読んでいた

was reading

→ 読む
phrase Common #2,159
was reading The past form of 読んでいる, describing an action that was in progress or a state that continued in the past. Depending on context, it can also mean “had been reading.”
JA: 電話がかかってきたとき、私は本を読んでいた。
EN: I was reading a book when the phone rang.

彼は座って週刊誌読んでいた

He was sitting and reading a weekly magazine.

父は座って夕刊読んでいた

My father was sitting and reading the evening paper.

彼は中学時代小説ばかり読んでいた

He spent his middle school years reading nothing but novels.

彼はアメリカ教科書読んでいた

He was reading a textbook on American history.

私は読んでいた本をわき置いた

I set aside the book I was reading.

読んでいた

You were reading, weren't you?

— 風の谷のナウシカ (1984)

トム何を読んでいたのか聞いた

I asked Tom what he had been reading.

少年はそこに座って週刊誌読んでいた

The boy was sitting there, reading a weekly magazine.

彼は新聞をさかさま読んでいた

He was reading the newspaper upside down.

そういう記事をずいぶん熱心にあの頃俺は読んでいた

Back then, I used to read those kinds of articles very avidly.

— 君の名は。 (2016)