when he drove vs when he was driving

Both "when he drove" and "when he was driving" are correct, but they are used in different contexts. "When he drove" is used to describe a specific action that was completed in the past, while "when he was driving" is used to describe an ongoing action or a background action that was happening at a specific point in the past.

Last updated: April 09, 2024 • 259 views

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to describe a specific action that was completed in the past.

"when he drove"

This phrase is used to refer to a specific instance in the past when someone operated a vehicle or drove.

Examples:

I remember when he drove us to the airport last summer.
When he drove the car into the garage, he accidentally hit the wall.
She was surprised when he drove all the way to her house to apologize.
When he drove the truck off the cliff, he knew he had made a mistake.
I was asleep when he drove home from the party.

Show examples from the web [+]

Put it under his arm when he drove and under his head when he took a nap.
When he drove, was he faster that this 911?
That was money that Damien already had on him... when he drove down to Franklin Terrace.
GWILYM MORGAN: When he drove off, end of February.
As Clarkson pointed out when he drove the XK, you get the sense that Jaguar is pushing the limits not of its technology, but of its overdraft.
Isn't it possible that Danny Dubois was sober when he drove the golf cart but legally intoxicated when he was tested after the fight?
This nickname hearkens back to his early days on the track, when he drove his own unsponsored car, named "Brute Force".
And not just because when he drove me home I peeked behind the curtain in his van.
A lie he had to construct, because Maya Woods was already dead when he drove her body there and dumped it.
So when he drove in Samantha's neighborhood, he wasn't hunting for himself at all.
I got her number from Alan when he drove me over here.
Well, he certainly wasn't dead when he drove away in his car.
Yes! He took out 40 feet of guardrail when he drove into the gorge.
The time he punctured her lung when he drove his fist through her ribs.
He tallied his first win when he drove an Albatros D.V down out of control at Langemark-Poelkapelle, Belgium on 15 November 1917.
Also in 1921, Jimmy Murphy became the first American to win the French Grand Prix when he drove a Duesenberg to victory at Le Mans.
Markus Bauer: I know Roland from the 2001 season when he drove for me in what was then the Super Race Classification.
I bet he still had that cash on him when he drove downtown.
You were with James when he drove back to the party to reestablish his alibi.
And I think you met Tommy when he drove you from wherever you landed.

Alternatives:

when he was driving
when he was behind the wheel
when he was at the wheel
when he operated the vehicle
when he was in control of the car

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to describe an ongoing action or a background action that was happening at a specific point in the past.

"when he was driving"

This phrase is used to refer to a continuous action that was taking place in the past at a specific moment.

Examples:

When he was driving to work, he saw a deer on the side of the road.
She called him when he was driving home from the store.
I waved at him when he was driving past my house.
When he was driving through the storm, he could barely see the road.
He was listening to music when he was driving to the beach.

Show examples from the web [+]

He wore them only when he was driving so they were always in the glove compartment.
He punched that ambulance driver when he was driving and he got me a real pearl necklace.
Grandpa brought it up when he was driving me home.
The accident happened when he was driving the bus.
It's possible he was under the limit when he was driving.
Now, apparently Nate saw some car accident when he was driving home, and filmed it.
He finished the 2017 season in 6th place overall, when he was driving a Ford Focus RS.
I wonder if this happened to President Kennedy when he was driving a prison bus.
Orsi Giancarlo from Portoferraio got catched by the police when he was driving a scooter without licence in the town centre.
He was also nicknamed "the lord of speed" owing to his composed expression when he was driving, without any effort.
If someone cut him up when he was driving, he'd get mad and all the electronics in the car would get fried.
But he wasn't a bad boy because he did all the football scores on the radio when he was driving buses.
Grandpa brought it up when he was driving me home.
In an interview, actor Greg Kinnear jokingly described how the scenes were filmed when he was driving: I was going like 50 miles an hour in this '71 VW van that doesn't have side airbags.
And finally, for the Brits, Percy Shaw - this is a big British invention - saw the cat's eyes at the side of the road, when he was driving home one night and from that came the Catseye.
And finally, for the Brits, Percy Shaw - this is a big British invention - saw the cat's eyes at the side of the road, when he was driving home one night and from that came the Catseye.

Alternatives:

when he drove
when he was behind the wheel
when he was at the wheel
when he operated the vehicle
when he was in control of the car

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when he drove vs when he was driving

"when he drove"

"when he was driving"

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