Question

He was writing a letter when you rang me up

Answer 1

"He was writing a letter when you rang me up" suggests that the person speaking was in the middle of writing a letter when they received a phone call. Let's break it down:

- "He was writing a letter": This indicates that a third person, referred to as "he," was in the process of writing a letter. The continuous past tense, "was writing," implies ongoing action in the past.

- "When you rang me up": This phrase implies that the speaker received a phone call from the listener. The term "rang me up" is a colloquial way of saying that the listener made a phone call to the speaker.

So, combining the two phrases, it suggests that the speaker interrupted their letter-writing activity to answer the phone call from the listener.

The speaker might continue the conversation by explaining the reason or purpose of the call or even express their surprise or annoyance at being interrupted while writing the letter.