She was talking to me while I was trying to work on my project.

[BestBuddy]

Is there any significant difference(that change the meaning) between using the simple past and the past continuous with the conjunction "while" (in cases where two parts of a sentence use the same aspect)? Which one do you prefer?

1. He watched TV while she washed the dishes.
2. He was watching TV while she was washing the dishes.
   
   
3. She talked to me while I tried to work on my project.
4. She was talking to me while I was trying to work on my project.

 

[5jj]

Is there any significant difference(that change the meaning) between using the simple past and the past continuous with the conjunction "while" (in cases where two parts of a sentence use the same aspect)? Which one do you prefer?

This is from another thread you started:

……13a. Sally was writing a report while Barry was preparing lunch.
……13b. While Sally wrote a report, Barry prepared lunch.
……13c. Sally wrote a report while Barry was preparing lunch.
……13d. While Sally was writing a report, Barry prepared lunch.


The writing and preparing are distanced in time. As they occurred in the past we know that the situations denoted are limited in duration (the duration does not extend to the present); the durative aspect therefore emphasises the duration more than the limitation. In [13a] the speaker emphasises the fact that the situations of writing and preparing extended over a period; in [13b] there is no such emphasis, merely a reporting that these situations actualised at the same distanced time. In [13b] and [13c] the suggestion is that the situation referred to using the durative aspect filled a longer time-period than the one referred to in the non-durative aspect. In these two sentences we can talk of one action 'framing' another.

 

[jutfrank]

If you want to get your head around differences in aspect, I suggest you consider carefully the uses that sentences can have, as the choice of aspect depends on use just as much as meaning. To do this, think of certain discursive contexts for the sentences.

Imagine a context where someone is recounting two people's habitual behaviour. In such a context, the past simple would be the appropriate choice to make:

She did all of the housework in the relationship. He watched TV while she washed the dishes. Although she never complained about his laziness, she bore a resentment towards him that would last for the rest of their days.

You can't use the past continuous in this context. There's no need for a progressive aspect there; moreover, it just doesn't make sense. The simple aspect is enough to make a statement of fact.