I am a bit confused on how Genki is explaining this.
(a) an action in progress, or
(b) a past event that is connected with the present
Which is fine if that was all it said. Basically what it says after is that there are 3 types of verbs:
1) verbs that describe continuous states
2) verbs that describe activities that last for some time
3) verbs that describe changes that are more or less instantaneous.
Says that:
- Only verbs I learned that are part of group1 are いる and ある and they are never used with ている so no point in talking about it now.
- Group 2 verbs use ている in the sense of action in progress. (読んでいます・読んでいました(is reading/was reading)
- Group 3 verbs are used in past event that is connected with the present. (結婚しています(is married))
I have a hard time imagining past tense group3 if my interpretation of Genki is correct. Is it possible? Considering it's suppose to be connecting to the present?
~ている
Re: ~ている
It doesn't say it's in past tense. It said it's something that -happened- in the past.
Someone learning the ~teiru form might come to the logical conclusion (by english standards) that 結婚している actually means "Is getting married (right now)". However, if I tell you, "結婚している", I am not in the middle of my wedding as we speak, but that I am married already.
Genki's explanation that it's a past event illustrates that "They became married, and so they still are".
Someone learning the ~teiru form might come to the logical conclusion (by english standards) that 結婚している actually means "Is getting married (right now)". However, if I tell you, "結婚している", I am not in the middle of my wedding as we speak, but that I am married already.
Genki's explanation that it's a past event illustrates that "They became married, and so they still are".
- Yudan Taiteki
- Posts: 5609
- Joined: Wed 11.01.2006 11:32 pm
- Native language: English
- Astral Abraxas
- Posts: 81
- Joined: Wed 07.04.2007 5:24 am
Re: ~ている
When you would say things like
本を読みました
over
本を読んでいました。
etc then? Is it just a preference thing?
本を読みました
over
本を読んでいました。
etc then? Is it just a preference thing?
- Yudan Taiteki
- Posts: 5609
- Joined: Wed 11.01.2006 11:32 pm
- Native language: English
Re: ~ている
No.Astral Abraxas wrote:When you would say things like
本を読みました
over
本を読んでいました。
etc then? Is it just a preference thing?
The first sentence means "I read the book." The second sentence means "I was reading the book" (or possibly "[At that time], I had read the book")
i.e.
"When Tanaka-san called me, I was reading a book."
*田中さんが電話した時、私は本を読みました。
田中さんが電話した時、私は本を読でいました。
"I read this book last year."
この本は去年読みました。
*この本は去年読んでいました。
"I had [already] read the book, so I didn't join the club."
あの本は[もう]読んでいたから、サークルには入らなかった。
-Chris Kern
-
- Posts: 688
- Joined: Mon 03.12.2007 12:43 pm
- Native language: Norwegian
Re: ~ている
I don't see how those classifactions makes it worse?Mür wrote:That book looks really difficult. I think I know... nearly all of -teiru... But that classification makes grammar worse! OMG!
失敗は成功の元