Question

Почему I was talking to him for 3 hours — Я разговаривал с ним три часа (Past Continuous),а не I talked to him for 3 hours?

Answer 1

Ответ:

Past Continious указывает на процесс (длительное действие), совершаемое в прошлом. Если делается акцент на длительности действия.

How long? - for 3 hours, for a whole day, for thirty minutes.

Talked - это Past Simple - привычки, повторяющиеся единичные действия в прошлом. Чаще делается акцент на количество действий, но ни в коем случае не на длительность.

Answer 2

I was talking to him for 3 hours is in the past continuous tense, which is used to indicate an action that was ongoing or in progress at a specific point in the past. This means that the speaker was in the middle of the action of talking to him for the entire duration of the 3 hours.

On the other hand, "I talked to him for 3 hours" is in the simple past tense, which indicates an action that occurred and was completed at a specific point in the past. This sentence suggests that the speaker completed the action of talking to him for 3 hours at some point in the past.

So the reason "I was talking to him for 3 hours" is used instead of "I talked to him for 3 hours" is because the speaker wants to emphasize the ongoing nature of the action and the fact that it was happening over a period of time in the past.