.

I was having lunch when James arrived

.When I heard the doorbell, I went to the door .2

.While Jo was washing her hair, I did my homework .3

.While I buy the bread, you can go to the butcher's .4

.I was at the baker's when I met Jo .5

The customer was being helped by the salesman when the thief .6
.came into the store

?When you saw Keith, was he with Jo .7

.I was in the shop when someone stole my bag .8

.I hurt my back when I tried to lift the piano .9

While we were standing outside the cinema, someone picked .10

.my pocket

When Mrs Scott came back to her hotel, she called the .11
.elevator

Usually we use WHILE when there are two long actions. We can
use progressive or simple tenses with while.

Usually we use WHEN if one action is long and the other is short,
or if there are two short actions. We also use when if we talk about
periods of our life (eg.: When I was 12 …)

1. He runs to his office every morning. Most people either drive or

take public transport to work.

– runs to his office every morning = long action

– either drive or take public transport to work = long action

So we’d say,
He runs to his office every morning while most people either drive
or take public transport to work.

2. It was raining. I was walking in the park.

– It was raining = long action.

– I was walking in the park = long action

So we’d say,

It was raining while I was walking in the park.

3. I saw lightning. I heard thunder.

– saw lightning = short action

– heard thunder = short action

So we’d say,

I saw lightning when I heard thunder.

4. We were having dinner. The telephone rang.

– having dinner = long action

– phone rang = short action.

So we’d say,

We were having dinner when the telephone rang.

5. The alarm bell rang. He was sleeping.

– He was sleeping = long action

– alarm bell rang = long or short action (Did it ring for a short time?
Did it ring for a long time?)

It is unclear whether they are both long actions. So we can use

when or while.

• The alarm bell rang while she was sleeping.

• The alarm bell rang when she was sleeping.

Tip #1: Use a Progressive (Continuous) Tense with While to

Show Focus

Progressive tenses use the BE verb + a verb in ~ing form.

While I was cooking dinner, the phone rang.

I will be sleeping at 11:00 p.m. tonight, so don’t phone me.

We use while to focus on an action happening at a specific time.

Therefore, the most natural verb tense to use is a progressive
tense, which shows that an action is in progress at a certain time.

It is common to use while with actions happening at a specific

time (e.g. at 11 p.m.). Also, we use while to show that a shorter
action (usually in the past simple, e.g. the phone rang) happened
during as a longer action (usually in past progressive, e.g. I was
cooking dinner). Often this shorter action interrupts the longer
action.

Tip #2: Use While with Actions that have a Limited Duration

1. When I was a child, I played soccer. (Correct)

2. (Not natural)
Why is #2 not natural? Well, when an action is too long (e.g. I was
a child), we lose focus. The period of twelve years when you were
a child is too long to use a progressive tense. We don’t use ‘while’
to talk about long periods of our lives. Instead, we use when and
past simple. There’s another reason.

Tip #3: Use While with Action Verbs

Also, “While I was a child” is unnatural because the BE verb (was

a child) is a state verb. State verbs are not action verbs (e.g. jump,
kick, shower, drink). Instead, state verbs describe states or
conditions (e.g. BE, live, understand, know, exist). We do not use
progressive tenses with state verbs. As a result, we generally don’t
use while with state verbs.

Compare:

While she was driving, I played with the radio. (Natural)

This is correct. Driving is an action verb and the action is limited in

duration. In other words, driving is a short activity that has a clear
start and end.

When I lived in my hometown, my mother made me dinner. (While

is not natural)

Live is a state verb, and also, the action of living in my hometown

probably had a duration of 18 years. This is too long to focus on.

Exception: Focusing on an Verb in Progress

You could use while with a state verb like ‘live’ if you really want to
focus on the fact that an action was in progress at a specific
time. For example:

While I was living in India, there was a big earthquake.

Although it would probably be more common to use When I lived

in India, this sentence is correct. The speaker chooses to use
‘While’ + present progressive’ to focus on an action being in
progress (living) when another action happened.

Remember: While Means an Action Had a Start and an End (a

Duration)

If a sentence uses while, it suggests that the action happened over

a period of time. Here’s are two better examples to show what I
mean:

When the phone rang, I was making lunch.

The longer action (making lunch) was happening when a shorter

action happened (phone rang).

Key question: How many times did the phone ring? Because
we’re using when, we don’t know. The use of when doesn’t
suggest it was an ongoing action. The phone may have rang once
and stopped.

While the phone was ringing, I was making lunch.

How many times did the phone ring here? More than once.
Because we are using While + present progressive, we are
focusing on duration. This means that the action (ring) happened
over a period of time that had a start and end. When we say ‘the
phone was ringing’ in the progressive, we are saying that this
happened for some time. (Thanks to Clive at Englishforums for this
point.)

While vs. When: In Conclusion

We can conclude the following:

1. To emphasize (focus) that an action was in progress at a
specific time, use while + a progressive tense ( = While I was
eating, …)
2. Otherwise, use when + a simple tense. (= When I ate, …)
3. Verbs with while have a duration. The period of the verb
cannot be too long or we lose focus. (= = When I was a
child)
4. Progressive tenses use action verbs, so use while with an
action verb (While I was dancing) and not a state verb ()
When the phone rang, I was making lunch
The phone rang = short action
making lunch = long action
Short action= it takes short time to be performed
… While the phone was ringing = never correct
When the phone rang OK
While I was making my lunch the phone rang = correct
When I was making my lunch the phone rang = correct
Still the solution is as first mentioned = the better

Form

Was/were + present participle

You were reading when I walked in.

Were you studying when I called you?
You were not working when I called you.

The Past Continuous has 4 main uses/functions:

Use 1 – an interrupted action in the past

Here the Past Continuous is used to indicate a long action that

was interrupted. Usually the action that interrupts the long action is
the Past Simple.

I was studying when Danny called me.

She was answering an important e-mail when I interrupted her.
While I was jogging, it started raining.
What was he doing when you walked into the room?
John was waiting for us when we got off the train.
I broke my leg while I was skiing.

Use 2 – parallel actions

The Past Continuous is used to indicate that two actions were

happening at the same time; hence parallel actions.
I was watching TV while the children were playing outside.
Were you listening while Kevin was explaining the new policy?
While Sarah was speaking to Fred, Peter was trying to get her
attention.
What were they doing while you were working?
We were discussing the new project and having a good time as
well.

Use 3 – describing a mood/atmosphere

We can use the Past Continuous to describe several actions

happening at the same time to describe the atmosphere or
situation before or as a main action occurs.

When I walked into the bar, Danny and Fred were arguing again.
Chris was chatting to the barman with his usual pint. Peter and
Sarah were flirting with each other and Liz was telling the rest of
the gang one of her outrageous stories about when she was an
actress in the West End. The pub was already smelling of pub
food and beer and I just felt that it was so good to be home.

Use 4 – repetition – irritation with 'always'

The Past Continuous with words such as 'always' or 'constantly'

indicates something repeated or irritating. Words like 'always'
should be placed between the auxiliary 'be' and the present
participle.

She was always coming late for meetings. No wonder she was
never promoted.
He was always boasting about his financial successes. It irritated
us all no end.
I was constantly misplacing my glasses. It’s not a problem with
contacts now.

While or when

With the Past Continuous sentences have clauses that start with
‘while’ or ‘when’. ‘While’ usually starts the clause with the Past
Continuous, ‘when’ usually starts the clause with the Past Simple.

It started raining while I was jogging. / While I was jogging, it

started raining.
When it started raining, I was jogging. / I was jogging when it
started raining.

Notice that although the meaning of each pair of sentences is the

same, 'while' or 'when' shift emphasis.

Lesson by Tristan, teacher at EC Malta English school

Now complete the following with the correct form:

1. Last night I _ on my thesis and it took me a while to realise

that my phone was ringing.

was working

worked

2. When you _ I was in a meeting so I couldn’t answer your call.

were calling

called

3. Danny can never agree with Fred. They _ .

are always arguing

always argue

4. Why did you disagree with me at the meeting? _ to make me

look incompetent?

Were you trying

Did you try

5. Sarah _ the buffet while I was seeing to the drinks.

 prepared

was preparing

6. Peter _ home when the accident occurred.

was walking

walked

7. I _ to work, even when it rained.

always walked

was always walking

8. Anna _ her speech when I walked in.

was finishing

finished