when I called, they were printing newspaper.
Past simple + Past continuous
Veteran and genius combine to deliver first gold for Russia.
National icon Yevgeny Plushenko and rising star Julia Lipnitskaia helped deliver Russia their first gold of Sochi 2014!
1. Some trees have been planted by the gardener.
Tracy is taller than Sofia.
Paul is taller than Tracy and much taller than Sofia.
Paul is the tallest of all.
Sofia is older than Paul.
Paul is older than Tracy.
Paul isn't as old as Sofia.
Sofia is the oldest of all.
Sofia is more active than Paul.
Paul isn't as active as Tracy.
Tracy is much more active than Paul.
Tracy is the most active of all.
Paul is more sociable than Tracy.
Sofia is much more sociable than Tracy.
Sofia is the most sociable of all.
To be - это глагол состояния (stative/non-Continious verb). У таких глаголов, чтобы показать на длительность процесса, Continious не используется, т.к. длительность уже заложена в смысл глагола.
Вместе с тем, иногда to be используется в Continious, но не тогда, когда у него значение "быть/существовать", а, например, "действовать/вести себя". Например, если Пол ведет себя глупо, ему можно сказать:
Paul, you're being silly!