続Time and change
Is doing, has done
~ている can mean “is doing”, “has done”, or “does regularly”. And 知る has a surprising negative.
Three meanings
Same form, context decides
I'm watching TV now.
In progress
I run every morning.
A regular habit
My friend has already come and is here.
A resulting state
Motion verbs
Gone, and still there
Tanaka has gone to Tokyo and is there now.
It doesn't mean “is going”.
My father is back home now.
Must use it
Some verbs need ている for a present state
I live in Nagoya.
He says he wants to become a teacher.
Others' words and thoughts use ている.
She thinks it's right.
知る: to come to know
A surprising asymmetry
I know Mori.
知る means “get to know”, so knowing is the state after that.
I don't know Mori.
The negative uses plain 知らない, never 知っていない.
In speech
The い often drops
In conversation, ている usually shrinks to てる, and ています to てます: 見てる, 食べてます. The polite and past forms follow the verb いる: ています, ていました, ていません. Don't confuse this with the いる “to need”.
Check yourself
Which meaning is it?
Your turn
How do you answer?
Yes, I know his name.
Find the mistake
Tap the part that's wrong.
。
Say it yourself
A phone call
A friend calls and asks what you're doing and where your sister is. You're cooking now. She's gone to Kyoto, and she works there.
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