Somsak tells a funny story about last night.

Somsak: 'Something funny happened last night. I was cooking dinner when the phone rang.'
Anna: 'What happened?'
Somsak: 'I was talking on the phone when I smelled smoke. My rice was burning!'
Nok: 'Oh no! What were you doing while it was burning?'
Somsak: 'I was still talking! I forgot about the rice completely.'
Anna: 'That's a great example of past continuous with past simple. Two actions — one longer (was cooking) interrupted by a shorter one (the phone rang).'
Nok: 'So "was/were + verb-ing" is for the longer action in progress?'
Anna: 'Exactly. And we often use "while" or "when" to connect the two actions.'

Use was/were + verb-ing for an action in progress in the past, often interrupted by a shorter past simple action: I was cooking when the phone rang. Use 'while' for two continuous actions happening together, and 'when' for the interrupting action. 🔊