ている (teiru) Meaning Japanese Grammar - Doing Something

The form ～ている (- teiru) is translated in various ways depending on its function in the sentence.

Gerund is used to translate the form with the meaning of doing smething: the actions are performed at the moment of speaking and thus describes an action in progress.

This form also describes the state, the condition in which we find ourselves, as result of actions performed in the past.

In this post we learn more about the meaning of ～ている, how it is formed, and when ～ている is used through real example sentences.

How ～ている is formed

ている is composed of:

• the て form of the verb and
• the auxiliary いる

In informal and colloquial speech, the form てる is often used and the vowel い is obmitted.

Example with the Ichidan Verb 寝(ね)る sleep

Example with the Godan Verb 遊(あそ)ぶ play, enjoy oneself

The Godan verbs vary the て form, depending on the final syllable, I recommend reviewing the rule first.

In this case, for example, the verb ends in ぶ and its form in て becomes んで + いる.

～ている expressing actions in progress

One of the common usages is with actions taking place at the moment of speaking and that are still in progress.

～ている expressing a continuous state

Another common and widespread use of ている describes the state one person is in. A past action generated the condition we are currently in.

The translation is therefore not She is getting married, but expresses the condition in which the subject is in the current state: She is married.

結(けっ)果(か)の状(じょう)態(たい) the resulting state of an action initiated in the past

The form is used with intransitive verbs and many verbs are defined as instantaneous as they do not refer to ongoing actions, they have no duration and the actions take place in an instant.

Yet another example:

The sentence can be divided into 2 parts:

• 日本(にほん)に帰(かえ)りました: I went back to Japan
• 現(げん)在(ざい)も日本(にほん)にいます: I am currently in Japan

ている and habits

ている also describes actions that we perform in our daily routine, actions that are habitual for us.

The form is also used for 過(か)去(こ)の習(しゅう)慣(かん) past habits.

Examples of ～ている

Comment on a movie on YouTube: