Grammar Topics

» 2.1 Personal Pronouns

» 2.5 Present progressive

» 2.2 The Verb "to be" and auxiliary verbs

» 2.6 To want to

» 2.3 Verb infinitive and root » 2.7 Postpositions

» 2.4 Present imperfect tense

» 2.8 To a place
 

  2.5 Present Progressive Tense  

The present progressive tense is used for actions that are currently in progress. It is also sometimes called the present continual tense. Note how in English this tense uses an auxiliary verb ("to be") and the verb ending "-ing."

 

Examples: I am going to school. They are eating vegetables. She is buying a necklace.

 

Here is the formula. Remember to read the table from RIGHT to LEFT:

 

auxiliary verb

verb ending

رہا / رہے / رہی

+ verb root

Subject

The verb ending must agree with the subject in number and gender as follows:

-رہا is for masculine singular

-رہے is for masculine plural

-رہی is for feminine singular and plural

You can think of these endings as analogous to the English "-ing" ending.

Some Examples: with the verb جانا ("to go")

ہوں۔

جا رہا

میں

I (m) am going.

first person singular auxiliary verb

verb root + masculine singular ending

subject

(masculine)

 

 

ہوں۔

جا رہی

میں

I (f) am going.

first person singular auxiliary verb

verb root + feminine ending

subject

(feminine)

 

 

ہے۔

جا رہی

وہ

She is going.

third person singular auxiliary verb

verb root + feminine ending

subject

(feminine)

 

 

ہیں۔

جا رہے

ہم

We are going.

first person plural auxiliary verb

verb root + masculine plural ending

subject

(masculine plural)

 

Note: you can change any of the masculine examples above into feminine by using the feminine verb ending رہی instead of the masculine endings رہا or رہے.

Here is the present progressive conjugation chart for the verb جانا "to go":

 

Feminine

Masculine

میں جا رہی ہوں میں جا رہا ہوں
I am going. I am going.
تو جا رہی ہے تو جا رہا ہے
You (very fam.) are going. You (very fam.) are going.
وہ جا رہی ہے وہ جا رہا ہے
She/that/it is going. He/that/it is going.
یہ جا رہی ہے یہ جا رہا ہے
She/this/it is going. He/this/it is going.
ہم جا رہی ہیں ہم جا رہے ہیں
We are going. We are going.
تم جا رہی ہو تم جا رہے ہو
You (fam.) are going. You (fam.) are going.
آپ جا رہی ہیں آپ جا رہے ہیں
You (pol.) are going. You (pol.) are going.
وہ جا رہی ہیں وہ جا رہے ہیں
They/those are going. They/those are going.
یہ جا رہی ہیں یہ جا رہے ہیں
They/these are going. They/these are going.