The past progressive tense, also known as the past continuous tense, is used for actions and states, but for what kind of actions and states is this tense used? To understand this, we have to discuss the different usages of the past progressive tense.
USAGES
The past progressive tense is used for an action that began earlier and was in progress when another action occurred.
Examples:
They were walking down the street when it began to rain.
While they were walking down the street, it began to rain.
In both sentences, it is very clear that the action of "walking" was in progress when the rain began. It means when one action is in progress in the past, in the meanwhile, another action happens to stop the first one. The first action which was continued in the past is the past progressive tense while the action that happened later is the simple past tense.
The past progressive tense is used to talk about what was happening at a specific moment in the past. It means to show a point in time in the past for expressing an action that began before that point and may continue after that specific time.
Example:
Tom was cooking dinner at 7 pm yesterday.
Here one can guess that Tom started his cooking before seven.
The past progressive tense is used in descriptions. Simple past tense is also used to show what happened at that time.
Example:
The girls were preparing things for cooking in the forest at night. A woodfire was burning. Maria was cutting the meat. Hira was washing the onions and tomatoes while some were playing piano and singing softly. Suddenly there was a lion roar in the air. The girls stopped playing the music and Maria ran into the tent.
In the above example, we can see how both tenses are used for a descriptive event.
The past progressive tense is used to express a definite future in the past just like the present progressive tense is used for a planned definite future.
Examples:
She is leaving for London tomorrow.
In the same way, we use the past progressive tense this kind of future in the past.
She was leaving for a party that night.
The action was planned sometime in the past.
The past progressive tense is used instead of the simple past tense to indicate more causal action.
Example:
She was talking to her friend the other day.
The action of "talking" here was just causal and in no way serious or important. Who started the conversation is not known nor it matters but the situation becomes different if we say:
She talked to her friend.
Here the action of talking is not causal but it is very clear in the above example that she took the initiative and we can call it serious.
The past progressive tense is used to indicate temporary habits or repeated actions.
Example:
She was taking music classes those days from a famous musician.
He was eating a lot at that time.
Helping verbs was & were
We use the helping verbs "was" & "were" in this tense. "Was" is the past tense of "am & is" while "were" is the past tense of "are". "Was" is used with the pronouns "I, he, she, it & name" whereas "were" is used with the pronouns "we, you, they & names". For making negative sentences, we just put "not" after them. "Wasn't" and "weren't" are contracted forms of "was not" and "were not" respectively. "Was" and "were" are the helping or auxiliary verbs used to help the main verb in sentences. They are also called "be verbs". The be verb is irregular and it has eight different forms: be, am, is, are, was, were, being & been.
STRUCTURE
Positive or Affirmative Sentence
She was cleaning the kitchen.
Formula:
Subject + was/were + Base form of the verb + ing + Object
Negative Sentence
She was not cleaning the kitchen.
Formula:
Subject + was/were + not + Base form of the verb + ing + Object
Interrogative Question Sentence
Was she cleaning the kitchen?
Formula:
Was/were + Subject + Base form of the verb + ing + Object
Negative Questions
Was she not cleaning the kitchen?
Wasn't she cleaning the kitchen?
Formula:
Was/were + Subject + not + Base form of the verb + ing + Object
Wasn't/weren't + Subject + Base form of the verb + ing + Object
The negative interrogative sentences can be made in two ways. If the word "not" is contracted with the auxiliary verb, then it comes before the subject and if it is not contracted, then the word "not" comes after the subject to make a negative interrogative sentence. In the first sentence, the word "not" has been contracted with the auxiliary verb while in the second sentence, it has been used in expanded form and that's why it has been put after the subject of the sentence.
RECOGNITION IN URDU
Examples:
Recognition in Urdu is very important. It helps a lot in translation. If you don't know the tense of a sentence, you will be unable to translate it.