The past perfect progressive tense

present perfect progressive میں آپ نے perfect progressive aspect کی خصوصیات پڑھ لی ہوں گی۔ ان کو ذہن میں رکھیں یا ضرورت محسوس ہو تو دوبارہ پڑھ لیں۔

past perfect progressive tense کو عام طور پر past perfect continuous tense بھی کہتے ہیں۔ اسے timeline پر یوں ظاہر کر سکتے ہیں:

اس tense میں past کا کوئی لمحہ جس کے بارے میں ہم سوچ رہے ہوتے ہیں یا جس کو بیان کیا ہوتا ہے، اس وقت تک یا اس سے کچھ پہلے تک کوئی کام جاری رہا ہوتا ہے۔

اس tense کے اردو sentences کے آخر میں عموماً مندرجہ ذیل الفاظ پائے جاتے ہیں: رہا (تھا)، رہی (تھی)، رہے (تھے)، رہی (تھیں) وغیرہ۔

present perfect progressive کی طرح اس میں بھی point/ duration of time پایا جاتا ہے اور اس کا اظہار since/for کے ساتھ کرتے ہیں۔ تفصیلات دیکھنے کے لیے present perfect progressive tense میں متعلقہ مقام پر پڑھیں۔ اس tense میں had been کے ساتھ past participle form of the verb استعمال کرتے ہیں اور sentence structures عموماً اس طرح ہوتی ہیں:

Subject + had + been + ing verb + object + time adverbial. (affirmative)

Had + subject + been + ing verb + object + time adverbial? (interrogative)

Subject + had + not + been + ing verb + object + time adverbial. (negative)

Wh-word + had + subject + been + ing verb + object + time adverbial? (wh-question)

They had been skating together for five hours.	وہ پانچ گھنٹے اکٹھے سکیٹنگ کرتے رہے۔
She had been working very hard that day.	وہ اس روز بہت محنت کرتی رہی۔
He had not been reading books all night.	وہ ساری رات کتابیں نہیں پڑھتا رہا تھا۔
Had rainwater been leaking out through the roof?	کیا پانی چھت سے ٹپکتا رہا تھا؟
Had rainwater been leaking out through the roof?	وہ دو مہینوں سے کچھ لکھ کیوں نہیں رہا تھا؟

past perfect progressive میں بعض اوقات وقت کی بجائے ماضی میں ہونے والا کوئی اور واقعہ بیان کر دیا جاتا ہے اور اس واقعے کی مناسبت سے کسی کام کے جاری رہنے کا اندازہ ہوتا ہے۔ اس واقعے کے ساتھ یا اس سے بالکل پہلے past perfect progressive کے ذریعے ظاہر کیا گیا کام مکمل یا ختم ہو جاتا ہے۔ ایسے وقعے کو عموماً simple past tense سے ظاہر کرتے ہیں، مثلاً:

When I found the baby, she had been crying.	جب بچی مجھے ملی تو اس سے پہلے وہ رو رہی تھی۔ (لیکن پھر وہ چپ ہو گئی)
At that time we had been living in the caravan for about six months.	اس وقت ہمیں سرائے میں رہتے ہوئے چھے ماہ ہو چکے تھے۔ / اس وقت ہم چھ ماہ سے سرائے میں رہ رہے تھے۔

Exercises

Exercise 1

Translate the following into English.

1. تم دو گھنٹوں سے بھی زیادہ انتظار کرتے رہے تھے۔
2. ٹونی کے آنے سے پلے وہ ایک گھنٹے سے باتیں کر رہے تھے۔
3. بس پر سوار ہونے کے لیے تم کتنی دیر انتظار کرتے رہے؟
4. انقرہ جانے سے پہلے تم کتنا عرصہ ترکی زبان سیکھتے رہے تھے؟
5. وہ ایک دن میں کبھی اتنا زیادہ نہیں تیرتی رہی تھی۔
6. وہ تھکا ہوا نہیں تھا کیوں کہ وہ بہت محنت نہیں کرتا رہا تھا۔
7. پچھلے ہفتے میں روز دیر سےآتی رہی تھی۔
8. وہ تھک چکی تھی کیونکہ وہ جوگنگ کرتی رہی تھی۔
9. سوشیالوجسٹ نسلی امتیاز کے اثرات کا مطالعہ کرتا رہا تھا۔
10. کتے کے خراشیں ڈالنے سے پہلے وہ دروازہ پینٹ کرتی رہی تھی۔

Exercise 2

Choose the correct option for making past perfect progressive.

1. Mr. Nickels ____________ (teach) ____________ at Parkhill High School for thirty years before he retired.
   a) had teached (b) has been teaching (c) had been teaching
2. ________ you ________ (train) ________ as an understudy for long?
   a) Had you training (b) Had you been training (c) Have you been training
3. The campers were tired because they ________ (hike) ________ for hours.
   a) had been hiking (b) have hiked (c) have been hiking
4. Ed ________ (save) ________ his money to take a trip until his attention turned to a new motorcycle.
   a) had been saving (b) has saved (c) has been saving
5. Where ________ you ________ (live) ________ before you came to Montreal?
   a) have you been living (b) had you been living (c) you been living
6. Deed and Donna ________ (compete) ________ as swimming partners for five years before they won a medal.
   a) have competed (b) had been competed (c) had been competing
7. Morton and Bernice Catz ________ (anticipate – negative) the birth of twins when the two beautiful babies arrived.

Exercise 3

Fill in the following sentences by using the past perfect progressive tense.

1. We ____________ (play) football for half an hour when it started to rain.
2. I ____________ (study) English for a short time when the electricity went off.
3. She ____________ (do) her homework before you came in.
4. His knees and hands were very dirty. He ____________ (crawl) in the garden.
5. I ____________ (drive) the car for five years when I sold it.
6. We were very tired. We ____________ (travel) for about sixteen hours.
7. They were out of breath. They ____________ (run) for a long time.
8. He ____________ (live) in London for ten years when he had an accident.
9. He was tired because he ____________ (write) letters all morning.
10. He ____________ (repair) the radio for an hour when you arrived.

Answers to exercises

Exercise 1

1. You had been waiting for more than two hours.
2. They had been talking for an hour before Tony came.
3. How long had you been waiting for getting on the bus?
4. How long had you been learning Turkish before you went to Ankara?
5. She had never been swimming this much in a day.
6. He was not tired because he had not been working very hard.
7. The bus had been getting late daily the last week.
8. She was tired because she had been jogging.
9. The sociologist had been studying the effects of social discrimination.
10. She had been painting the door before the dog scratched it.

Exercise 2

1. Mr. Nickels had been teaching at Parkhill High School for thirty years before he retired.
2. Had you been training as an understudy for long?
3. The campers were tired because they had been hiking for hours.
4. Ed had been saving his money to take a trip until his attention turned to a new motorcycle.
5. Where had you been living before you came to Montreal?
6. Deed and Donna had been competing as swimming partners for five years before they won a medal.
7. Morton and Bernice Catz hadn’t been anticipating the birth of twins when the two beautiful babies arrived.

Exercise 3

1. We had been playing football for half an hour when it started to rain.
2. I had been studying English for a short time when the electricity went off.
3. She had been doing her homework before you came in.
4. His knees and hands were very dirty. He had been crawling in the garden.
5. I had been driving the car for five years when I sold it.
6. We were very tired. We had been travelling for about sixteen hours.
7. They were out of breath. They had been running for a long time.
8. He had been living in London for ten years when he had an accident.
9. He was tired because he had been writing letters all morning.
10. He had been repairing the radio for an hour when you arrived.