[Grammar] I was working in a hotel for two years when i was a student.

[ercantuncer]

Can I use past continuous when I talked about an action that happened in the past in a period time or should I use past perfect continuous and can you tell me if my sentences and explanations are correct?

1) I was working in a hotel for two years when I was a student. ( I worked in the hotel for 2 years and when I was working there I was a student.)

2) I had been working in a hotel for two years when I was a student. ( I started working there in the past and keep working there until I became a student.)

 

[emsr2d2]

Before we continue, please click on Edit Post, and capitalise the word "I" each time you have used it, then click Save.

 

[ercantuncer]

Before we continue, please click on Edit Post, and capitalise the word "I" each time you have used it, then click Save.

I have edited my post.Can you answer my questions?

 

[emsr2d2]

Can I use ​the past continuous when I [STRIKE]talked[/STRIKE] talk about an action that happened in the past in a specific period of time or should I use the past perfect continuous? [STRIKE]and[/STRIKE] Can you tell me if my sentences and explanations are correct?

1) I was working in a hotel for two years when I was a student. (I worked in the hotel for 2 years and when I was working there I was a student.)

2) I had been working in a hotel for two years when I was a student. (I started working there in the past and [STRIKE]keep[/STRIKE] kept working there until I became a student.)

Please note my changes above. Don't put a space after an opening bracket. Neither sentence needs any form of the continuous.

I worked in a hotel for two years when I was a student.

In addition, your second sentence's explanation is wrong. If you worked there before you were a student and kept working there until you were a student, then you stopped working there when you became a student.

I was [already] working in a hotel when I became a student. ​(That suggests that you continued working there even after you became a student.)