The Past Perfect Progressive tense in Tamil grammar, also known as the ‘Piragasaththikkum mudiviya aakiravikkai’, is used to emphasize the ongoing nature of an action that happened and continued before another took place in the past. This tense is formed by using ‘Piragasaththikkum’ (had been) with the root verb, ending with ‘- kkirathu’. Now, let’s practice with some exercises to understand and use this tense better.
Exercise 1: Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb in the Past Perfect Progressive tense in Tamil.
1. அவர்கள் சில ஆண்டுகளாகத் தங்கள் முனைவோரை *தேடிக்கொண்டிருந்தார்கள்* (search).
2. அவன் நேரத்தை அலைக்கவில்லை. அவன் *வேலைசெய்திருந்தான்* (work).
3. ராம் அத்தியாயத்தை முடித்திருந்தான். ஆனால், அவன் அதை *வாசித்திருந்தான்* (read).
4. குழந்தைகள் இரு மணி நேரமாக *விளையாடியிருந்தனர்* (play) இயல்பாக.
2. அவன் நேரத்தை அலைக்கவில்லை. அவன் *வேலைசெய்திருந்தான்* (work).
3. ராம் அத்தியாயத்தை முடித்திருந்தான். ஆனால், அவன் அதை *வாசித்திருந்தான்* (read).
4. குழந்தைகள் இரு மணி நேரமாக *விளையாடியிருந்தனர்* (play) இயல்பாக.
Exercise 2: Translate to Tamil and fill in the blanks with the appropriate word in the Past Perfect Progressive tense.
1. She *had been waiting* (wait) for two hours before the train finally arrived.
2. They *had been talking* (talk) for too long before they realized they were late for the meeting.
3. He *had been reading* (read) the book for six months before he finally finished it.
4. The shop *had been closed* (close) for an year before it reopened.
5. We *had been studying* (study) all day for the big test.
2. They *had been talking* (talk) for too long before they realized they were late for the meeting.
3. He *had been reading* (read) the book for six months before he finally finished it.
4. The shop *had been closed* (close) for an year before it reopened.
5. We *had been studying* (study) all day for the big test.
