How to Use V ＋ ている ( = Te Iru)

The present progressive in Japanese is used in more situations than you may think! In today’s lesson, we’re going to learn what the present progressive is, how to conjugate Japanese verbs into the –te iru form, and the different ways the present progressive is used.

What Is the Present Progressive?

The present progressive is used to express a continuous action that began at some point in the past and is currently still in progress. English examples are “I am eating,” or “She is drinking.”

How to Conjugate Japanese Verbs into the Present Progressive

In order to express the present progressive, you have to conjugate the verb into the –te form and add iru. 

Conjugating verbs into the -te form depends on the type of verb you’re using. In Japanese, there are three different types of verbs: u–verbs, ru–verbs, and irregular verbs.

U-VERBS

U–verbs are verbs that end in an “u” (as in “oo”) sound. Here are some examples of u–verbs.

U-VERBS

Japanese	Romaji	English
買う	kau	to buy
立つ	tatsu	to stand
乗る	noru	to ride
読む	yomu	to read
死ぬ	shinu	to die
飛ぶ	tobu	to fly
働く	hataraku	to work
泳ぐ	oyogu	to swim
話す	hanasu	to talk
行く	iku	to go

RU-VERBS

Ru-verbs are verbs that end with the hiragana character る (ru). However, keep in mind that sometimes verbs ending in る can be considered u–verbs (like 乗る above). Here are a few examples of ru–verbs.

RU-VERBS

Japanese	Romaji	English
教える	oshieru	to teach
着る	kiru	to wear

IRREGULAR VERBS

And, finally, these are the irregular verbs.

IRREGULAR VERBS

Japanese	Romaji	English
する	suru	to do
来る	kuru	to come

CONJUGATING U-VERBS INTO THE -TE FORM

In order to conjugate a u-verb into the -te form, you remove the last hiragana character and replace it with the characters according to the chart below. 

GUIDE TO CONVERTING U-VERBS INTO THE -TE FORM

If it ends in…	…replace it with…
う　・　つ　・　るu           tsu           ru	ってtte
む　・　ぬ　・　ぶmu          nu          bu	んでnde
くku	いてite
ぐgu	いでide
すsu	してshite

(NOTE: An exception is the verb 行く [iku, to go], which becomes 行って [(itte] [see table below].)

Now, let’s take the u-verbs from earlier and conjugate them into their –te forms!

U-VERBS (-TE FORM)

Japanese	Romaji
買う  ➝  買って	kau  ➝  katte
立つ  ➝  立って	tatsu  ➝  tatte
乗る  ➝  乗って	noru  ➝  notte
読む  ➝  読んで	yomu  ➝  yonde
死ぬ  ➝  死んで	shinu  ➝  shinde
飛ぶ  ➝  飛んで	tobu  ➝  tonde
働く  ➝  働いて	hataraku  ➝  hataraite
泳ぐ  ➝  泳いで	oyogu  ➝  oyoide
話す  ➝  話して	hanasu  ➝  hanashite
行く  ➝  行って	iku  ➝  itte

CONJUGATING RU-VERBS INTO THE -TE FORM

With ru-verbs, you remove the final hiragana character る and replace it with て (te).

RU-VERBS (-TE FORM)

Japanese	Romaji
教える  ➝  教えて	oshieru  ➝  oshiete
着る  ➝  着て	kiru  ➝  kite

CONJUGATING IRREGULAR VERBS INTO THE -TE FORM

And, finally, here are the irregular verbs, which don’t follow a set rule.

IRREGULAR VERBS (-TE FORM)

Japanese	Romaji
する  ➝  して	suru  ➝  shite
来る  ➝  来て	kuru  ➝  kite

NOW ADD “IRU”!

The final step to conjugating the verb into the present progressive is adding iru to the end. Here are some examples: 

私は食べている。

Watashi wa tabete iru.

I am eating.

彼女は飲んでいる。

Kanojo wa nonde iru.

She is drinking.

How to Use the Present Progressive

When we are performing actions (such as eating or drinking), there is often an object or objects we use while performing these actions. In order to incorporate these objects (called “direct objects”), we use the particle を (wo). Here are some examples.

私はハンバーガーを食べている。
Watashi wa hanbaabgaa wo tabete iru.
I am eating a hamburger.

彼女は水を飲んでいる。
Kanojo wa mizu wo nonde iru.
She is drinking water.

私達はテレビゲームをしている。
Watashi-tachi wa terbi geemu wo shite iru.
We are playing a video game.

There are also some special situations that call for the present progressive in Japanese but would be unnecessary in English. The most common examples are talking about where one lives, works, or commutes to every day. In these situations you are expressing a regular or habitual action that is ongoing; therefore it requires the present progressive. Here are some examples.

私はシアトルに住んでいます。
Watashi wa Shiatoru ni sunde imasu.
I live in Seattle (lit. I am living in Seattle).

私はコカ・コーラ・カンパニーで働いています。
Watashi wa Koka-koora Kanpanii de hataraite imasu.
I work for the Coca-Cola Company (lit. I am working for the Coca-Cola Company).

私は毎日東京に通っています。
Watashi wa mainichi Toukyou ni kayotte imasu.
I commute to Tokyo everyday (lit. I am commuting to Tokyo everyday).

Another way the present progressive is used in a different way than it is used in English is when expressing matter-of-fact states of being that are a result of a previous action. Here are some examples.

私達は結婚しています。
Watashi-tachi wa kekkon shite imasu.
We are married. (previous action: they went through all of the procedures to get married)

彼女は着物を着ています。
Kanojo wa kimono wo kite imasu.
She is wearing a kimono. (previous action: she put one on)

ドアが開いています。
Doa ga aite imasu.
The door is open. (previous action: someone opened it)(lit. The door is opening.)

窓が閉まっています。
Mado ga shimatte imasu.
The window is closed. (previous action: someone shut it)(lit. The window is closing.)

パーティーの参加者はまだ来ていません。
Paatii no sankasha wa mada kite imasen.
The party guests haven’t come yet. (previous action: they left their houses)(lit. The party guests aren’t coming yet.)

In Summary

In order to express the present progressive in Japanese, you have to conjugate the verb to the –te form and add iru. The present progressive is used to express things that are happening right now as well as regular or habitual actions and states-of-being as a result of a previous actions.

Well, what are you waiting for? Now that you know how to use the present progressive in Japanese, it’s time to get out there and practice!

Practice, practice, practice makes perfect!

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