Continuous Past Actions with Imperfect

This structure relies on two best friends: the continuous marker and the past auxiliary. If you know the Present Continuous (main ja raha hoon - I am going), you are 90% there. Seriously. We just swap the present tense ending for the past tense ending. The verb stem stays the same. The continuous marker raha stays the same. The only thing changing is the "was/were" part. No complex case endings here. No ne particle to ruin your day. The subject dictates everything. If the subject is a guy, the verb looks masculine. If it's a girl, it's feminine. It’s grammar that actually plays by the rules.

1. 1Let's build this like a sandwich. Here is your assembly line:
2. 2Subject: The doer (Main, Tum, Woh, Hum).
3. 3Object: The thing being acted upon (optional).
4. 4Verb Stem: Take the infinitive (e.g., bolna) and drop the na -> bol.
5. 5Continuous Marker: raha (masc. sing), rahi (fem), or rahe (masc. pl/formal).
6. 6Past Auxiliary: tha (masc. sing), thi (fem), or the (masc. pl/formal).
7. 7The Formula:
8. 8Subject + Object + Stem + raha/rahi/rahe + tha/thi/the
9. 9Example (Masc): Main (I) + hindi + bol (speak) + raha + tha = Main hindi bol raha tha.
10. 10Example (Fem): Woh (She) + gaana (song) + ga (sing) + rahi + thi = Woh gaana ga rahi thi.

Use this when the action has duration in the past.

• Setting the Scene: " The sun was shining, and birds were singing." (Suraj chamak raha tha...)
• Interrupted Actions: "I was watching TV when the power went out."
• Parallel Actions: "I was cooking while he was cleaning."
• Softening a Request: Sometimes used to sound polite about a past intention. "I was wondering if you could help."

Don't get trigger-happy. This tense isn't for everything in the past.

• Completed Events: If you just want to say "I went to the store," use Simple Past (Main gaya). Don't use Past Continuous unless you want to emphasize the journey itself.
• Past Habits: If you "used to" do something, Hindi has a specific habit pattern (karta tha). Saying Main cricket khel raha tha means you were playing at a specific moment, not that you were a cricket legend in your youth.
• Stative Verbs (Sometimes): Verbs like "to know" or "to understand" often behave differently. You usually say "I knew him" (Main use jaanta tha), not "I was knowing him."

Even seasoned learners trip on these wires.

• The Gender Bender: Forgetting to change raha to rahi for female subjects. Woh ja raha thi sounds like a grammatical identity crisis.
• The Missing Auxiliary: Dropping the tha/thi/the at the end. Saying just Main ja raha sounds like "I am going" without the "am." It feels incomplete.
• The Ne Trap: Using the ergative ne particle. NEVER use ne with continuous tenses. It’s strictly for completed actions. Maine ja raha tha is a crime against Hindi.

Let's clear up the confusion between "Was doing" and "Used to do."

• Past Continuous (raha tha): Focuses on a specific moment in time. "At 5 PM, I was drinking tea."
• Past Habitual (ta tha): Focuses on a routine. "When I lived in Delhi, I drank tea everyday." (Main chai peeta tha).

Think of Continuous as a video clip, and Habitual as a photo album of memories.

Q: Can I use this for future plans?

No, unlike English ("I was going to go..."), Hindi uses a different structure for intent (wala tha).

Q: What about formal 'You' (Aap)?

Aap always takes plural endings (rahe the / rahi thin), even for one person. Respect adds weight!

Q: Does the object change the verb?

No! In this tense, the verb agrees with the Subject. Always.