lived/was living

[Gorkem Atay]

1. ''Before she bought her own house, she lived in an apartment''.

2. ''Before she bought her own house, she was living in an apartment''.

Are their meanings roughly same?

 

[Rover_KE]

Yes.

Also: 'Before she bought her own house, she had been living in an apartment'.

 

[emsr2d2]

Their meanings are roughly the ​same.

 

[improveenglish]

Yes, the meanings are more or less the same.

The only thing to mention is that we tend to use the past continuous (was living) when we want to emphasise the duration of the event ("She was living in her apartment for 3 years before she bought her own house").

 

[MikeNewYork]

But not always.

 

[Matthew Wai]

1. She lived in Turkey for a decade.
2. She was living in Turkey for a decade.

In 1, she might have lived there intermittently for ten years in total.
In 2, she was living there continuously for ten years.

Are they correct?

 

[Rover_KE]

No, they both mean for ten continuous years.