Japanese grammar · Elementary (A2)
～ている and ～てある
The te-form + いる for actions going on, lasting states, habits and wearing, and ～てある for the result of someone's action.
Two meanings of ～ている
Take the te-form of a verb and add (iru), or (imasu) in polite speech. The result has two main meanings, and the verb decides which one.
With verbs of activity (eat, read, study, rain), ～ている (-te iru) means the action is going on now, like English “-ing”: (ima, benkyō shite imasu), I'm studying now.
With verbs of change (marry, live, know, go, come), it describes the state that results from the change: (kekkon shite imasu) is “I'm married”, not “I'm getting married”. (chichi wa ima, Ōsaka ni itte imasu) means my father has gone to Osaka and is there now.
| Plain | Polite | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| (tabete iru) | (tabete imasu) | is eating |
| (ame ga futte iru) | (ame ga futte imasu) | it's raining |
| (kekkon shite iru) | (kekkon shite imasu) | is married |
| (sunde iru) | (sunde imasu) | lives (somewhere) |
| (shitte iru) | (shitte imasu) | knows |
| (kite iru) | (kite imasu) | has come, is here |
Jobs, habits and knowing
～ている also describes a job or a regular activity over a period of time: (ginkō de hataraite imasu), I work at a bank; (maiasa jogingu shite imasu), I go jogging every morning.
(shiru) means “to get to know”, so “I know” is always (shitte imasu). The negative is different: “I don't know” is (shirimasen), not 知っていません. (sumu), to live, is also almost always used as (sunde imasu).
- 姉は病院で働いています。Ane wa byōin de hataraite imasu.My older sister works at a hospital.
- 鈴木さんの電話番号を知っていますか。Suzuki-san no denwa bangō o shitte imasu ka.Do you know Mr Suzuki's phone number?
- いいえ、知りません。Iie, shirimasen.No, I don't.
Wearing and appearance
To describe what someone is wearing, use ～ている with the right verb: (kiru) for the upper body or the whole body, (haku) for trousers, skirts and shoes, (kaburu) for hats, (kakeru) for glasses. (akai kōto o kite iru) is “is wearing a red coat”.
Some verbs describe appearance and are almost always used with ～ている: (nite iru), to look like; (futotte iru), to be overweight; (yasete iru), to be thin.
- 眼鏡をかけている人が田中さんです。Megane o kakete iru hito ga Tanaka-san desu.The person wearing glasses is Ms Tanaka.
- 妹は母によく似ています。Imōto wa haha ni yoku nite imasu.My younger sister looks a lot like my mother.
Past, negative and casual forms
The past ～ていた (-te ita), polite ～ていました (-te imashita), describes what was going on or the state things were in: (denwa shita toki, nani o shite imashita ka), what were you doing when I called?
The negative ～ていない (-te inai) often means “haven't done yet”, especially with (mada): (mada tabete imasen), I haven't eaten yet.
In casual speech the い of いる usually disappears: (nani shiteru?), what are you doing?
- 学生の時、レストランでアルバイトをしていました。Gakusei no toki, resutoran de arubaito o shite imashita.When I was a student, I had a part-time job at a restaurant.
- 宿題はまだしていません。Shukudai wa mada shite imasen.I haven't done my homework yet.
～てある: someone did it on purpose (B1)
～てある (-te aru) goes with transitive verbs, verbs that take an object with (o). It describes a state that someone created on purpose, and the thing now takes (ga): (mado ga akete arimasu), the window has been opened (someone opened it, for example to air the room).
Compare the intransitive verb with ～ている: (mado ga aite imasu) simply says the window is open. Very common is (kaite aru), it says, it's written: (koko ni nan to kaite arimasu ka), what does it say here?
- 保証書に修理の電話番号が書いてあります。Hoshōsho ni shūri no denwa bangō ga kaite arimasu.The repair phone number is written on the warranty.
- ホテルはもう予約してあります。Hoteru wa mō yoyaku shite arimasu.The hotel is already booked.
- テーブルに花が飾ってある。Tēburu ni hana ga kazatte aru.Flowers have been put on the table (as decoration).