-त राहणे
Keeping an Action Going
It usually shows a long stretch of time: रात्रभर पाऊस पडत राहिला.
How It Works
राहणे also means “to stay” or “to live”: ती पुण्यात राहते. After a -त form it has another job, which is to keep an action going.
| Time | Form |
|---|---|
| request | बोलत राहा. |
| do not | बोलत राहू नका. |
| past | ती वाचत राहिली. |
| future | मी वाचत राहीन. |
In the past, राहणे agrees with the doer: तो प्रश्न विचारत राहिला, मुली गात राहिल्या. A verb with an object does not change the agreement, because राहणे does not take the object: ती पुस्तक वाचत राहिली.
In one stretch of time, the action stays the same all the way through. When it changes step by step, use -त जाणे: पाऊस वाढत गेला. When an action only starts, use -ू लागणे.
The present tense works too, for something that goes on day after day, with breaks between: तो रोज सराव करत राहतो. (He keeps practising every day.)
The pattern is a common way to encourage someone: वाट पाहत राहा (keep waiting), प्रयत्न करत राहा (keep trying). In the past it can also sound like a complaint: तो सारखा बोलत राहिला. (He just kept talking.)
Examples (5)
- बोलत राहा.
Keep talking.
राहा turns बोलत into a request to continue.
- ती खूप वेळ वाचत राहिली.
She kept reading for a long time.
राहिली agrees with ती.
- रात्रभर पाऊस पडत राहिला.
It kept raining all night.
राहिला agrees with पाऊस, a masculine noun.
- मी चालत राहिलो, पण स्टेशन आलेच नाही.
I kept walking, but the station never came. A man is speaking.
चालत राहिलो shows a man walking without stopping.
- मी आजीला फोन करत राहिले, पण आजीने फोन उचलला नाही.
I kept calling Grandma, but she did not pick up. A woman is speaking.
करत राहिले ends in -ले because the speaker is a woman.
Common Mistakes
Using the -ून form.
तो वाचून राहिला.तो वाचत राहिला.The action that continues takes the -त form.
Not matching राहिली to the doer.
ती खूप वेळ वाचत राहिले.ती खूप वेळ वाचत राहिली.राहणे agrees with ती, so the past is राहिली.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Keep doing uses -त and राहणे.
Related Patterns
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice -त राहणे in Bubblegum
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