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Grammer – Past Continuous

Grammer – Past Continuous

Published: 6/22/2025Last updated: 6/22/2025beginner

✅ Past Continuous Tense

Persian: گذشته استمراری
Finglish: Gozashte-ye Estemrāri


💡 Meaning & Use

This tense is used to describe actions that were:

  • Happening continuously in the past
  • Often interrupted by another action
  • Or happened alongside another

🔸 Like English:

  • I was eating when she called.
  • They were playing football all evening.

🔧 Structure

Formula:

می‌ + past stem + past personal ending
  • می‌ = mi- (continuous marker)
  • Past stem = from the past tense of the verb
  • Personal ending = shows the subject (I, you, etc.)

📘 Verb Example 1: خوردن (to eat)

Finglish verb root: khordan

SubjectPersianFinglishEnglish
منمی‌خوردمmikhordamI was eating
تومی‌خوردیmikhordiYou were eating
اومی‌خوردmikhoradHe/She was eating
مامی‌خوردیمmikhordimWe were eating
شمامی‌خوردیدmikhordidYou (pl.) were eating
آن‌هامی‌خوردندmikhordandThey were eating

📘 Verb Example 2: نوشتن (to write)

Finglish verb root: neveshtan

SubjectPersianFinglishEnglish
منمی‌نوشتمmineveshtamI was writing
تومی‌نوشتیmineveshtiYou were writing
اومی‌نوشتmineveshtHe/She was writing
مامی‌نوشتیمmineveshtimWe were writing
شمامی‌نوشتیدmineveshtidYou (pl.) were writing
آن‌هامی‌نوشتندmineveshtandThey were writing

🧠 Tips for Learners

  • می‌ (mi-) always comes at the beginning of the verb.
  • The personal endings match those in the simple past.
  • Often used with time expressions like:
PersianFinglishEnglish
وقتی که…vaghti ke…when…
در آن زمانdar ān zamānat that time
تمام روزtamām-e ruzall day

📝 Sample Sentence:

وقتی رسیدم، او می‌خوابید.
Vaghti residam, u mikhābid.
➤ When I arrived, he/she was sleeping.


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