Did or Was Doing?

MisterFrancis · Jun 20, 2011

What is the grammatical difference between the constructions, "I did" and "I was doing"?

So for example:

I made my way along the street.
I was making my way along the street.

I can't work out which construction my first-person narrator should be using!

Fallen · Jun 20, 2011

I did = past tense (it happened in the past)
I was doing = past progressive (things were happening at a specific time in the past)

There's nowt wrong with either one.

One gives a final sense of completion (past) the other, not so much...

Lil · Jun 20, 2011

MisterFrancis said:
What is the grammatical difference between the constructions, "I did" and "I was doing"?

So for example:

I made my way along the street.
I was making my way along the street.

I can't work out which construction my first-person narrator should be using!

It depends on what comes next.

I made my way along the street and then I went into the building.

I was making my way along the street when I slipped on a banana peel.

Chase · Jun 20, 2011

As Fallen was saying . . . I mean said.

However, I find too many "was" constructions -- was going, was walking, was singing, was kissing -- becomes noticeable, whereas went, walked, sang, and kissed seem to get the job done without standout repetition of "was."

Maryn · Jun 20, 2011

[I'm on an alien computer in a hotel lobby, so fogive typos, please.]

I reserve the past ~~perfect~~ progressive usage (was going) for the supporting clause of a sentence with two clauses, a dependent and an independent. The main action in the sentence, the thing that really matters, gets straight past tense, the other thing ongoing at the same time past progressive.

Marie was showering when Bill finally returned her call.
The kids were out picking berries when their father had his accident.
While Jake called their hosts to say they'd be late, Grace was trying to find connecting flights out of DFW.

In each example, one activity, the one with the progressive verb tense, begins before and ends after the other, with the past verb tense.

Maryn, hoping that made sense

Bartholomew · Jun 20, 2011

Maryn is right.

By themselves, the constructions also tell how an action occurred through time.

was + ing verbs express an action that's over, but happened continually or often while it was in progress.

-ed verbs express actions that stopped when complete.

MisterFrancis · Jun 20, 2011

Thanks all - very helpful.

Maryn, I shall use that system!

newbound · Jun 20, 2011

was doing is considered passive and a lot of editors will want them changed to the active did.

lindseyanne · Jun 20, 2011

I prefer "did" instead of "was doing." It's more concise and succint.

blacbird · Jun 20, 2011

newbound said:
was doing is considered passive and a lot of editors will want them changed to the active did.

Not. Neither of the example sentences are in passive construction. Fallen expressed the grammar distinction precisely.

A passive construction would be:

The street was (being) walked along by me.

Ferret · Jun 20, 2011

past continuous (aka past progressive): was doing/were doing

past perfect (aka pluperfect): had done

As blacbird said, these are not passive. Passive verb constructions consist of a form of be and a past participle and indicate that the subject receives the action.

All of these forms have their uses. However, active past simple (did) is often the best choice, especially if you don't have a good reason for switching to something more complicated.

Fallen · Jun 20, 2011

Ferret said:
past continuous (aka past progressive): was doing/were doing

You know, as far as understanding technical terms go, 'past continuous' seems so much easier to visualise than 'past progressive'.

absitinvidia · Jun 20, 2011

Ferret said:
past continuous (aka past progressive): was doing/were doing

past perfect (aka pluperfect): had done

As blacbird said, these are not passive. Passive verb constructions consist of a form of be and a past participle and indicate that the subject receives the action.

All of these forms have their uses. However, active past simple (did) is often the best choice, especially if you don't have a good reason for switching to something more complicated.

Would it be possible to set one of these discussions as a sticky note at the top of the thread? This question is asked time and again and it might be helpful to have it in a place where the answer is easy to find.

Rufus Coppertop · Jun 21, 2011

Maryn said:
I reserve the past perfect usage (was going)

That's past progressive/past continuous/imperfect.

"Perfect" means it was finished, not still happening.

Rufus Coppertop · Jun 21, 2011

newbound said:
was doing is considered passive and a lot of editors will want them changed to the active did.

Was doing is considered passive by whom?

It's not even remotely passive. Not even a tiny little bit.

Was doing is absolutely totally and completely active.

It is as active as something that initiated activity and was fulfilling that activity actively at the time spoken of in the sentence in which it occurs as an active form of the verb to do.

The passive equivalent is "was being done to".

Bufty · Jun 22, 2011

A common mistake made by beginners rushing along and blindly using 'was ...ing' constructions is they can be vague insofar as they simply say 'what' someone was doing - with no indication of how they were doing it.

was...looking, smiling, sitting, walking, .......etc.,

Did or Was Doing?

MisterFrancis

Fallen

Stood at the coalface

Lil

Chase

It Takes All of Us to End Racism

Maryn

I Tried

Bartholomew

Comic guy

MisterFrancis

newbound

It's my turn!

lindseyanne

blacbird

Ferret

Dook!

Fallen

Stood at the coalface

absitinvidia

A bit of a wallflower

Rufus Coppertop

Rufus Coppertop

Bufty

Where have the last ten years gone?