If someone was treated by a psychiatrist, is there any difference between : He saw a psychiatrist or he was seeing a psychiatrist? Can either be used?
Learn English – is there any difference between saw or was seeing in this example
past-continuouspast-simple
Best Answer
For convenience, I will assume that the 'someone' in your question is called Fred.
"Fred saw" is in the normal past tense. It would normally be taken to mean that, at some time in the past, Fred went to a psychologist but he is no longer doing so. This usage does not allow us to infer that Fred saw the psychiatrist more than once, although he may have.
"He was seeing" is in the past continuous. By itself, this would indicate that the speaker is aware that Fred went to a psychologist at some time in the past, but is not sure if Fred is still doing so. Because it is in the past continuous, we may also infer that Fred had seen the psychiatrist more than once. NOTE: If the speaker was aware that Fred is still seeing a psychiatrist then he would probably have said:
If additional information was provided, it is possible that the meaning of "he was seeing" could change slightly. e.g.:
In addition to the original meaning, this sentence provides the additional information that Fred stopped seeing his psychiatrist when the psychiatrist retired.