Compléter Fill in the Blanks: Past Continuous vs. Past SimpleVersion en ligne Test your knowledge of past continuous and past simple tenses with this engaging fill-in-the-blanks game! par Graciela Lorenzo 1 rang was 'while' read reading 'when' saw was walking The past continuous tense describes actions that were ongoing in the past , often interrupted by another action . For example , 'I a book when the phone . ' In this sentence , 'was reading' is in the past continuous , indicating an action that was in progress . The past simple tense , on the other hand , describes completed actions in the past . For instance , 'I a book yesterday . ' Here , 'read' is in the past simple , showing that the action is finished . To illustrate the difference : 'While I to the store , I a dog . ' The action of walking was ongoing , while seeing the dog was a completed action . Using these tenses correctly helps convey the timing and nature of past events clearly . Remember , the past continuous is often used with or to show the relationship between two past actions .