AEE 2374: Past Progressive Grammar for English Interruptions

Summary

All Ears English Podcast – Episode 2374: Past Progressive Grammar for English Interruptions

Release Date: March 17, 2025

In Episode 2374 of the All Ears English Podcast, hosts Lindsay McMahon and Michelle Kaplan delve into the intricacies of the past progressive tense, focusing specifically on its application in expressing interruptions and simultaneous actions. This episode serves as the second installment in a series dedicated to mastering the past progressive tense, providing listeners with comprehensive insights, practical examples, and engaging role-plays to enhance their English grammar proficiency.

---

Introduction to Past Progressive

The episode begins with Aubrey Carter introducing the topic: "Past Progressive Grammar for English Interruptions" (00:00). Lindsay McMahon highlights the significance of using correct grammar to express complex thoughts, emphasizing the podcast's mission to help listeners become fluent by prioritizing connection over perfection (00:10).

Aubrey Carter sets the stage by explaining that this episode is part two of a series, focusing on how the past progressive tense is used in interrupted actions. She encourages listeners to refer to part one for foundational knowledge on the subject (02:43).

---

Understanding Past Progressive vs. Past Simple

A central theme of the episode is differentiating between the past progressive and the past simple tenses. Aubrey Carter addresses common student queries: "How do I know whether to use that verb ing or go with past simple?" (03:18). He explains that the past progressive is primarily used for simultaneous and interrupted actions.

Lindsay McMahon provides a clear example:

"While I was making dinner, I helped my daughter with her homework." (03:48)

Aubrey Carter breaks down the sentence, illustrating that the first action ("making dinner") occurs in the past progressive, while the second action ("helped my daughter") uses the past simple to denote a completed action at a specific moment in the past (03:52). He further elaborates that both actions can be in the past progressive if they are ongoing simultaneously:

"While I was eating dinner, I was helping my daughter with her homework." (04:21)

This flexibility underscores the complexity of the past progressive tense and why it can be challenging for learners to determine the appropriate usage.

---

Grammar Construction and Punctuation

The hosts delve deeper into sentence construction, focusing on the placement of adverbial clauses and the corresponding punctuation rules.

1. Adverb Clause at the Beginning:

   • Aubrey Carter explains that when an adverb clause (e.g., "When I was doing something") precedes the main clause, it requires a comma:

     "While I was making dinner, I helped my daughter with her homework." (04:46)

   • This structure introduces the context or setting for the main action, facilitating a smoother transition between ideas.

2. Adverb Clause at the End:

   • When the adverb clause follows the main clause, no comma is needed:

     "You called me when I was shopping." (07:51)

   • Lindsay McMahon adds another example:

     "He got home while I was making dinner." (08:23)

Aubrey Carter emphasizes the importance of recognizing whether the adverb clause is introductory or concluding to apply the correct punctuation, noting that introductory elements often "uplevel our speech or writing" by allowing for more complex sentence constructions (06:55).

---

Practical Examples and Role Plays

To solidify understanding, Lindsay and Aubrey present practical examples and engage in a role-play scenario:

• Example Sentences:

  • "While I was fixing the car, she handed me tools and kept me company." (05:24)
  • "When I was hanging out on the sand, I thought, 'I hope Lindsay is taking notes so I can get them from her.'” (11:07)

• Role Play:

  • Aubrey Carter and Lindsay McMahon simulate a classroom scenario where one misses a class and requests notes, incorporating the past progressive tense:

    Aubrey: "I went to the beach. It was amazing." (09:33)

    Lindsay: "I was stuck in class while you were playing at the beach." (09:36)

    This exchange demonstrates the natural use of the past progressive to describe simultaneous actions and interruptions.

Aubrey Carter highlights the importance of changing tone when narrating thoughts to ensure clarity, adding a nuanced layer to spoken English proficiency (11:18).

---

Takeaways and Practical Applications

As the episode concludes, Aubrey Carter summarizes the key points:

"Past progressive can be difficult to know whether to use past progressive or past simple. With this series, it will be a lot more clear to you which to choose, why natives choose one or the other." (12:18)

Lindsay McMahon encourages listeners to further their understanding through the podcast's courses, particularly the upcoming "Professional English Level One," which offers deeper dives into grammar points, exercises, and fluency activities (12:41).

The hosts reiterate the importance of mastering the past progressive tense to effectively express complex thoughts and engage in more sophisticated conversations, aligning with the podcast's overarching goal of fostering fluent and confident English speakers.

---

Conclusion

Episode 2374 of the All Ears English Podcast effectively demystifies the past progressive tense, providing intermediate to advanced English learners with the tools to navigate simultaneous and interrupted actions in conversation. Through detailed explanations, concrete examples, and interactive role-plays, Lindsay McMahon and Michelle Kaplan offer a comprehensive guide to mastering this essential aspect of English grammar. Listeners are encouraged to engage with additional resources and upcoming courses to continue their journey toward English fluency.

For those interested in exploring more about past progressive tense or other English grammar topics, be sure to follow the All Ears English Podcast and explore their extensive range of resources and courses.

Transcript

[Aubrey Carter]

This is an Allers English podcast. Episode 2374 Past Progressive Grammar for English Interruptions.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Welcome to the All Ears English podcast downloaded more than 200 million times. Are you feeling stuck with your English? We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection, with your American host, Aubrey Carter, the IELTS whiz and Lindsey McMahon, the English adventurer coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, usa. And to get your transcripts delivered by email every week, go to allearsenglish.com subscribe a key sign of a fluent speaker is being able to express your complex thoughts using correct grammar. Today, get our tips on using the past correctly in English.

[Aubrey Carter]

Do you freeze when you're in an English meeting at work and you get called on to participate? Wherever you're listening right now, open up the search bar and type Business English from All Ears English hit follow. We publish three business focused episodes per week with your favorite hosts, Lindsay and Michelle. Hello Lindsay, how are you today?

[Lindsey McMahon]

Excellent, Aubrey. Feeling great. Weekend is coming up. How about you? How's it going?

[Aubrey Carter]

Excellent. I have a question. I am curious.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yes.

[Aubrey Carter]

What were you doing right before we started recording?

[Lindsey McMahon]

Oh, right before we started recording I was catching up on emails. It was 8:30am or 9:30am so starting my day.

[Aubrey Carter]

That makes sense. That's kind of a boring answer.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah, it's kind of boring.

[Aubrey Carter]

But you know what, A lot of you out there, that's probably what you were doing before you listened to this podcast, right? We're all responding to emails. Emails. So much of our day anymore.

[Lindsey McMahon]

I know, it's amazing. It just takes over, you know, they just come in and they never stop coming in.

[Aubrey Carter]

The never ending list of emails to respond to.

[Lindsey McMahon]

What about you, Aubry? What were you doing before we started recording today?

[Aubrey Carter]

I did a peloton ride right before we started recording. Yes.

[Lindsey McMahon]

That was fun.

[Aubrey Carter]

Every now and then they have live rides and it's really fun to do it live with the instructor. Usually it's like a pre recorded one, but when I can I try to jump on and do the live ride.

[Lindsey McMahon]

But how long was the ride?

[Aubrey Carter]

It was just a 15 minute. Right. Sometimes they're quite a bit longer but sometimes they're really short so you can squeeze them in.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Fantastic.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah.

[Lindsey McMahon]

All right, good. What are we getting into today?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, the reason I asked, you know, what were you doing before you started recording for. We talked about this in part one of this series with past progressive, we often use it for interrupted actions. So this is part two of a series. But you can listen to the. To this one first. Stay to the end and we'll share what part one was. But these can be listened to out of order.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yes. Guys, make sure you hit the follow button right here on All Ears English so you don't miss any of these series that we do or any of our episodes. We drop five days a week. All right?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah. So we often get questions from students about past progressive versus past simple. How do I know whether to use that verb ing or go with past simple? And today, we're talking about. The main time we use past progressive is for simultaneous and. And interrupted actions. So you use past progressive there because you were answering emails when you had to jump on this call to record podcasts.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Exactly. So we have an example here. Shall I go ahead with the example?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, let's do it.

[Lindsey McMahon]

While I was making dinner, I helped my daughter with her homework.

[Aubrey Carter]

So this is simultaneous actions. Right. A mom often has to multitask as well as, you know, everybody, really. But while you're doing one thing, you do something else. Okay, and here, this is where we have past progressive. While I was making dinner. And then the other action can be past simple. If it's something that was completed at a specific moment in the past.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yes. It can be past simple as an option. It could also be past progressive, too. Right. While I was eating dinner, I was helping my daughter with her homework.

[Aubrey Carter]

Okay. Exactly. It depends on the action and if you are referring to it as a specific point in time. That's why this is really tricky grammar. It's difficult to know sometimes which to choose.

[Lindsey McMahon]

All right, what else do we have to know here? Aubry.

[Aubrey Carter]

All right, so we're going to dive into the two times. Right? Simultaneous actions, interrupted actions. So the first one, the normal construction, is when I was doing something or while I was doing something, something else happened.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Okay, so for example, when I was eating breakfast, I spilled my orange juice.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah. So the breakdown of grammar here, the first part of the sentence is an adverb clause describing this action and how it happened when it was interrupt it. And the second part is an independent clause. This can stand alone as a sentence. So you have either while or when the subject and then past progressive. So that's was or were with verb ing. And then the next part of the sentence, subject, and then either a past simple verb or like you pointed out, Lindsay, depending on the sentence past progressive. Again, love it.

[Lindsey McMahon]

All right, And. And thinking about that construction there, here's another example. While I was fixing the car, she handed me tools and kept me company. Yeah.

[Aubrey Carter]

Love that. And this is kind of a bonus to keep someone company. I say this a lot. You want me to keep you company. That means you want me to, like, chat with you, kind of entertain you while you're working, right?

[Lindsey McMahon]

Exactly. Or while you're doing anything. Maybe you're going. Maybe you want to accompany someone to a doctor's visit and you're actually asking, do you want some support? But you're trying to lighten that and make it a little less serious. You might say, hey, would you like me to keep you company? I'll come to the doctor's visit with you, that kind of thing.

[Aubrey Carter]

Good point. Right. And this is often used, my grandmother would always say this, come over and keep me company. I mean, just like, chat with me. Maybe we'll do a word search together. Right? It's just like, let's just visit and often ins. You know, instead we'll say, I'll keep you company or keep me company.

[Lindsey McMahon]

I love it. Is there anything we have to know about commas here when we're writing this?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yes. So for this construction, when you have an adverb clause, like when I was doing something here, you always have to use a comma after it when it comes at the beginning of a sentence. And this, because an adverb clause that starts a sentence is considered an introductory element, so it requires a comma to separate it from the main clause. And the tricky thing is here, depending on the construction of the sentence, there won't always be a a comma. So the second one we're going to teach, there's no comma.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Oh, okay. Good to know. Introductory element. Sounds very fancy.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yes, it does. Right. Kind of tricky grammar. And these often we will use these introductory elements when we're trying to either uplevel our speech or. Or our writing, we're trying to use complex sentences. And so we'll often use these to transition between ideas, which I know a.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Lot of our listeners are at that point in their learning, they're wanting to get more complex so that what they're saying can match what they're thinking.

[Aubrey Carter]

Right.

[Lindsey McMahon]

They have complex.

[Aubrey Carter]

You don't want to be just saying and writing simple, choppy sentences. When you have complex, interesting thoughts, you want to. You want them to be dressed, you know, gift wrapped, just as. As fancy as your thoughts are.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Exactly. And that's why we're here. I love it. All right, let's go through number two. Aubry, what is the second scenario? Grammar construction. Yes.

[Aubrey Carter]

Right. Number two is, you know, something was done, I did something While something else was happening. So because it's flipped and the adverb clause at the end, it's not introductory. There's no comma in this construction.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Okay. For example, you called me when I was shopping.

[Aubrey Carter]

Okay, exactly. No comma here. Right. Because the adverb clause is at the end when I was shopping. So the first part of these sentences is the independent clause. Right? You called me. That's a complete sentence. And then the second part is your adverb clause, when I was shopping. So there we have the while or when, subject and past progressive, which is was or were, depending on the verb. And then verb ing perfect.

[Lindsey McMahon]

And the second example, he got home while I was making dinner.

[Aubrey Carter]

Okay, Exactly. So your independent clause, he got home. That could be a sentence on its own. Yeah. And then while I was making dinner is our adverb clause, no comma in this sentence. Because we're not introducing the sentence. It doesn't start the sentence.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Love it. Imagine this. You walk into a social event at work, and you see tons of colleagues that you'd like to get to know better. But when you walk up to them, your mind goes blank. How can you start that conversation with your colleagues? This is one of the many things that we show you how to do on our other business English podcast. Search for business English right now and hit the follow button and come back for new episodes Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. See you there. All right, Aubry, we've gone through some pretty dense grammar here, which we love. We need this, we need the foundations, right? Let's go into a role play and see how it comes to light. Comes to action.

[Aubrey Carter]

Okay, so you and I are classmates, and I missed class last week, and so let's dive in here.

[Lindsey McMahon]

All right. Where were you last week?

[Aubrey Carter]

I went to the beach. It was amazing.

[Lindsey McMahon]

What? I was stuck in class while you were playing at the beach.

[Aubrey Carter]

I'm sorry. Actually, though, can I get your notes? Seriously, I'll owe you one. When I was hanging out on the sand, I thought, I hope Lindsay is taking notes so I can get them from her.

[Lindsey McMahon]

I bet it. Well, I have to miss class later this month, so be sure to take copious notes to share with me.

[Aubrey Carter]

Did you ever have that situation where a classmate would be like, I was at the beach. Can I get your notes?

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah, yeah, of course. That's so fun. And then you're there taking the notes, right?

[Aubrey Carter]

It's one thing if they were sick. If they're like, I was just on vacation, like, here you go. You're a little you do it a little more grudgingly.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah. Maybe write some incorrect things.

[Aubrey Carter]

No, you would never.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Never, never. All right, so then what did we say here? So you said, I went beach. It was amazing.

[Aubrey Carter]

Right. And here you said, I was stuck in class while you were playing at the beach. So this, there's no comma here because our adverb clause is at the end. Right. I was stuck in class as an independent clause could be a sentence by itself. And then while you were playing at the beach, the adverb clause is at the end. So there'll be no comma in this sentence.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Love it. And then the next thing you said, I'll owe you one. I would say I owe you one. Right. I guess you're saying in the future, if you do this in the future.

[Aubrey Carter]

For me, I'll owe you one.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah. Actually, that makes more sense. That makes more sense. Yeah, I'll owe you one. When I was hanging out in the sand, I thought, right.

[Aubrey Carter]

And then I narrate my thoughts. I thought, I hope Lindsay is taking good notes here. So this again, when I was hanging out on the sand, we'll have a comma after it. Because this is an introductory adverb clause. We use this to introduce the thought to start the sentence. So after that adverb clause, we have a comma. And then after that will be an independent clause, a full sentence that could stand on its own. I thought and then everything I was thinking.

[Lindsey McMahon]

And it's important. This is not what today's episode is about, but it's important to know that we do change our tone of voice when we report our thinking. Right, Aubrey?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yes, right. That's a good point. If I just say I thought, I hope Lindsay is taking note. It would be sort of confusing to change our tone of voice to make it clear that we're narrating our thoughts.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah. So when I was hanging out on the sand, I thought, I hope Lindsay is taking notes so I can get them from her. There has to be some kind of a change in your tone there.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, it sort of becomes a little sing songy sometimes. I hope Lindsay is taking notes. I do that sometimes for sure.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Oh, my gosh. This is fantastic. What's the takeaway for today? I know this is moving our listeners closer to where they want to be expressing complex thoughts.

[Aubrey Carter]

Absolutely right. Past progressive. It can be difficult to know whether to use past regressive or past simple. With this series, it will be a lot more clear to you which to choose, why natives choose one or the other. So definitely scroll up for part one. That was Allers English 2360. Your grammar questions answered past simple or past progressive.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yes. And keep in mind guys, if you really want to dig deep into grammar, the place to go is into our courses, Right? This is where you get to do exercises and practice and and take quizzes and make sure you're actually learning really going deeper. It's one step deeper than the podcast and we do have a new course coming out soon, Professional English level one, where it is a review of some of these grammar points, these grammar tenses. All right, so just be ready for that in the next few weeks, all right?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yes. And these have amazing fluency activities, speaking and writing where you have a chance to practice all of these so that you are ready to use all of that learning to connect in English.

[Lindsey McMahon]

All right, so good. And where else should we go? Aubry?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah. Be sure to scroll up, don't miss that part one and be sure to hit follow. If you did miss it, that means you're missing amazing episodes. Love it.

[Lindsey McMahon]

I'll see you in the next episode, Aubry. Have a good one.

[Aubrey Carter]

Bye.

[Lindsey McMahon]

See you next time. Bye. Thanks for listening to all ears. English. Would you like to know your English level? Take our two minute quiz. Go to allearsenglish.com forward/fluency score. And if you believe in connection, not perfection, then hit subscribe now to to make sure you don't miss anything. See you next time. Owns simple sweatery jeans De aynae en quentral Bolso de lis claiborne quesiempras querido ys andalias que convenient paranochas mascalidas elije pymas lijeras y frescas de ambriel Try a tu familia y des cubren lo Nuevo de Primavera JCPenney Valle La Pena.

[Aubrey Carter]

Geico's motorcycle expertise means I'm covered by people who know bikes like I do. I'm happy as a clam.

[Lindsey McMahon]

No conclusive scientific research has shown clams can experience happiness.

[Aubrey Carter]

I just meant that I feel really good about my coverage.

[Lindsey McMahon]

I mean, even if you took the clam out for the best day ever, visiting the zoo, taking a scenic ride, knowing you're insured by specialists, and sharing a strawberry ice cream cone together, the clam would not feel happy. And your strawberry cone would taste sort of clammy. Geico's motorcycle specialists who know bikes like you do assume no liability for clammy ice cream cones. Geico expertise for your motorcycle.