument was already going on before I walked in.
-
5Fill in the gap.
I _____ the answer, so I said nothing.
- not knew
- was not knowing
- was not know
- did not know
Show answer
Answer: D I did not know the answer, so I said nothing.
know is a state verb and has no continuous form.
-
6Fill in the gap.
While we _____ for the bus, it started to snow.
- have waited
- were waiting
- was waiting
- waited
Show answer
Answer: B While we were waiting for the bus, it started to snow.
while introduces the longer background action, so it takes the continuous.
-
7Put the words in the right order.
I was reading when the lights went out
Show answer
Answer: I was reading when the lights went out.
The reading was in progress; the lights going out is the single event inside it.
-
8Put the words in the right order.
What were you doing at six this morning
Show answer
Answer: What were you doing at six this morning?
In a question were comes before the subject and the main verb keeps -ing.
-
9This sentence is wrong. Choose the fix.
Which sentence is wrong?
- I was wanting a coffee.
- I wanted a coffee.
- I was drinking my coffee.
- I was making a coffee.
Show answer
Answer: A I was wanting a coffee.
want is a state verb: it has no continuous.
-
10This sentence is wrong. Choose the fix.
Which sentence is wrong?
- I found your keys while I was cleaning.
- While I was cleaning, I found your keys.
- While I was cleaning, I was finding your keys.
- I was cleaning when I found your keys.
Show answer
Answer: C While I was cleaning, I was finding your keys.
Finding something is a single moment, not a background action.
Practise this lesson in Zorg Space
In the app every rule becomes interactive practice: instant correction, reviews at the moment you are about to forget, and progress you can see from level to level — free.
Start for free