-(a)yotgan edi
Was Doing: -(a)yotgan Edi
-(a)yotgan edi means was doing: men ovqat qilayotgan edim (I was cooking).
How It Works
Form. -ayotgan after a consonant, -yotgan after a vowel, then edi with the person ending:
- qil- + -ayotgan → qilayotgan edim (I was doing)
- oʻqi- + -yotgan → oʻqiyotgan eding (you were reading, familiar)
- yogʻ- + -ayotgan → yogʻayotgan edi (it was falling, of rain or snow)
- koʻrayotgan edik (we were watching), koʻrayotgan edingiz (you were watching, polite), koʻrayotgan edilar (they were watching)
Negative: kel- + -ma- + -yotgan → kelmayotgan edi (was not coming).
Background and interruption. Use -(a)yotgan edi for the longer action that was already going on, and -di for the short event in the middle of it. With -di for both, the actions follow one another instead: Siz qoʻngʻiroq qilganingizda, men ovqat qildim means I cooked after you called.
Not -yap with edi. -yap does not combine with edi. Switch to -(a)yotgan before edi.
Spelling. Write edi as a separate word. When the e drops, as in fast speech, write one word: qilayotgandim. News and formal writing sometimes use -moqda with edi instead: ishlamoqda edi.
Examples (5)
- Siz qoʻngʻiroq qilganingizda, men ovqat qilayotgan edim.
When you called, I was cooking.
Word by Word: You call your-making-at, I food making I-was.
The cooking was already going on when the call came.
- Kecha soat sakkizda nima qilayotgan edingiz?
What were you doing at eight o'clock yesterday?
Word by Word: Yesterday hour eight-at what doing you-were?
-ingiz on edi makes it polite you.
- Tashqarida yomgʻir yogʻayotgan edi.
It was raining outside.
Word by Word: Outside rain falling was.
yogʻ- ends in a consonant, so it takes -ayotgan.
- Men uyga ketayotgan edim, doʻstim qoʻngʻiroq qildi.
I was on my way home when my friend called.
Word by Word: I home-to going I-was, my-friend call made.
The -di verb breaks into the longer action.
- Biz televizor koʻrayotgan edik, chiroq oʻchdi.
We were watching TV when the lights went out.
Word by Word: We TV watching we-were, light went-out.
-k on edi says we.
Common Mistakes
Adding edi to the -yap form.
Men ovqat qilyapman edi.Men ovqat qilayotgan edim.-yap has no past form with edi. Use -(a)yotgan, and put the person ending on edi.
Using the -di past for the background action.
Siz qoʻngʻiroq qilganingizda, men ovqat qildim.Siz qoʻngʻiroq qilganingizda, men ovqat qilayotgan edim.Ovqat qildim here means I cooked after you called. To say the cooking was already going on, use qilayotgan edim.
Dropping the a after a consonant stem.
Tashqarida yomgʻir yogʻyotgan edi.Tashqarida yomgʻir yogʻayotgan edi.After a consonant the ending is -ayotgan: yogʻ- → yogʻayotgan.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Builds on The Present Participle -(a)yotgan and Was and Were: edi.
Related Patterns
- -yapPresent Continuous -yap
-yap says what is going on now; -(a)yotgan edi says what was going on then.
Level 1 - -gan ediHad Done: -gan Edi
-gan edi says an action was already finished; -(a)yotgan edi says it was still going on.
Level 3 - -gandaWhen: -ganda
A -ganda clause often names the moment: qoʻngʻiroq qilganingizda (when you called).
Level 3 - -moqdaThe Formal Present Continuous -moqda
News and formal writing use -moqda edi for the same meaning.
Level 3
Words in This Pattern
Practice -(a)yotgan edi in Bubblegum
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