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Past s. & past c.

Posted by Alex80 · December 29, 2020 · 3 replies

Hi everyone!

When an action happened in the middle of another one in the same time, esp. with the use of(as/while, when/and), I noticed that the shorter action(the past simple) doesn't come in the negative. Whereas, the longer action(the past continuous) can.

e.g. I wasn't looking where I was going when/and I bumped into a man.

My question is: can the past simple come in the negative with (when/and ) or wothout them when there is past simple+as/while+ past cont.

I mean, can I make a sentence like this:

I was doing sth and/when sb/sth didn't do sth.

or: While I was doing sth, sb/sth didn't do sth.

​Thanks in advance.

3 Replies

Alex80 OP

I was wondering If it is possible to complete the following sentences using the past simple in the negative😞an action happened in the middle of another one)
I was playing football when..........
While John was running, ...............
He wasn't driving very fast when.........

susan53

How about...

I didn't get good grades while I was taking the course (so in the end I gave up)

I didn't see the car coming while I was crossing the road (but luckily it stopped in time)

When I was learning to swim, I didn't enjoy it at all (but now I love it.)

I didn't answer the phone while John was having a shower (because I knew it would be his mother and I can't stand her.)

We didn't go out while it was snowing (but after it stopped we went for a walk.)

While I was staying at the hotel, I didn't need to cook (which for me was the best part of the holiday).
etc etc etc

The parts in italics are examples which show that - yes you can. The parts in brackets are just there to add context.

Alex80 OP

Awesome! Got it. Thank you so much for this logical and clear explanation.