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Describe a Debugging Timeline: Past Simple or Continuous?

A2-B1 Level

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Question 1 of 200 correct so far

Question 1

Complete the incident note.

When the first alert appeared, I (read) support's report; it took me another ten minutes to finish it.

Grammar review

When you explain a fault to another team, separate an event from the work already in progress. Use the past simple for a completed step: We sent the update, then closed the chat. Use the past continuous to place an unfinished action behind another event: I was writing the handover when support called.

Do not rely only on when or while. Read what happened next. If someone was halfway through a check and finished it later, that check was in progress at the moment of the interruption. If one step ended before the next began, the past simple gives the order.

Finished step or background action?

Completed event or sequence: past simple | Action unfinished at a past moment: was/were + -ing

1.We found the setting, then told support.
2.Mina was checking the account when Leo called.
3.The team was running a final check when confirmation arrived.

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💡 Tips for Success

•Ask whether an action was already in progress at that moment or whether it happened as a separate event.
•Look at the order of events and what was unfinished, not just words such as “when” and “while”.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does “while” always need the past continuous?

No. The meaning matters more than the word. In this exercise, an unfinished action at the time of another event takes the past continuous. Read the later-completion clue if the sentence has one.