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The Present Continuous Tense

The present continuous tense usually expresses a protracted action taking place at the present moment. The meaning of this form is very close to that of the present continuous tense in English.

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

اب وہ لکھ رہا ھے

ab vah likh rahaa hai

'He is writing now'

The participle agrees with the subject in number and gender:

عورت بھاگ رھی ھے

aurat bhaag rahii hai

'A woman is running'

گھوڑے پانی پی رھے ھیں

ghoRe paanii pii rahe haiN

'The horses are drinking water'

In the feminine plural form, the final vowel of the past participle of the auxiliary verb doesn't take nasalization:

لڑکیاں باتیں کر رھی ھیں

laRkiyaaN baateN kar rahii haiN

'The girls are talking'

See also:

• Verbs
• The Verb 'to be'
• Finite Verb Forms
• The Indicative Mood
• The Present Tense
• The Imperfect Tense
• The Past 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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