Japanese 〜ている: Actions in Progress and Describing People (GENKI Lesson 7)
In GENKI Lesson 7, you use the te-form from Lesson 6 to make 〜ている. It can mean “is doing” (right now) or describe a state, like being married or living somewhere. You will also learn how to describe what people look like and how to join adjectives.
- 〜ている for actions in progress
- 〜ている for a state that results from a change
- Describing people: Xは Yが Adjective
- Joining adjectives and nouns: くて / で
- Going somewhere to do something: stem + に いく
Contents
Start with the vocabulary
Let’s learn the key words from this lesson first. You will see them again in the examples below. Say the answer before you flip. Turn romaji off when you can read kana.
〜ている: an action in progress
Take the te-form and add いる (polite: います). The first meaning is like English “-ing”: something is happening right now.
It can also mean a habit: まいにち ジムで うんどうしています (I work out at the gym every day).
Negative: 〜ていません. いま、テレビを みていません (I’m not watching TV now).
〜ている: a state after a change
Some verbs describe a change that happens in a moment: to get married, to go to, to come to know. With these verbs, 〜ている means the result is still true.
| Verb | 〜ている | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| けっこんするkekkon suru (to get married) | けっこんしていますkekkon shite imasu | is married |
| すむsumu (to start living) | とうきょうに すんでいますTookyoo ni sunde imasu | lives in Tokyo |
| しるshiru (to come to know) | しっていますshitte imasu | knows |
| ふとるfutoru (to gain weight) | ふとっていますfutotte imasu | is fat (heavy) |
| やせるyaseru (to lose weight) | やせていますyasete imasu | is thin |
| きるkiru (to put on) | Tシャツを きていますtiishatsu o kite imasu | is wearing a T-shirt |
| つとめるtsutomeru (to start working for) | ぎんこうに つとめていますginkoo ni tsutomete imasu | works for a bank |
This one is tricky. “I know” is しっています, but “I don’t know” is しりません, not しっていません.
Describing people: かみが ながいです
To describe a part of a person, use person は + part が + adjective. Literally, “As for Mary, her hair is long.”
Joining adjectives: くて and で
To say “A and B” with adjectives, change the first one to its te-form.
| Type | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| い-adjective | い → くて | やすくて おいしいですyasukute oishii desu (cheap and delicious) |
| いい | いい → よくて | あたまが よくて やさしいですatama ga yokute yasashii desu (smart and kind) |
| な-adjective | + で | きれいで しずかですkirei de shizuka desu (clean and quiet) |
| noun | + で | にほんじんで がくせいですnihonjin de gakusei desu (Japanese and a student) |
Going somewhere to do something: stem + に いく
Take the ます form, drop ます, and add に いく / くる / かえる. It means “go (somewhere) to do …”.
This is the same purpose に you saw in 旅行にいく.
Final check: 10 questions
These questions mix everything from Lesson 7. Get 8 or more right, and you are ready for short forms in Lesson 8.
Free worksheet
Want to practice writing? Download the printable worksheet for GENKI Lesson 7.
What’s next
- GENKI Lesson 8: short forms, と思います and と言っていました
- GENKI Lesson 6: review the te-form
- Cebu travel diary: reading practice with 〜ている
Practice speaking with a real teacher
Try describing your family to a teacher: あには とうきょうに すんでいます。せが たかくて、やさしいです。 On italki, you can find teachers who use GENKI and book a short trial lesson.
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