you were applying for a loan/you applied for a loan

[navi tasan]

1) Our records indicate that you were applying for a loan from us in 2022.
2) Our records indicate that you were applying for a loan from us in the past.

3) Our records indicate that you applied for a loan from us in 2022.
4) Our records indicate that you applied for a loan from us in the past.


Could #1 and #2 be used instead of #3 and #4 respectively?

I don't think they can. I think 'were applying' would either indicated that the action was done multiple times or would mean 'in the process of applying' (I think #2 would be strange if that was the intended meaning).

Would you agree with that?

 

[emsr2d2]

They certainly can't be used "instead of" #3 and #4. To do that, they'd need to mean the same as #3 and #4.

#1 and #2 definitely don't mean the applying was done multiple times. At a push, #1 could be taken to mean "in the process of applying" but the timeframe would probably be more precise than just 2022. Even then, we'd be more likely to say "In [June] 2022, you had a loan application in/ongoing with us". That interpretation can't be taken from #2 because of "in the past", as you suspected.