Vocabulary

食べる(た・べる) ru-verb

to eat

読む(よ・む) u-verb

to read

友達(とも・だち)

friend

何(なに)

what

する exception

to do

昼ご飯(ひる・ご・はん)

lunch

教科書(きょう・か・しょ)

textbook

話(はなし)

story

聞く(き・く) u-verb

to ask; to listen

ううん

casual word for “no” (nah, uh-uh)

We already know how to express a state-of-being using です, だ, etc. However, it only indicates a one-time thing; you are something or not. This grammar, however, describes a continuing state of an action verb. This usually translates to the progressive form in English except for a few exceptions, which we will examine later. We can make good use of the te-form we learned in the last section because the only thing left to do is add いる! You can then treat the result as a regular ru-verb.

This いる is the same ru-verb describing existence, first described in the negative verb section. However, in this case, you don’t have to worry about whether the subject is animate or inanimate.

Example 1

Ａ

友達(とも・だち)は何をしているの？

What is friend doing?

Ｂ

昼ご飯を食べている。

(Friend) is eating lunch.

Note that once you’ve changed it into a regular ru-verb, you can do all the normal conjugations. The examples below show the masu-form and plain negative conjugations.

Example 2

Ａ

何を読んでいる？

What are you reading?

Ｂ

教科書を読んでいます。

I am reading textbook.

Example 3

Ａ

話を聞いていますか。

Are you listening to me? (lit: Are you listening to story?)

Ｂ

ううん、聞いていない。

No, I’m not listening.

Since people are usually too lazy to roll their tongues to properly pronounce the い, it is often omitted in conversational Japanese. If you are writing an essay or paper, you should always include the い. Here are the abbreviated versions of the previous examples.

Example 4

Ａ

友達(とも・だち)は何をしてるの？

What is friend doing?

Ｂ

昼ご飯を食べてる。

(Friend) is eating lunch.

Example 5

Ａ

何を読んでる？

What are you reading?

Ｂ

教科書を読んでいます。

I am reading textbook.

Example 6

Ａ

話を聞いていますか。

Are you listening to me? (lit: Are you listening to story?)

Ｂ

ううん、聞いてない。

No, I’m not listening.

Notice how I left the い alone for the polite forms. Though people certainly omit the い even in polite form, you might want to get used to the proper way of saying things first before getting carried away with casual abbreviations. You will be amazed at the extensive types of abbreviations that exist in casual speech. (You may also be amazed at how long everything gets in super polite speech.) Basically, you will get the abbreviations if you just act lazy and slur everything together. Particles also get punted off left and right.

For example:

1. 何(なに)をしているの？
   (Those particles are such a pain to say all the time…)

2. 何(なに)しているの？
   (Ugh, I hate having to spell out all the vowels.)

3. 何(なに)してんの？
   (Ah, perfect.)

Vocabulary

知る(し・る) u-verb

to know

分かる(わ・かる) u-verb

to understand

今日(きょう)

today

この

this （abbr. of これの）

歌(うた)

song

道(みち)

road

はい

yes (polite)

There are certain cases where an enduring state doesn’t translate into the progressive form. In fact, there is an ambiguity in whether one is in a state of doing an action versus being in a state that resulted from some action. This is usually decided by context and common practices. For example, although 結婚している can technically mean someone is in a chapel currently getting married, it is usually used to refer to someone who is already married and is currently in that married state. We’ll now discuss some common verbs that often cause this type of confusion for learners of Japanese.

知る(し・る)

知る(し・る) means “to know”. English is weird in that “know” is supposed to be a verb but is actually describing a state of having knowledge. Japanese is more consistent and 知る(し・る) is just a regular action verb. In other words, I “knowed” (action) something and so now I know it (state). That’s why the English word “to know” is really a continuing state in Japanese, namely: 知っている.

知る(し・る) vs 分かる(わ・かる)

分かる(わ・かる) meaning “to understand” may seem similar to 知る(し・る) in some cases. However, there is a difference between “knowing” and “understanding”. Try not to confuse 知っている with 分かっている. 分かっている means that you are already in a state of understanding, in other words, you already get it. If you misuse this, you may sound pompous. (“Yeah, yeah, I got it already.”) On the other hand, 知っている simply means you know something.

Examples

1. 今日(きょう)、知りました。
   I found out about it today. (I did the action of knowing today.)

2. この歌(うた)を知っていますか？
   Do (you) know this song?

3. 道(みち)は分かりますか。
   Do you know the way? (lit: Do (you) understand the road?)

4. はい、はい、分かった、分かった。
   Yes, yes, I got it, I got it.

Vocabulary

鈴木(すず・き)

Suzuki (last name)

どこ

where

もう

already

家(1) うち; 2) いえ)

1. one’s own home; 2) house

帰る(かえ・る) u-verb

to go home

先(さき)

before

行く(い・く) u-verb

to go

美恵(み・え)

Mie (first name)

来る(く・る) exception

to come

It is reasonable to assume the actions 行っている and 来ている would mean, “going” and “coming” respectively. But unfortunately, this is not the case. The ～ている form of motion verbs is more like a sequence of actions we saw in the last section. You completed the motion, and now you exist in that state. (Remember, いる is the verb of existence of animate objects.) It might help to think of it as two separate and successive actions: 行って、and then いる.

Examples

1. 鈴木(すず・き)さんはどこですか。
   Where is Suzuki-san?

2. もう、家に帰っている。
   He is already at home (went home and is there now).

3. 先(さき)に行っているよ。
   I’ll go on ahead. (I’ll go and be there before you.)

4. 美恵(み・え)ちゃんは、もう来ているよ。
   Mie-chan is already here, you know. (She came and is here.)

Vocabulary

準備(じゅん・び)

preparations

どう

how

もう

already

する exception

to do

ある u-verb

to exist (inanimate)

旅行(りょ・こう)

travel

計画(けい・かく)

plans

終わる(お・わる) u-verb

to end

うん

casual word for “yes” (yeah, uh-huh)

切符(きっ・ぷ)

ticket

買う(か・う) u-verb

to buy

ホテル(ho te ru)

hotel

予約(よ・やく)

reservation

Appropriately enough, just like there is an ある to go with いる, there is a ～てある form that also has a special meaning. By replacing いる with ある, instead of a continuing action, it becomes a resultant state after the action has already taken place. Usually, this expression is used to explain that something is in a state of completion. The completed action also carries a nuance of being completed in preparation for something else.

Since this grammar describes the state of a completed action, it is common to see the は and も particles instead of the を particle.

Example 1

Ａ

準備はどうですか。

How are the preparations?

Ｂ

準備は、もうしてあるよ。

The preparations are already done.

Example 2

Ａ

旅行(りょ・こう)の計画は終わった？

Are the plans for the trip complete?

Ｂ

うん、切符を買ったし、ホテルの予約もしてある。

Uh huh, not only did I buy the ticket, I also took care of the hotel reservations.

Vocabulary

晩ご飯(ばん・ご・はん)

dinner

作る(つく・る) u-verb

to make

電池(でん・ち)

battery

買う(か・う) u-verb

to buy

While ～てある carries a nuance of a completed action in preparation for something else, ～ておく explicitly states that the action is done (or will be done) with the future in mind. Imagine this: you have made a delicious pie and you’re going to place it on the window sill for it to cool so that you can eat it later. This image might help explain why the verb おく （置く）, meaning “to place”, can be used to describe a preparation for the future. (It’s just too bad that pies on window sills always seem to go through some kind of mishap especially in cartoons.) While 置く by itself is written in kanji, it is customary to use hiragana when it comes attached to a conjugated verb (such as the te-form).

Examples

1. 晩ご飯を作っておく。
   Make dinner (in advance for the future).

2. 電池を買っておきます。
   I’ll buy batteries (in advance for the future).

ておく is also sometimes abbreviated to ～とく for convenience.

1. 晩ご飯を作っとく。
   Make dinner (in advance for the future).

2. 電池を買っときます。
   I’ll buy batteries (in advance for the future).

Vocabulary

えんぴつ

pencil

持つ(も・つ) u-verb

to hold

いる ru-verb

to exist (animate)

学校(がっ・こう)

school

行く(い・く) u-verb

to go

家(1) うち; 2) いえ)

1. one’s own home; 2) house

来る(く・る) exception

to come

お父さん(お・とう・さん)

father (polite)

早い(はや・い) i-adj

fast; early

帰る(かえ・る) u-verb

to go home

駅(えき)

station

方(ほう)

direction, way

走る(はし・る) u-verb

to run

冬(ふゆ)

winter

入る(はい・る) u-verb

to enter

コート(ko o to)

coat

着る(き・る) ru-verb

to wear

増える(ふ・える) ru-verb

to increase

一生懸命(いっ・しょう・けん・めい)

with all one’s might

頑張る(がん・ば・る) u-verb

to try one’s best

色々(いろ・いろ) na-adj

various

人(ひと)

person

付き合う(つ・き・あ・う) u-verb

to go out with; to keep in company with

いい i-adj

good

まだ

yet

見つかる(み・つかる) u-verb

to be found

日本語(に・ほん・ご)

Japanese (language)

ずっと

long; far

前(まえ)

front; before

勉強(べん・きょう)

study

する exception

to do

結局(けっ・きょく)

eventually

やめる ru-verb

to stop; to quit

You can also use the motion verbs “to go” (行く(い・く))and “to come” (来る(く・る)) with the te-form, to show that an action is oriented toward or from someplace. The most common and useful example of this is the verb 持つ(も・つ) (to hold). While 持っている means you are in a state of holding something (in possession of), when the いる is replaced with いく or くる, it means you are taking or bringing something. Of course, the conjugation is the same as the regular 行く(い・く) and 来る(く・る).

Examples

1. えんぴつを持っている？
   Do (you) have a pencil?

2. 鉛筆を学校(がっ・こう)へ持っていく？
   Are (you) taking pencil to school?

3. 鉛筆を家に持ってくる？
   Are (you) bringing pencil to home?

For these examples, it may make more sense to think of them as a sequence of actions: hold and go, or hold and come. Here are a couple more examples.

1. お父さん(お・とう・さん)は、早く帰ってきました。
   Father came back home early.

2. 駅の方(ほう)へ走っていった。
   Went running toward the direction of station.

The motion verbs can also be used in time expressions to move forward or come up to the present.

1. 一生懸命(いっ・しょう・けん・めい)、頑張っていく！
   Will try my hardest (toward the future) with all my might!

2. 色々(いろ・いろ)な人(ひと)と付き合ってきたけど、いい人(ひと)はまだ見つからない。
   Went out (up to the present) with various types of people but a good person hasn’t been found yet.

3. 日本語(に・ほん・ご)をずっと前(まえ)から勉強(べん・きょう)してきて、結局(けっ・きょく)はやめた。
   Studied Japanese from way back before and eventually quit.