Simple past vs Past continuous tense

[abhishek.gupta]

Gmat Manhattan Sentence Correction Guide, Chapter 13, Pg 263, (Problem Set) question 3.

The original Sentence: "When he swam across the lake, he struggled to keep his head above water."

I understand the above sentence is correct. I want to understand whether following three constructions of the above sentence are grammatically correct and convey the same meaning?
a) When he swam across the lake, he was struggling to keep his head above water.
b) When he was swimming across the lake, he struggled to keep his head above water.
c) When he was swimming across the lake, he was struggling to keep his head above water.

My hypothesis is that they are grammatically correct and convey the same meaning. Please validate.

[RonPurewal]

Gmat Manhattan Sentence Correction Guide, Chapter 13, Pg 263, (Problem Set) question 3.

The original Sentence: "When he swam across the lake, he struggled to keep his head above water."

I understand the above sentence is correct. I want to understand whether following three constructions of the above sentence are grammatically correct and convey the same meaning?
a) When he swam across the lake, he was struggling to keep his head above water.
b) When he was swimming across the lake, he struggled to keep his head above water.
c) When he was swimming across the lake, he was struggling to keep his head above water.

My hypothesis is that they are grammatically correct and convey the same meaning. Please validate.

at the most nuanced level of understanding they are a little different -- there are small differences in what the different forms communicate about the speaker's view of the situation -- but any such differences are way, way beyond what would ever be tested on the gmat.

at the level of understanding required for the gmat exam, they're basically identical.

[abhishek.gupta]

Thanks. It helps lot to get doubts clarified.
That was really helpful.

[RonPurewal]

Thanks. It helps lot to get doubts clarified.
That was really helpful.

sure.

more generally, remember that the gmat is NOT going to test small / subtle differences between tenses.
if tenses are necessary to solving a problem, then the differences are going to be huge -- like, say, using the past tense for an event that hasn't occurred yet, or using 2 different tenses for simultaneous actions.

if you see what appears to be a subtle difference between tenses -- i.e., not a rather large/obvious difference -- then look for a different basis for eliminating choices.