Te Iru: Ongoing Actions, Resulting States, and Habits

ている does not always mean “is doing.” Depending on the verb and context, it can describe an action in progress, a state left by a change, or a repeated activity. First ask what the verb describes, then choose a translation.

Formation and use

With activities such as 読む and 勉強する, ている can show an action underway: 今、本を読んでいます. The time word 今 helps establish the intended reading.

With a change such as 結婚する or ドアが開く, ている commonly describes the resulting state: 結婚しています means being married, and 開いています means being open. It need not describe the change happening now.

Comparisons and common errors

Time and frequency expressions can support a habitual meaning: 毎朝、走っています. Japanese does not force a one-to-one match between the English progressive and this form.

知っています means knowing; its ordinary negative is 知りません, not a mechanical 知っていません. In casual speech い may drop, as in 読んでる, but practise the full form first.

Practise with explanations

Try the 10 questions below, or open the practice set. Check each answer or the whole set, read the explanation, and retry mistakes. First-attempt results are kept separately on this device.

Connected lessons

• Te-Form
• Japanese Masu Form: Polite Present, Negative, and Past
• Te Kara: Do One Action Before the Next