. . .

て te いる iru (progressive, resulting,

and habitual states)
The verb いる iru means to exist. Although it is a verb, it represents a state rather than an
action.

Likewise, the auxiliary verb いる iru represents a state, which is a progressive state, a
habitual state, or a resulting state. For example, マイクさんは飲んでいます Maiku-san
wa nonde imasu has the following three possible meanings, all of which are about the
current state:

Mike is drinking (now).

(Progressive state: An activity progressively continues over a period of time.)
Mike drinks (regularly).
(Habitual state: An activity takes place regularly, such as every day or every week.)
Mike had some drinks (and he is drunk now).
(Resulting state: An activity took place in the past and still influences the current state.)

The context can help you figure out the meaning of a sentence. It’s a good idea to pay close
attention to other phrases in the same sentence, particularly adverbs such as 今 ima (now),
毎日 mainichi (every day), ずっと zutto (continuously), and まだ mada (yet). It is
also useful to know that some verbs can express actions that can be repeated and prolonged,
such as drinking and walking, but others can only express one-time action or change-of-
state actions, such as getting married, going, or opening. The latter kind of verbs cannot
express progressive state.

The following are examples of these three states:

 私は今ピザを食べています。
Watashi wa ima piza o tabete imasu.
I am eating pizza now. (progressive state)
 昨日の３時は友達とコーヒーを飲んでいました。
Kinō no san-ji wa tomodachi to kōhī o nonde imashita.
I was having coffee with my friend at 3 o’clock yesterday. (progressive state in the past)

 兄は毎朝 1 時間走っています。
Ani wa maiasa ichi-jikan hashitte imasu.
My older brother jogs for one hour every morning. (habitual state)
 妹はコンピューターゲームばかりしています。
Imōto wa konpyūtāgēmu bakari shite imasu. (ばかり bakari: does nothing but)
My younger sister does nothing but plays computer games. (habitual state)
(See Chapter 7 for ばかり bakari.)
 母は大学で英語を教えています。父は銀行で働いています。弟は高校に行ってい
ます。
Haha wa daigaku de eigo o oshiete imasu. Chichi wa ginkō de hataraite imasu.
Otōto wa
kōkō ni itte imasu.
My mother teaches English at a college. My father works at a bank. My younger brother goes to
high school. (habitual state)
 田中さんは言葉をよく知っていますね。本をたくさん読んでいるんでしょう。
Tanaka-san wa kotoba o yoku shitte imasu ne. Hon o takusan yonde iru n deshō.
(んでしょう
n deshō: I guess)
Mr. Tanaka knows a lot of words. (resulting state) He reads a lot of books. (habitual state) /
He has read a lot of books. (resulting state)
 田中さんはまだ来ていません。変ですね。
Tanaka-san wa mada kite imasen. Hen desu ne.
Mr. Tanaka hasn’t come yet. It’s strange. (resulting state)
 すみません。父は今大阪に行っています。あしたはうちに帰ります。
Sumimasen. Chichi wa ima Ōsaka ni itte imasu. Ashita wa uchi ni kaerimasu.
I’m sorry. My father has gone to Osaka. He’ll come home tomorrow. (resulting state)
 姉は結婚しています。
Ane wa kekkon shite imasu.
My older sister is married. (resulting state)