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~でいる Posted by on Mar 28, 2010 in Grammar

In English, the present continuous is formed by adding -ing to the verb. In Japanese, the present continuous is formed by adding ~でいる.

To form the present affirmative polite, use the ending ~でいます/ています

彼女は公園で歩いています = She is walking in the park

(かのじょ/彼女 = she. = subject marking particle. こうえん/公園 = park. = in. あるいています/歩いています.)

To form the present negative polite, use the ending ~ていません/でいません

子供は食べていません = The child is not eating

(こども/子供 = child. = subject marking particle. たべていません/食べていません = not eating.)

To form the past affirmative polite, use the ending ~でいました/ていました

どろぼうは走っていました = The robber was running

(どろぼう = robber. = subject marking particle.  はしっていました/走っていました = was running.)

To form the past negative polite, use the ending ~でいませんでした/ていませんでした

赤ちゃんは泣いていませんでした = The baby was not crying

(あかちゃん/赤ちゃん = baby. = subject marking particle. ないていませんでした/泣いていませんでした = was not crying.)

So to form the present continuous in Japanese, use the form of the verb and ている. Did the endings ~ます, ~ません, ました, ませんでした look familiar? It’s because we saw these endings when we were conjugating RU ending verbs.

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