Using the Past Continuous with the Simple Past Tense

Using the Past Continuous with the Simple Past Tense The past continuous tense uses:

was/were + (verb) + ing
was eating or were going

It is used to show something that happened in the past and continued for a while. For example:

From 8:00 to 8:30 I was taking a bath.

We use the past continuous tense with the simple past tense when we want to show that one thing happened in the middle of another thing.

I was taking a bath and the telephone rang.

During a period of time (8:00-8:30) I was taking a bath. At one time (let's say 8:17) someone called on the telephone.
We can also connect the past continuous and simple past together by using the words when, while, and as.

When I was taking a bath, the telephone rang.
The telephone rang when I was taking a bath.
While I was taking a bath, the telephone rang.
The telephone rang while I was taking a bath.
As I was taking a bath, the telephone rang.
The telephone rang as I was taking a bath.

Notice if you use when, while, or as at the beginning of the sentence, you need to put a comma (,) after the phrase.