Present Continuous
वर्तमान निरंतर काल (Present Continuous)
English distinguishes 'what's happening right now' from 'what happens generally' with two entirely different verb forms — a distinction Hindi also makes, through its own रहा/रही/रहे + है construction.
Grammar Comparison
व्याकरण तुलना
am/is/are + -ing ≈ verb stem + रहा/रही/रहे + है/हैं/हो
I am eating. (right now) vs. I eat rice every day. (a general habit)
मैं खा रहा हूँ। (right now) बनाम मैं रोज़ चावल खाता हूँ। (a general habit)
Hindi marks this exact same split, and in a structurally similar way: the continuous action takes the main verb's stem plus रहा/रही/रहे (agreeing with the subject's gender and number) plus है/हैं/हो (agreeing with person, and carrying the tense) — मैं खा रहा हूँ, literally 'I eating am-continuing am'. English builds its version with be (am/is/are) plus the verb's -ing form, but places the 'be' piece first instead of last: I am eating, not eating am. One extra wrinkle for Hindi speakers: English -ing never changes for gender, unlike रहा/रही/रहे, so 'he is eating' and 'she is eating' use the identical is eating in English even though Hindi would switch रहा to रही.
Vocabulary
शब्दावली
| English | Pronunciation | Hindi |
|---|---|---|
| I am eating. | eye am EE-ting | मैं खा रहा हूँ।maiñ khā rahā hūñ. |
| She is reading. | shee iz REE-ding | वह पढ़ रही है।vah paṛh rahī hai. |
| They are playing. | thay ar PLAY-ing | वे खेल रहे हैं।ve khel rahe haiñ. |
| What are you doing? | wut ar yoo DOO-ing | तुम क्या कर रहे हो?tum kyā kar rahe ho? |