Play or playing – which one is correct and why? Both "play" and "playing" is correct here People often see him (who is) playing basketball on the playground at the weekend People often see him (who) play basketball on the playground at the weekend So essentially both carry the same meaning
Is it idiomatic to say I just played or I was just playing in . . . I was playing hockey You could use it as a way to say "No" when invited to play a game or a match or something similar For example: Want to play a game of chess? I just played Give me an hour to recharge my brain If you say, "I was just playing" it means that you were just kidding around about whatever the topic of the conversation is For
play or playing? - English Language Learners Stack Exchange Cook (2000) defined language play as playing with words and meanings, playing in language and creating fictional words, and playing with pragmatics, which entails enjoyment with language
difference - I played football when I was young vs I was playing . . . The progressive verb "playing" in sentence #2 suggests you repeatedly played football as a child, and are probably still playing football in the present It sounds like how a pro football player would tell their origin story: "I was already playing football when I was 5"
Difference between have been doing, was doing and have done 1 "I have been playing tennis for five years" uses the present perfect progressive (also known as "present perfect continuous") tense It means that I continuously played tennis for the past five years and continue to play tennis in the present