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They were playing(play) football yesterday from 13:00 to 15:00.
They played(play) football yesterday from 13:00 to 15:00.
At 8.30am today I was driving(drive) to work.
At 8.30am today I drove(drive) to work.
We were sleeping(sleep) at 11pm. when he came back home.
We slept(sleep) at 11pm. when he came back home.
I was studying(study) English at that time.
I studied(study) English at that time.
Should I use past or past continuous if I mention exact time period?
Tip: Be sure to use "past continuous," not "past continues."
Mentioning an exact time period in a sentence does not determine which verb form you should use. It's the meaning you want your sentence to have that makes the difference.
The following site http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/pastcontinuous.html uses these example...
Last night at 6 PM, I ate dinner.
Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner.
The first sentence means, I started eating dinner at 6 pm. The second sentence means that I started eating earlier than 6 pm, but at 6 pm I was still in the process of eating.
Take a look at the website I gave above. It is very helpful and easy to understand.
I hope this helps!
