we were sitting in a room vs we sat in a room

Both phrases are correct, but they express slightly different meanings. 'We were sitting in a room' implies an ongoing action of sitting in the past, while 'We sat in a room' indicates a completed action of sitting in the past. The choice between the two phrases depends on if you want to emphasize the continuous nature of the action or simply state the fact of sitting.

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Last updated: December 11, 2024 • 8842 views

we were sitting in a room

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to describe an ongoing action of sitting in the past.

This phrase is used to indicate that at a specific time in the past, the action of sitting was in progress. It emphasizes the continuous nature of the action.

Examples:

We were sitting in a room when the power went out.
They were sitting in a room discussing their plans for the weekend.

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Last updated: November 20, 2024

Feb 28, 2024 ... We were sitting in a room off of the library, and Mike bounced in with all of his Mike energy. He responded to our questions thoughtfully ...
May 19, 2019 ... We were sitting in a room for our first Sprint Planning. The only thing that was clear: the biggest pain point of our stakeholders. I ...
Jan 10, 2019 ... ... we were sitting in a room with an HIV test counselor holding a test strip that just determined we were HIV-positive. For us, things weren't ...
Feb 8, 2018 ... There we were, sitting in a room, discussing what my friend Demetria had done since our last conversation about her goals. She is a very ...
Jun 1, 2024 ... 63 votes, 21 comments. I was at a friend's house and we were sitting in a room with no air conditioning or fan or any windows open and i was ...
May 18, 2023 ... We were sitting in a room full of little ones for the presentation of the Gospel message. My Pastor held a dollar as he explained Jesus ...
May 14, 2023 ... We were sitting in a room, she just turned the lights out and gave the solo that you hear in the song. Everybody got chills. I'll never ...
Oct 12, 2022 ... Not long after the diagnosis, we were sitting in a room at Stanford Hospital, and he looked at me and said, “Don't worry kid, I'm going to walk ...
Aug 18, 2021 ... For a lot of these songs, I can point to a moment where we were sitting in a room, and things came together, which didn't happen as much on ...
Sep 2, 2011 ... I expressed my concern to a couple of physics upperclassmen earlier this week, when we were sitting in a room grading the 8.01 Advanced Standing ...

Alternatives:

We were seated in a room
We were occupying seats in a room

we sat in a room

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to describe a completed action of sitting in the past.

This phrase is used to state that at a specific time in the past, the action of sitting was completed. It indicates a simple past action without emphasizing its ongoing nature.