HINDI VERBS 5 (Past Continuous Tense)

Past Continuous Tense (-ing tense)

                                                          

Past continuous tense describes actions that were going on in the past and may still continue in the present (may also be called past imperfective tense). Examples: I was going, I was eating, I was studying etc.

The past continuous tense is made out of a verb stem (a verb without –na ending),  rahaa/rahee/rahe and an auxiliary verb था/थी/थे thaa/thee/the (which is the past form of an irregular auxiliary verb होना honaa (to be). For example:

जाना	जा	रहा	था
jaanaa	jaa	rahaa	thaa
(An infinitive verb with the ending  “-naa”)	(the stem of the verb without its ending)	(a word that gives a continuous sense )	(auxiliary verb honaa “to be” in its past tense)

The past continuous tense’s structure is exactly the same as that of the present continuous and its one of the easiest structures to understand and use in Hindi grammar.

Snaker charmers (sapheras) at the Ajmer Fort in Jaipur, Rajasthan.

Past continuous tense conjugation chart:

मैं जा रहा था main jaa rahaa thaa I was going.	मैं जा रही थी main jaa rahee thee I was going.
आप जा रहे थे aap jaa rahe the You were going (formal).	आप जा रही थीं aap jaa rahii theen You were going (formal).
तुम जा रहे थे tum jaa rahe the You were going (informal).	तुम जा रही थी tum jaa rahee theen You were going (informal)
तू जा रहा था too jaa rahaa thaa You were going (very informal).	तू जा रही थी too jaa rahee thee You were going (very informal).
यह/वह जा रहा था yah/vah jaa rahaa thaa He was going.	यह/वह जा रही थी yah/vah jaa rahee thee She was going.
हम जा रहे थे ham jaa rahe the We were going.	हम जा रही थीं ham jaa rahee theen We were going.
आप जा रहे थे aap jaa rahe the You were going (formal)	आप जा रही थीं aap jaa rahee theen  You were going (formal)
तुम जा रहे थे tum jaa rahe the You were going (informal)	तुम जा रही थीं tum jaa rahee theen You were going (informal).
ये/वे जा रहे थे ye/ve jaa rahe the They were going.	ये/वे जा रही थीं ye/ve jaa rahee theen They were going.

Some examples:

आप यहाँ क्या कर रहे थे? aap yahaan kyaa kar rahe the	What were you doing here?  (for male, polite)
मैं चाबी ढूँढ रहा था। main chaabee Dhoondh rahaa thaa	I was looking for the keys. (m)
बच्चे बारिश में नहा रहे थे। bacche bearish men nahaa rahe the	Children were bathing in the rain. (m, pl)
वह सच बोल रहा था। vah sach bol rahaa thaa	He was telling the truth. (m, sg)
मैं सुबह काम कर रही थी। main subah kaam kar rahee thee	I was working in the morning. (f, sg)

Negative:   

                                                                                                                                   

वह कुछ भी नहीं बोल रहा था। vah kucchh bhee naheen bol rahaa thaa	He was not saying anything. (m, sg)
औरतें गाने नहीं गा रही थीं। auraten gaane naheen gaa rahee then	Women were not singing songs. (f, pl)
मेरे पिता अखबार नहीं पढ़ रहे थे। mere pitaa akhbaar naheen parh rahe the	My father was not reading the newspaper. (m, sg, polite)
नौकरानी चाय नहीं बना रही थी। naukraanee chaay naheen banaa rahee thee	The maid was not making tea. (f, sg)
सोनू मोटी बिलकुल नहीं लग रही थीं। sonu mote bilkul naheen lag rahee then.	Sonu was not looking fat at all. (f, sg)

Havaa Mahal (Wind Palace) in Jaipur, Rajasthan.

Example sentences’ vocabulary:

यहाँ	yahaan	here
क्या	kyaa	what
कर रहे थे (करना)	kar rahe the (karnaa)	was doing (to do)
चाबी	chaabee	key/keys
ढूँढ रहा था  (ढूँढना)	dhoondh rahaa thaa (dhoondhnaa)	was looking for (to look for)
बच्चे	bacche	children
बारिश	baarish	rain
में	men	in
नहा रहे थे (नहाना)	nahaa rahe the (nahaanaa)	were bathing (to bath)
सुबह	subah	morning
काम	kaam	work
कर रही थी (करना)	kar rahee thee (karnaa)	was doing (to do)
कुछ भी नहीं	kuchh bhee naheen	nothing at all
बोल रहा था (बोलना)	bol rahaa thaa (bolnaa)	was speaking (to speak)
औरतें (औरत)	auraten (aurat)	women (woman)
गाना	gaanaa	song
गा रही थी (गाना)	gaa rahee thee (gaanaa)	were singing (to sing)
पिता	pitaa	father
अखबार	akhbaar	newspaper
पढ़ रहा था (पढ़ना)	parh rahaa thaa (parhnaa)	was reading (to read)
नौकरानी	naukraanee	maid
चाय	chaay	tea
बना रही थी (बनाना)	banaa rahee thee (banaanaa)	was making (to make)
सोनू	sonu	Sonu (name)
मोटी  (मोटा)	moTee (moTaa)	fat ,f (fat, m)
बिलकुल नहीं	bilkul naheen	not at all
लग रही थी (लगना)	lag rahee thee (lagnaa)	was looking (to look)