Wednesday, August 29, 2012

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)