Translate into English: ‘وہ پڑھ رہا تھا’

The correct translation of 'وہ پڑھ رہا تھا' into English is B: He was reading. This Urdu phrase is in the past continuous tense, indicating an action that was ongoing at some point in the past.

• The word 'وہ' (woh) translates to 'he'.
• The root verb 'پڑھ' (parh) means 'read'.
• The auxiliary phrase 'رہا تھا' (raha tha) is the key indicator of the past continuous tense for a masculine singular subject. 'رہا' signifies the continuous aspect, and 'تھا' signifies the past tense.

Let's look at why the other options are incorrect:

• A: He is reading would be 'وہ پڑھ رہا ہے' (woh parh raha hai), which is present continuous.
• C: He will read would be 'وہ پڑھے گا' (woh parhe ga), which is future simple.
• D: He reads would be 'وہ پڑھتا ہے' (woh parhta hai), which is simple present.

Therefore, 'He was reading' accurately captures the past continuous nature of the original Urdu sentence.