hi...you can use both in spanish, they're two diferent ways to express the same....i hope u can understand me :)....example: hablaba con mi amiga or yo estaba hablando con mi amiga both are sentences in the past form, you used "talking" as a verb and you can do the same with others verbs example: look....yo miraba or yo estaba mirando, jump....yo saltaba or yo estaba saltando