ている
ている
auxiliary
be ...ing; be in the state of having ...ed
1.
be ...ing (action in progress)
With verbs that describe an activity lasting over time (読む, 走る, 待つ), 〜ている says the action is going on now: 本を読んでいる (I am reading a book).
今、本を読んでいる。
I'm reading a book right now.
子どもたちが公園で遊んでいる。
The children are playing in the park.
電話したとき、母は夕ごはんを作っていた。
When I called, my mother was making dinner.
2.
be in the state resulting from ...
With verbs describing an instantaneous change (死ぬ, 結婚する, 開く), 〜ている says the change has happened and the resulting state continues: 窓が開いている (the window is open), not "is opening."
窓が開いている。
The window is open.
姉はもう結婚している。
My older sister is already married.
駅前の店は閉まっているので、別の店に行こう。
The shop in front of the station is closed, so let's go to a different one.
3.
habitually; repeatedly
With a time expression or a plural object, 〜ている describes a repeated or habitual action: 毎朝走っている (I run every morning).
毎朝走っている。
I run every morning.
この学校では英語とフランス語を教えている。
This school teaches English and French.
父は三十年同じ会社で働いている。
My father has worked at the same company for thirty years.
Formed from the te-form of a verb plus いる. Which meaning appears depends on the verb, not on 〜ている itself: activity verbs give the progressive reading, change-of-state verbs give the resulting-state reading.
FORMS:
- 書いている: is writing
- 書いています: is writing (polite)
- 書いていない: is not writing
- 書いていた: was writing
- 書いてる: contracted form, very common in speech
COMMON MISTAKE:
- 死んでいる means "is dead," not "is dying"; 知っている means "know," not "am knowing." For verbs of instantaneous change, translate with an English state, not a progressive.
SIMILAR FORMS:
- 〜てある: has been done (and left that way) — focuses on someone's intent behind the state (窓が開けてある, the window has been left open)
- 〜ておく: do in advance — preparation, not continuation
- 〜つつある: be in the process of — formal, written, and only for gradual change