Language/Central-pashto/Grammar/Past-Continuous

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Central Pashto → Grammar → 0 to A1 Course → Past Tense → Past Continuous

Introduction

In this lesson, you will learn how to form the past continuous tense in Central Pashto. The past continuous tense is used to describe ongoing actions in the past. It is formed by combining the past tense of the verb "to be" ("شوم" for first person singular, "شوی" for second person singular, "شو" for third person singular, "شویم" for first person plural, "شوید" for second person plural, and "شوند" for third person plural) and the present participle (-دی) of the main verb.

For example:

Central Pashto	Pronunciation	English
ما غواصيه دی مو خواهش غواصيه دی	Ma ghwasya dī, mo khwāsh ghwasya dī.	I was diving, my desire was diving.
مې په دی ویاتی کی دی واخلمانده راتلوو	Me pa dī wayāti kī dī wākhelmande ratlū	I was entering the house while he was sleeping.
هغه يوځاي ګل سوره نه لريدی ځه يوه د پاري کي د پخيژونډ دمخک ده ده	Hagha yūzhāy gul sora na lrēdī, zha ywah dā pari kī da pakhēzhund makha dah dah.	She was not picking up one flower there, she was picking up a handful in the garden.

It is important to remember that the past continuous tense emphasizes the duration of an action in the past, rather than its completion. The past continuous tense can be contrasted with the past simple tense, which emphasizes the completion of an action in the past.

Let's look at some examples to better understand the difference between the two tenses:

Central Pashto	Pronunciation	English
دا وخت څرګنده شوي، هغه کتلو چه پليدل	Dā wakht tsarganda shūy, hagha katlū cha pleydul.	She was washing the dishes when he arrived.
دا وخت څرګنده شوه، هغه کتلو پليدل	Dā wakht tsarganda shwah, hagha katlū pleydul.	She washed the dishes when he arrived.

Notice how the first sentence (using the past continuous tense) emphasizes the duration of the action, while the second sentence (using the past simple tense) emphasizes its completion.

Now, let's dive into how to form the past continuous tense in Central Pashto.

Formation

To form the past continuous tense in Central Pashto, you need to combine the past tense of the verb "to be" (شوم, شوی, شو, شویم, شوید, or شوند) and the present participle (-دی) of the main verb.

Here is the formula:

Past tense of "to be" + Present participle of main verb

For example, let's look at how to form the past continuous tense for the verb "to write" (د يازیدل).

Person	Past Tense of "to be"	Main Verb	Present Participle	Past Continuous Tense
First person singular	شوم	د يازیدل	یازیدی	ما د يازیدل دییم
Second person singular	شوی	د يازیدل	یازیدی	تا د يازیدل دیی
Third person singular	شو	د يازیدل	یازیدی	هغه د يازیدل دیی
First person plural	شویم	د يازیدل	یازیدی	مونږ د يازیدل دییم
Second person plural	شوید	د يازیدل	یازیدی	تاسو د يازیدل دیی
Third person plural	شوند	د يازیدل	یازیدی	هنګو د يازیدل دیی

As you can see, the past continuous tense in Central Pashto changes based on the subject of the sentence.

Now, let's practice forming the past continuous tense with some more verbs.

Examples

Here are some more examples of how to form the past continuous tense in Central Pashto:

Central Pashto	Pronunciation	English
مو څلورمينه په واړه ډېر لرم دی	Mo chalōrmena pā wāra dēr laram dī.	I was studying a lot for the test.
تا هغه ورته بیتاب شوی ده لومړي څلورمينه مو خوښيدلی	Tā hagha wartah bētāb shwī dah, lomṛay chalormina mo khwakhīdli.	While he was worried, my tutor was reassuring me.
مونږ په جګړه کې د حمله او په میني شو شنوونه دې	Mōnəǧ pə jəḡ̌ərə kē də hamla aw pə menī sho shnōona dē.	We were hearing explosions and tremors during the earthquake.

Negation

To negate the past continuous tense in Central Pashto, simply add "ندی" at the end of the past participle of the verb "to be". For example:

Person	Past Tense of "to be"	Main Verb	Present Participle	Negation	Negated Past Continuous Tense
First person singular	شوم	د يازیدل	یازیدی	‏شم ندی	ما د يازیدل شم ندی دییم
Second person singular	شوی	د يازیدل	یازیدی	‏شی ندی	تا د يازیدل شی ندی دیی
Third person singular	شو	د يازیدل	یازیدی	‏ش ندی	هغه د يازیدل ش ندی دیی
First person plural	شویم	د يازیدل	یازیدی	‏شمون ندی	مونږ د يازیدل شمون ندی دییم
Second person plural	شوید	د يازیدل	یازیدی	‏شی دی ندی	تاسو د يازیدل شی دی ندی دیی
Third person plural	شوند	د يازیدل	یازیدی	‏ش ندی	هنګو د يازیدل ش ندی دیی

Note that the negation comes after the past participle of the main verb (-دی).

Examples

Here are some examples of how to negate the past continuous tense in Central Pashto:

Table of Contents - Central Pashto Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

  ---

Greetings and Introductions

• Basic Greetings
• Introducing Yourself

  ---

Personal Pronouns

• Subject Pronouns
• Object Pronouns

  ---

Numbers and Counting

• Numbers 1-10
• Numbers 11-20

  ---

Basic Sentence Structure

• Subject-Object-Verb
• Negation

  ---

Common Verbs

• Action Verbs
• State Verbs

  ---

Present Tense

• Present Simple
• Present Continuous

  ---

Food and Drink

• Common Foods
• Common Drinks

  ---

Questions

• Yes/No Questions
• Wh-Questions

  ---

Family and Relationships

• Family Members
• Relationships

  ---

Possessive Pronouns and Adjectives

• Possessive Pronouns
• Possessive Adjectives

  ---

House and Home

• Rooms and Furniture
• Household Chores

  ---

Prepositions

• Common Prepositions
• Prepositions of Place

  ---

Hobbies and Activities

• Common Hobbies
• Sports

  ---

Past Tense

• Past Simple
• Past Continuous

  ---

Travel and Transportation

• Modes of Transportation
• Travel Essentials

  ---

Pashtun Customs and Traditions

• Traditional Clothing
• Pashtun Cuisine

Other Lessons

• Subject Object Verb
• Possessive Pronouns
• Present Continuous
• Adjectives
• Past Simple
• Plurals
• How to Use Be
• Subject Pronouns
• Conditional Mood
• Questions

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