Grammar › Verb tenses › Present continuous
Japanese present continuous
〜ている, the "‑ing" form — and the one contraction you'll hear constantly: the い that quietly drops.
The short version
To say something is happening right now, take the verb's て-form and add いる: 〜ている (polite 〜ています). It also covers an ongoing state left by an action.
食べている — textbook (is eating)
食べています — polite
spoken → 食べてる (the い drops)
How it actually sounds — 〜てる
🗣 In real speech the い almost always drops: 〜ている → 〜てる. You'll hear 見てる, やってる, 知ってる far more than the full form.
Past continuous — 〜ていた / 〜てた
Put いる into the past for "was doing": 〜ていた (polite 〜ていました). And yes — the い drops here too, giving 〜てた.
食べていた — textbook (was eating)
spoken → 食べてた
At a glance
| Spoken | Polite | |
|---|---|---|
| Continuous | 食べてる | 食べています |
| Past continuous | 食べてた | 食べていました |
Watch out
〜ている isn't always "‑ing". With change-of-state verbs it's a resulting state: 知っている = "know" (not "am knowing"), 結婚している = "am married", 持っている = "have".
More: ← Present tense · ← Past tense · N5 grammar
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