I <played/was playing> tennis while she <read/was reading> a book. (simultaneous actions in the past)

[5jj]

Not necessarily. It depends on whether you wish to emphasise the duration of either or both actions.

 

[5jj]

Here's a passage from a UE article, https://www.usingenglish.com/articles/english-tenses-aspects-4-durative-aspect.html that you might find useful. The examples numbered 13 a-d show the range of combinations possible.

Note: The aspect commonly known as the progressive or continuous aspect is referred to here as the durative aspect.


……12a. I was watching TV at 10.30.
……12b. I was watching TV when George got home
……12c. I was watching TV from the moment I got indoors to the time I went to bed.

All three sentences show the aspect being used for the same reason: to express the limited duration of a situation distanced in time. In [12a] the situation began before a stated time, in [12b] before the time of an action. The situation continued up to or beyond that time; context and/or co-text will make this clear as the sentences below show. The actual starting and finishing times of the situation are not stated though real-life knowledge tells us that the situation did start and finish. In [12c] these times are explicitly stated.

……12a.i. I was watching TV at 10.30. As the clock chimed I remembered that I had an early meeting next day so I switched of the TV and went to bed.
……12a.ii. I was watching TV at 10.30. I remember hearing the clock chime and thinking that I'd go to bed as soon as the film ended.
……12b.i. I was watching TV when George got home. He isn't interested in football so I switched off and made us a cup of tea.
……12b.ii. I was watching TV when George got home. He joined me on the sofa and we hardly spoke until the film ended.

While the use of the marked durative can show a longer action 'framing' a shorter one this does not have to be the case:

……13a. Sally was writing a report while Barry was preparing lunch.
……13b. While Sally wrote a report, Barry prepared lunch.
……13c. Sally wrote a report while Barry was preparing lunch.
……13d. While Sally was writing a report, Barry prepared lunch.


The writing and preparing are distanced in time. As they occurred in the past we know that the situations denoted are limited in duration (the duration does not extend to the present); the durative aspect therefore emphasises the duration more than the limitation. In [13a] the speaker emphasises the fact that the situations of writing and preparing extended over a period; in [13b] there is no such emphasis, merely a reporting that these situations actualised at the same distanced time. In [13b] and [13c] the suggestion is that the situation referred to using the durative aspect filled a longer time-period than the one referred to in the non-durative aspect. In these two sentences we can talk of one action 'framing' another.

 

[Michaelll]

Here's a passage from a UE article, https://www.usingenglish.com/articles/english-tenses-aspects-4-durative-aspect.html that you might find useful. The examples numbered 13 a-d show the range of combinations possible.

Thanks! I appreciate it.

……13b. While Sally wrote a report, Barry prepared lunch.
……13c. Sally wrote a report while Barry was preparing lunch.

I'm not sure, do these two 13b and 13c tell us that the report was completed? (I suppose, 13a and 13d don't tell us that)

 

[5jj]

……13a. Sally was writing a report while Barry was preparing lunch.
……13b. While Sally wrote a report, Barry prepared lunch.
……13c. Sally wrote a report while Barry was preparing lunch.
……13d. While Sally was writing a report, Barry prepared lunch.

The use of the distancing (past) tense implies that neither the writing nor the preparation is still in progress.

 

[Mzungu39]

I've read all the comments above. I think that correct grammar is sometimes a bit different from everyday usage, not only in the English language but in any language. If a native says that something is acceptable, it is fine and should be accepted by us; users of that language. The problem is that that is not always enough for us, teachers since we have to follow the rules and teach students grammar ie. what is grammatically right.
However, we have to be careful with that. I definitely do not agree with your teachers, Michaell. If the Past Continuous emphasizes the process of duration, I would say that it is preferred in certain situations, and we cannot just say that tha Past Simple is incorrect.
In the abstract from the English book above the case, what we are talking about, is not the same. The first statement/sentence with Violet may be a bit intriguing. I'm not sure if here 'while' is used to express duration; as I understand it, it's more of a contrast. In that case duration isn't important, but then it says 'two long actions'?
I find the rest of the examples just fine, explaining actions happening at the same time and the conjunctions that can be used in such cases; it's not about the duration and the use of the Past Continuous, but how to connect them.

 

[Barque]

A: What did you guys do last night?
B: We were watching horror movies all night long! (emphasizing the duration of the process)

Does that work fine?

No. The answer usually fits the question. The natural answer would be "We watched ..."

 

[Michaelll]

The use of the distancing (past) tense implies that neither the writing nor the preparation is still in progress.

Yes, I understand that it may be saying of something that happened, say, ten years ago.

……13a. Sally was writing a report while Barry was preparing lunch.
……13b. While Sally wrote a report, Barry prepared lunch.
……13c. Sally wrote a report while Barry was preparing lunch.
……13d. While Sally was writing a report, Barry prepared lunch.

What I can't figure out is this: do I understand correctly that 13a and 13d don't tell us whether the report was completed or not, while 13b and 13c show us that the report was completed? And this is the main thing in the choice of the past continuous or the past simple?

• She played tennis while I read a book. (the book was finished)
• She was playing tennis while I was reading a book. (if I want to show that the book was still unfinished)

 

[Barque]

do I understand correctly that 13a and 13d don't tell us whether the report was completed or not, while 13b and 13c show us that the report was completed?

None of them necessarily mean that the report was completed.

She played tennis while I read a book. (the book was finished)

No, this doesn't necessarily mean you finished the book. You may or may not have.

 

[Michaelll]

None of them necessarily mean that the report was completed.

Even these two?

……13b. While Sally wrote a report, Barry prepared lunch.
……13c. Sally wrote a report while Barry was preparing lunch.

 

[Barque]

Even those two. I suppose they strongly indicate that she finished it. But they don't necessarily mean she did.

 

[Michaelll]

Now I'm completely confused. I don't understand how English works, and how to show the process (she wrote a report/read a book - activity), and how to show the result (she wrote a report/read a book - result).

 

[Barque]

The words that follow would normally clarify whether she finished it or not.

I wrote a report while he cooked lunch for both of us, and I emailed it to my boss before I ate.
I wrote a report while he cooked lunch. I put in some finishing touches in the evening and sent it off.

 

[Tarheel]

"Violent got ready while I cooked dinner" is quite normal. Nothing surprising there!

(That post is not mobile friendly.)

I assume you didn't like my post.

 

[Barque]

"Violent got ready while I cooked dinner" is quite normal. Nothing surprising there!

I think this is a good example of a sentence where the context tells you if she finished what she was doing or not. I'd take this to mean she finished getting ready while the other person cooked dinner.

 

[Tarheel]

@Barque I didn't realize how many posts there had been to this one until after I posted that, but I let it stand (obviously).

 

[Tarheel]

@Michaelll It is almost impossible to overemphasize how important context is.

 

[Michaelll]

@Michaelll It is almost impossible to overemphasize how important context is.

Without any context "She wrote a report" or "She's written a report" may mean either?

 

[Barque]

Without any context "She wrote a report" or "She's written a report" may mean either?

I'd take both those to mean she completed the report. Especially the second.

 

[Michaelll]

I'd take both those to mean she completed the report. Especially the second.

Barry prepared lunch while Sally wrote a report. If she hadn't written the report, she'd have had time to do something else.

 

[Barque]

If she hadn't written the report, she'd have had time to do something else.

Are you asking if this suggests she finished the report?