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The Past Continuous Tense

The past continuous tense usually expresses a protracted action which took place in the past. The meaning of this form is very close to that of the past continuous tense in English.

The past continuous tense is formed by adding the past participle of the verb رھنا rahnaa 'to remain, to stay' (رہا rahaa) and the past tense of the verb 'to be' to the stem of the main verb:

وہ لکھ رہا تھا

vah likh rahaa thaa

'He was writing'

عورت بھاگ رھی تھی

aurat bhaag rahii thii

'A woman was running'

گھوڑے پانی پی رھے تھے

ghoRe paanii pii rahe the

'The horses were drinking water'

لڑکیاں باتیں کر رھی تھیں

laRkiyaaN baateN kar rahii thiiN

'The girls were talking'

The participle agrees with the subject in number and gender.

See also:

• Verbs
• The Verb 'to be'
• Finite Verb Forms
• The Indicative Mood
• The Present Tense
• The Imperfect Tense
• The Present Continuous Tense
• The Preterit Tense
• The Perfect Tense
• The Pluperfect Tense
• The Future Tense
• The Subjunctive Mood
• The Conditional Mood
• The Imperative Mood
• Non-finite Verb Forms
• The Passive Voice
• Compound Verbs
• Particles

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