Past Continuous Tense म्हणजे भूतकाळात एखादे काम काही वेळ चालू होते हे सांगण्यासाठी वापरला जाणारा Tense.

मराठीत आपण “करत होतो”, “खेळत होती”, “जात होते”, “पाऊस पडत होता” अशी वाक्ये बोलतो.

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What is Past Continuous Tense?

भूतकाळात एखादी क्रिया काही काळ चालू होती हे सांगण्यासाठी Past Continuous Tense वापरतात.

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Structure (रचना)

Positive Sentences

Subject + was/were + Verb + ing + Object

• I was reading a book.
  मी पुस्तक वाचत होतो.
• She was cooking food.
  ती जेवण बनवत होती.
• They were playing cricket.
  ते क्रिकेट खेळत होते.

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Use of Was / Were

Subject	Helping Verb
I / He / She / It	was
We / You / They	were

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Positive Sentence Examples

1. I was watching TV.
   मी टीव्ही पाहत होतो.
2. She was singing a song.
   ती गाणे गात होती.
3. We were studying English.
   आम्ही इंग्रजी शिकत होतो.
4. They were running fast.
   ते वेगाने धावत होते.
5. He was talking on the phone.
   तो फोनवर बोलत होता.

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Negative Sentences

Structure

Subject + was/were + not + Verb + ing

Examples

• I was not sleeping.
  मी झोपत नव्हतो.
• She was not crying.
  ती रडत नव्हती.
• They were not working.
  ते काम करत नव्हते.

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Interrogative Sentences

Structure

Was/Were + Subject + Verb + ing ?

Examples

• Were you studying?
  तू अभ्यास करत होतास का?
• Was she dancing?
  ती नाचत होती का?
• Were they playing football?
  ते फुटबॉल खेळत होते का?

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Uses of Past Continuous Tense

1) Action Continuing in the Past

भूतकाळात एखादी क्रिया सुरू होती.

Examples

• I was reading at 8 PM.
• She was cooking when I called.

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2) Two Actions Happening Together

दोन कामे एकाच वेळी चालू होती.

Examples

• While I was studying, my brother was playing.
• They were talking while we were eating.

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3) Interrupted Action

एक काम चालू असताना दुसरे काम झाले.

Examples

• I was sleeping when the phone rang.
• She was walking when it started raining.

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Time Expressions Used in Past Continuous

• While
• When
• At that time
• All day
• All night

Examples

• I was studying at that time.
• She was sleeping when I arrived.

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Daily Use Sentences

1. मी जेवत होतो.
   I was eating.
2. ती कपडे धुत होती.
   She was washing clothes.
3. आम्ही गप्पा मारत होतो.
   We were chatting.
4. तो मोबाईल वापरत होता.
   He was using the mobile.
5. मुले मैदानात खेळत होती.
   The children were playing in the ground.
6. पाऊस पडत होता.
   It was raining.
7. मी तुझी वाट पाहत होतो.
   I was waiting for you.
8. ते टीव्ही पाहत होते.
   They were watching TV.
9. ती स्वयंपाक करत होती.
   She was cooking.
10. आम्ही इंग्रजी बोलण्याचा सराव करत होतो.
    We were practicing spoken English.

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Important Rules

Rule 1:

Verb ला “ing” लावतात.

✔ play → playing
✔ read → reading

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Rule 2:

Singular subject सोबत “was” वापरतात.

✔ He was running.

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Rule 3:

Plural subject सोबत “were” वापरतात.

✔ They were dancing.

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Common Mistakes

Wrong	Correct
He were playing.	He was playing.
They was studying.	They were studying.
I was play cricket.	I was playing cricket.

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Exercise – 1

Fill in the blanks

1. She _____ cooking food.
   (was/were)
2. They _____ playing cricket.
   (was/were)
3. I was _____ TV.
   (watch)
4. We were _____ English.
   (study)
5. He was _____ to music.
   (listen)

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Exercise – 2

Make Negative Sentences

1. I was sleeping.
2. She was dancing.
3. They were studying.

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Exercise – 3

Make Questions

1. You were reading a book.
2. He was driving a car.
3. They were playing football.

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Answers

Exercise – 1 Answers

1. was
2. were
3. watching
4. studying
5. listening

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Quick Revision

Sentence Type	Structure
Positive	Subject + was/were + V+ing
Negative	Subject + was/were + not + V+ing
Question	Was/Were + Subject + V+ing ?

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Conclusion

Past Continuous Tense हा इंग्रजी बोलताना खूप उपयोगी Tense आहे.
याच्या मदतीने आपण भूतकाळात चालू असलेल्या क्रिया सहज सांगू शकतो.

दररोज 10–15 वाक्यांचा सराव करा आणि Spoken English सुधारत चला.

Practice makes perfect!