vs
QUICK ANSWER
"Llovía" is a form of "llover", an impersonal verb which is often translated as "to rain". "Estaba lloviendo" is a form of "estaba lloviendo", a phrase which is often translated as "it was raining". Learn more about the difference between "llovía" and "estaba lloviendo" below.
llover()
An impersonal verb is a verb with no apparent subject (e.g., Llueve en España.).
An intransitive verb is one that does not require a direct object (e.g., The man sneezed.).
a. to rain down on (figurative)
Me llovieron todo tipo de problemas.All sorts of problems rained down on me.
estaba lloviendo()
A phrase is a group of words commonly used together (e.g., once upon a time).
1. (general)
