was sitting on the fence vs sat on the fence

Both phrases are correct, but they are used in different contexts. 'Was sitting on the fence' is used to describe a continuous or ongoing action in the past, while 'sat on the fence' is used to describe a specific action in the past. The choice between them depends on whether you want to emphasize the continuous nature of the action or just the action itself.

Last updated: March 21, 2024 • 826 views

was sitting on the fence

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to describe a continuous or ongoing action in the past.

This phrase is used when you want to emphasize that someone was indecisive or neutral over a period of time in the past.

Examples:

During the debate, he was sitting on the fence and couldn't make up his mind.
She was sitting on the fence about which college to attend.

Show examples from the web [+]

Golden Bamboo Vietnamese song playing is Roi_mai_toi_dua_em_Truong. Combat GI He was Sitting on the Fence combat grunt ...
I was sitting on the fence. And I thought that I would kiss you. I never thought I would've missed you. But you never let me fall. Push my back against the wall
Sep 21, 2008 ... I was sitting on the fence. And I thought that I would kiss you. I never thought I would've missed you. But you never let me fall. Push my back ...
Dec 16, 2012 ... Sitting on the fence? I definitely did not get the impression that John L. was sitting on the fence in either letter, but especially not the second one ...

Alternatives:

was undecided
was neutral
was indecisive
was on the fence
was wavering

sat on the fence

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to describe a specific action of being indecisive or neutral in the past.

This phrase is used when you want to describe a specific instance of someone being indecisive or neutral in the past.

Examples:

He sat on the fence for weeks before finally making a decision.
She sat on the fence during the whole discussion.

Show examples from the web [+]

Jan 20, 2015 ... He just sat on the fence so as not to lose votes from either side. You can't sit on the fence any longer – you must choose whose side you are on.
Angela was neither for nor against it, and sat on the fence about it, instead trying to calm her friends down. The politician, when questioned on abortion, sat on ...
sit on the fence (third-person singular simple present sits on the fence, present participle sitting on the fence, simple past and past participle sat on the fence).
... like so many others. He comes right out and tells the reader what he ... 20) The politician sat on the fence and would not give his opinion about the tax issue.

Alternatives:

was undecided for a moment
was neutral for a while
was indecisive at that time
was on the fence briefly
was wavering for a short period

What Our Customers Are Saying

Our customers love us! We have an average rating of 4.79 stars based on 283,125 votes.
Also check out our 2,100+ reviews on TrustPilot (4.9).

"Thank you!"
Sachi Nakama July 2024
"I have literally been through chat, PI, claude, bard and bing and I got conflicting answers! Thank you! Human intelligence reigns!"
Retha July 2024
"Faster than AI"
CYNTHIA December 2023
"This was very helpful and I personally think this site is the best."
Kaden October 2023
"It was extremely thorough and very helpful!"
imperialelisa October 2023
"7 years without any disappointment. Always 100% satisfied. You guys are the best in the world at what you do. Thank you so much :)"
Zubair Alam October 2023
"In a world of text messages and online communication, this is great to have as a live tool. Thank you."
Selena October 2023
"Without textranch I would be stuck!"
宏祐 October 2023
"Accuracy and fast response. Personal comments from editor. Thank you."
Clh September 2023
"I wasn't aware of this service, it's fascinating and more reliable than standard IA tools available on the internet"
Arturo September 2023
"The fact that you can get reliable fast feedback on your texts."
Vinicius Antonio August 2023
"you guys are better than grammarly i'm being honest here"
ordinary July 2023
"OMG! This is really good than any other text correction tools I've used so far. Highly recommend this."
Vehan July 2023
"Very fast and accurate. thank you."
mojtaba July 2023
"I love this app because it's help to writing skills all of students ♥️"
Tarisini July 2023
"This was exactly the mistake I was looking for, the wording dind´t sound right at first. Better than grammarly!"
Ente July 2023
"The immediate help that I received was reassuring and very satisfactory. Thanks."
priiiyanshuu July 2023
"this helps A LOT for my studies."
kathnunez02 June 2023
"Woow!! I would never have expected such precision! Thank you soooo much!!"
Berta June 2023
"Real Time Editor and not AI. Many Thanks."
Priya June 2023
"The very first thing excites me about Textranch is how much your editors care."
sepideh June 2023
"The fact that texts are checked by human editors rather than by AI, etc. I appreciate this!"
Анна June 2023
"Feel welcome, immediate response, high quality feedback"
martin.roy June 2023
"This is the best app that I have ever seen"
Burulai May 2023

was sitting on the fence vs sat on the fence