Chapter 11 — て-Form Applications

Chapter 10 taught you how to build the て-form. That was mechanical work — learning which verb endings produce which て-form. This chapter is where that work pays off. The て-form by itself does nothing. It is an incomplete verb, waiting for something to attach to. What you attach determines the meaning: an ongoing action, a request, permission, prohibition, or a chain of sequential events.

These are not minor grammar points. て-form applications appear in nearly every paragraph of natural Japanese. If Chapter 10 was about building the tool, this chapter is about using it.

11.1 ている — Progressive and Resultative

Attach いる to a verb's て-form, and you get a construction that covers two English meanings at once: "is doing" and "is in a state of having done."

[て-form] + いる

The polite form is ています. The plain form is ている.

Progressive: action in progress

いま　ごはんを　食たべている。 I am eating rice now.

友ともだちは　本ほんを　読よんでいます。 My friend is reading a book.

外そとで　子こどもが　遊あそんでいます。 Children are playing outside.

These are straightforward. The action is happening right now, and ている marks it as ongoing. English uses "is ~ing" for the same purpose.

Resultative: a state resulting from a completed action

田中たなかさんは　結婚けっこんしている。 Tanaka is married.

わたしは　東京とうきょうに　住すんでいます。 I live in Tokyo.

あの　人ひとを　知しっています。 I know that person.

Here, nothing is actively happening. Tanaka is not in the process of getting married — the marriage happened, and ている describes the resulting state. The same applies to 住すんでいる: the act of moving happened at some point; now you are in the state of living there.

This is not a quirk or an exception. It is a core feature of ている. The same grammar produces both readings, and the verb itself determines which one is natural. The next section explains how.

11.2 Distinguishing Progressive from Resultative

The key is the verb's inherent meaning — specifically, whether the action it describes has duration or is instantaneous.

Activity verbs → ている = progressive

Activity verbs describe actions that take time to perform. While the action is underway, ている marks it as in progress.

These verbs describe processes. You can be in the middle of eating, reading, or running. The ている form captures that midpoint.

Change-of-state verbs → ている = resultative

Change-of-state verbs describe events that happen in an instant. There is no "middle" to be in. Once the change occurs, you are in the resulting state, and ている describes that state.

Consider 死しぬ. Dying is not an extended activity. The moment it happens, the person is dead. 死しんでいる does not mean "is in the process of dying" — it means "is dead." The state persists after the instantaneous event.

Similarly, 座すわる means "to sit down" — the instant of lowering yourself onto a seat. Once that instant passes, you are in the state of sitting. 座っている means "is seated," not "is in the process of sitting down."

How to tell which reading applies

There is no grammatical marker that distinguishes the two readings. Context and the verb's nature do all the work. If someone says:

田中さんは　食べている。

You know this is progressive ("Tanaka is eating") because 食べる is an activity verb. If someone says:

田中さんは　結婚している。

You know this is resultative ("Tanaka is married") because 結婚する is a change-of-state verb.

Some verbs can go either way depending on context, but at this level, the distinction is usually clear. When you learn a new verb, pay attention to whether it describes a process or an instantaneous change. That will tell you what its ている form means.

The negative: ていない

The negative of ている is ていない (plain) or ていません (polite).

まだ　食たべていません。 I have not eaten yet.

あの　人ひとを　知しりません。 I do not know that person.

Notice the asymmetry with 知しる: the affirmative is 知っている (resultative — "I know"), but the negative is 知りません or 知しらない, not 知っていない. This is because "not knowing" is not a state resulting from a change — it is simply the absence of knowledge. This verb is irregular in this way. Memorize it as a fixed pair: 知っています / 知りません.

11.3 てください — Polite Requests

Attach ください to a verb's て-form, and you get a polite request: "please do..."

[て-form] + ください

ちょっと　待まってください。 Please wait a moment.

ここに　座すわってください。 Please sit here.

名前なまえを　書かいてください。 Please write your name.

この　本ほんを　読よんでください。 Please read this book.

もういちど　言いってください。 Please say it one more time.

見みてください。 Please look.

This is not a command. It is a polite request, appropriate in most everyday situations — asking a store clerk, speaking to a colleague, or talking to someone you do not know well. It is roughly equivalent to "could you please..." in English.

For situations requiring more formality, other forms exist, but てください is the standard polite request and will serve you well in the vast majority of situations.

Negative requests: ないでください

To ask someone not to do something, use the ない-form (plain negative) plus でください.

[ない-form] + でください

ここで　食たべないでください。 Please do not eat here.

写真しゃしんを　撮とらないでください。 Please do not take photos.

忘わすれないでください。 Please do not forget.

Note the construction carefully: it is the ない-form, not the て-form, that precedes でください. You do not say 食べてないでください. You say 食べないでください.

11.4 てもいい — Permission

Attach もいい to a verb's て-form to express that something is permitted: "it is okay to..." or "may I..."

[て-form] + もいいですか　(asking permission) [て-form] + もいいです　(granting permission)

ここで　食たべてもいいですか。 May I eat here?

はい、食べてもいいです。 Yes, you may.

この　ペンを　使つかってもいいですか。 May I use this pen?

はい、使ってもいいです。 Yes, you may.

座すわってもいいですか。 May I sit down?

写真しゃしんを　撮とってもいいですか。 May I take a photo?

The も in this construction is the particle も ("also" / "even"). The literal sense is something like "even if you do [verb], it is good" — hence "it is okay to do [verb]." You do not need to analyze it this way every time; treat てもいい as a set pattern meaning "it is okay to" or "may."

When denying permission, the most natural response is the prohibition form covered in the next section, or simply:

いいえ、ちょっと... No, well... (a soft refusal)

すみません、ちょっと... Sorry, it's a bit... (a polite dodge)

Japanese speakers often avoid flat refusals. ちょっと... with a trailing tone is a gentle "no" that you will hear constantly.

11.5 てはいけない — Prohibition

Attach はいけない to a verb's て-form to express that something is not allowed: "you must not..." or "it is not permitted to..."

[て-form] + はいけません　(polite) [て-form] + はいけない　(plain)

ここで　食たべてはいけません。 You must not eat here.

写真しゃしんを　撮とってはいけません。 You must not take photos.

この　水みずを　飲のんではいけません。 You must not drink this water.

授業中じゅぎょうちゅうに　電話でんわを　使つかってはいけません。 You must not use your phone during class.

The は in this construction is the topic/contrast particle は, pronounced わ as always. いけない literally means "it won't do" or "it's no good." The whole phrase means "doing [verb] won't do" — that is, "you must not."

Permission and Prohibition Side by Side

These two forms are a natural pair. Learn them together.

ここで　飲のんでもいいですか。 May I drink here?

飲んでもいいです。でも、食べてはいけません。 You may drink. But you must not eat.

11.6 て as Sequential Connector

The て-form can connect verbs in sequence, expressing "and then" without any additional grammar. The actions are understood to happen in order.

[て-form], [て-form], [final verb]

The final verb carries the tense for the whole sentence. The て-forms are tense-neutral — they take on whatever tense the last verb has.

朝あさ　起おきて、顔かおを　洗あらって、朝あさごはんを　食たべます。 In the morning, I wake up, wash my face, and eat breakfast.

うちに　帰かえって、シャワーを　浴あびて、寝ねます。 I go home, take a shower, and go to bed.

きのう　図書館としょかんに　行いって、本ほんを　借かりて、うちで　読よみました。 Yesterday I went to the library, borrowed a book, and read it at home.

電車でんしゃに　乗のって、駅えきで　降おりて、歩あるいて　学校がっこうに　行いきます。 I get on the train, get off at the station, and walk to school.

Notice the third example: the final verb 読みました is past tense, and the entire sentence becomes past. The て-forms 行って and 借りて do not change.

You can chain as many て-forms as the sentence can reasonably hold. In practice, three or four is common. More than that and the sentence becomes hard to follow — the same is true in English with long "and then... and then..." chains.

て-form chaining vs と

You learned と as a particle connecting nouns ("A and B"). て-form chaining connects actions. Do not confuse them. と joins nouns; て-form joins verbs in sequence.

本ほんと　ペンを　買かいました。 (と connecting nouns: "book and pen") 本を　買って、読よみました。 (て connecting actions: "bought a book and read it")

11.7 Reading Passage — 山田やまださんの　一日いちにち

Read the following passage. It uses て-form chaining, ている, てください, and other grammar from this chapter. Every word has been introduced in this textbook or is glossed below. Read it once without looking at the translation.

山田やまださんは　毎朝まいあさ　六ろく時じに　起おきます。起きて、顔かおを　洗あらって、シャワーを　浴あびます。それから、朝あさごはんを　食たべて、コーヒーを　飲のみます。

八はち時じに　うちを　出でて、駅えきまで　歩あるきます。電車でんしゃに　乗のって、会社かいしゃに　行いきます。山田さんの　会社は　東京とうきょうに　あります。

山田さんは　いま　会社で　働はたらいています。パソコンを　使つかって、メールを　書かいています。隣となりの　席せきに　田中たなかさんが　座すわっています。田中さんは　電話でんわで　話はなしています。

昼休ひるやすみに　山田さんは　田中さんと　外そとに　出て、近ちかくの　店みせで　昼ひるごはんを　食べます。

午後ごご　六時に　仕事しごとが　終おわります。山田さんは　会社を　出て、電車に　乗って、うちに　帰かえります。うちに　帰って、晩ばんごはんを　食べて、すこし　テレビを　見みます。

山田さんは　東京に　住すんでいます。結婚けっこんしていません。一人ひとりで　住んでいます。毎日まいにち　忙いそがしいですが、日曜日にちようびは　休やすみです。

Translation

Yamada wakes up every morning at six. She wakes up, washes her face, and takes a shower. After that, she eats breakfast and drinks coffee.

At eight, she leaves home and walks to the station. She gets on the train and goes to work. Yamada's company is in Tokyo.

Yamada is working at the company now. She is using a computer and writing emails. Tanaka is sitting in the seat next to her. Tanaka is talking on the phone.

During lunch break, Yamada goes outside with Tanaka and eats lunch at a nearby restaurant.

At six in the afternoon, work ends. Yamada leaves the company, gets on the train, and goes home. She gets home, eats dinner, and watches a little TV.

Yamada lives in Tokyo. She is not married. She lives alone. Every day is busy, but Sunday is a day off.

Notes on the passage

毎朝まいあさ — "every morning." 毎まい (every) + 朝あさ (morning). Similar to 毎日まいにち (every day).

それから — "after that." A conjunction connecting sentences in sequence.

うちを　出でて — "leaving home." 出でる (to exit) takes を to mark the place being exited. This is one of the verbs where を marks a point of departure rather than a direct object.

駅えきまで — "to the station." まで means "up to" or "as far as." It marks a destination or endpoint.

働はたらいています — "is working." 働はたらく (to work) is an activity verb, so ている gives the progressive reading.

座すわっています — "is sitting." 座すわる (to sit down) is a change-of-state verb, so ている gives the resultative reading: Tanaka is in the seated state.

昼休ひるやすみ — "lunch break." 昼ひる (noon/daytime) + 休やすみ (rest/break).

仕事しごとが　終おわります — "work ends." 終おわる (to end) is an intransitive verb — the work ends on its own.

結婚けっこんしていません — "is not married." The negative of the resultative 結婚している.

一人ひとりで — "alone." 一人 (one person) + で (by means of / in the manner of).

忙いそがしい — "busy." An い-adjective.

Reading Passage 2 — 温泉おんせんの　ルール

日本にほんの　温泉には　ルールが　あります。温泉に　入はいる　前まえに、体からだを　洗あらってください。シャワーを　浴あびてから、お湯ゆに　入ります。

お湯の　中なかで　タオルを　使つかっては　いけません。タオルは　頭あたまの　上うえに　置おいてください。大おおきい　声こえで　話はなしては　いけません。ほかの　人ひとが　静しずかに　入っています。

温泉の　お湯は　とても　熱あついです。長ながく　入りすぎないで　ください。水みずを　飲のんでも　いいですか。はい、飲んでも　いいです。温泉の　あとに　水を　たくさん　飲んでください。

温泉の　あと、みんな　リラックスしています。日本人にほんじんは　温泉が　とても　好すきです。

Translation

Japanese hot springs have rules. Before entering the hot spring, please wash your body. After taking a shower, you enter the hot water.

You must not use a towel in the hot water. Please place the towel on top of your head. You must not speak in a loud voice. Other people are bathing quietly.

The hot spring water is very hot. Please do not stay in too long. May I drink water? Yes, you may drink water. Please drink plenty of water after the hot spring.

After the hot spring, everyone is relaxing. Japanese people love hot springs.

Notes on the Passage

温泉おんせんに 入はいる 前まえに — "before entering the hot spring." 前に ("before") is used with the dictionary form of a verb. This structure has not been formally taught yet, but it is transparent here.

体からだを 洗あらってください — "please wash your body." てください making a polite request.

シャワーを 浴あびてから — "after taking a shower." てから marks one action completed before the next begins.

使つかっては いけません — "you must not use." てはいけません expressing prohibition.

入っています — "are bathing." ている with an activity verb gives the progressive meaning.

飲のんでも いいですか — "may I drink?" てもいい asking for permission.

リラックスしています — "are relaxing." A する-verb in the ている progressive form.

11.8 Vocabulary List

New vocabulary introduced in this chapter. ピッチ indicates pitch accent: ⓪ = flat (heiban), ① = drops after mora 1, ② = drops after mora 2, and so on.

Verbs

Nouns

Time Words

Adverbs and Conjunctions

Adjective

Particles and Other