Imperfect progressive vs. Imperfect

Question

I am studying again, and I know you guys can help me out! I'm a little confused about when it's appropriate to use the imperfect progressive tense or when the imperfect would be better.

Por ejemplo:

Mientras estaba durmiendo, mis amigos estaban celebrando. O: Mientras dormía, mis amigos celebraban. (While I was sleeping, my friends were celebrating.)

Uno más:

Ella estaba escuchando música mientras estaba estudiando. O: Escuchaba música mientras estudiaba. (She was listening to music which she was studying,)

Is one better? Are they both acceptable? Please help!

Thanks for the complimentary comment Lucie. We are here to help one another...Buena suerte! - drvicente, Sep 29, 2011

Answer 1

Both are acceptable...Do not freak out about it!...You would be understood without any problems...Just know that the imperfect tense is much more commonly used especially in Spain and Latin America. Because now there is such a great influence of the Spanish language in the U.S., many Spanish speakers here attempt to use the present and past progressive tenses more because they are much more frequently used in our English language!

Lorenzo's link says much the same, but you are easier to understand! - MLucie, Sep 28, 2011

Answer 2

link

Thank you, Lorenzo. It is an interesting article, but will take a while to absorb. I'm not smart enough to understand words like " morphosyntactically"! - MLucie, Sep 28, 2011