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Anonymous Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

past tenses

Hello...I found the following sentences. You were cheating in the game yesterday. You were not playing with the cards I gave you. Can you please tell me why the past continuous is used here? Could I use the past simple instead? You cheated in the game yesterday. You did not play with the cards I gave you. Thank you very much
  

Top answer

The two actions (the cheating and the playing) are concurrent (happening at the same time), and this fact alone justifies the use of the past progressive. The simple past seems fine too.

— Ivanhr

  • The two actions (the cheating and the playing) are concurrent (happening at the same time), and this fact alone justifies the use of the past progressive.
  • The simple past seems fine too.
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2 Answers
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The two actions (the cheating and the playing) are concurrent (happening at the same time), and this fact alone justifies the use of the past progressive. The simple past seems fine too.
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