Past simple and past continuous

Past simple	Past continuous
All the people survived.	The plane was flying low.
Most of the people didn't get wet.	Some people weren't wearing jacket.
Did the engine fail? Yes, it did. / No, it didn't.	Were people screaming? Yes, they were. / No, they weren't.

Utilizamos el past simple para hablar sobre acciones que ocurrieron en el pasado.
Por ejemplo: I wrote an article for the newspaper.

Utilizamos el past continuous para hablar sobre acciones que estaban ocurriendo en el pasado.
Por ejemplo: I was writing an article for the newspaper.

Normalmente, utilizamos while antes del past continuous y when antes del past simple.
Por ejemplo: While I was writing, my sister brought me some cakes.
                    When I caught the ball, I heard an applause.
Así que podríamos traducir while como mientras y when como cuando.