Question

Do actions that were in progress in the past (that is, they were ongoing or continuous) require the imperfect or the preterite?

imperfect
preterite

Answer 1

Preterite is used for completed actions, pretty much everything else is imperfect

Answer 2

You would use imperfect. The imperfect tense means there was no definite beginning or definite end, however preteriré, or preterite means there was a specific time it took place. Hopes this helps!