Past continuous or past simple?Using while and when to show a longer background action interrupted by a shorter one.Related learning areasEnglish GrammarRelated conceptsas … as for saying things are the sameAuxiliary verbs in short answersbe going to — plans and intentionsbe going to — predictions from present evidenceChoosing between present, past, and future verb formsComparative adjectivesComes afterPast continuous — setting the scene in the pastQuestionsAll questions in this subjectStart learningStart free practice