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　たべている。 I am eating rice now.

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

そとで　こどもが　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

たなかさんは　けっこんしている。 Tanaka is married.

わたしは　とうきょうに　すんでいます。 I live in Tokyo.

あの　ひとを　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 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 しぬ. Dying is not an extended activity. The moment it happens, the person is dead. 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, 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. すわっている 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:

たなかさんは　たべている。

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

たなかさんは　けっこんしている。

You know this is resultative ("Tanaka is married") because けっこんする 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　たべていません。 I have not eaten yet.

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

Notice the asymmetry with しる: the affirmative is しっている (resultative — "I know"), but the negative is しりません or しらない, not しっていない. 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: しっています / しりません.

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　まってください。 Please wait a moment.

ここに　すわってください。 Please sit here.

なまえを　かいてください。 Please write your name.

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

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

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　たべないでください。 Please do not eat here.

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

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 たべてないでください. You say たべないでください.

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　たべてもいいですか。 May I eat here?

はい、たべてもいいです。 Yes, you may.

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

はい、つかってもいいです。 Yes, you may.

すわってもいいですか。 May I sit down?

しゃしんを　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　たべてはいけません。 You must not eat here.

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

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

じゅぎょうちゅうに　でんわを　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　のんでもいいですか。 May I drink here?

のんでもいいです。でも、たべてはいけません。 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.

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

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

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

でんしゃに　のって、えきで　おりて、あるいて　がっこうに　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 よみました is past tense, and the entire sentence becomes past. The て-forms いって and かりて 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.

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

11.7 Reading Passage — やまださんの　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.

やまださんは　まいあさ　六じに　おきます。おきて、かおを　あらって、シャワーを　あびます。それから、あさごはんを　たべて、コーヒーを　のみます。

八じに　うちを　でて、えきまで　あるきます。でんしゃに　のって、かいしゃに　いきます。やまださんの　かいしゃは　とうきょうに　あります。

やまださんは　いま　かいしゃで　はたらいています。パソコンを　つかって、メールを　かいています。となりの　せきに　たなかさんが　すわっています。たなかさんは　でんわで　はなしています。

ひるやすみに　やまださんは　たなかさんと　そとに　でて、ちかくの　みせで　ひるごはんを　たべます。

ごご　六じに　しごとが　おわります。やまださんは　かいしゃを　でて、でんしゃに　のって、うちに　かえります。うちに　かえって、ばんごはんを　たべて、すこし　テレビを　みます。

やまださんは　とうきょうに　すんでいます。けっこんしていません。ひとりで　すんでいます。まいにち　いそがしいですが、にちようびは　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

まいあさ — "every morning." まい (every) + あさ (morning). Similar to まいにち (every day).

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

うちを　でて — "leaving home." 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.

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

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

すわっています — "is sitting." 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.

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

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

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

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

いそがしい — "busy." An い-adjective.

Reading Passage 2 — おんせんの　ルール

にほんの　おんせんには　ルールが　あります。おんせんに　はいる　まえに、からだを　あらってください。シャワーを　あびてから、おゆに　はいります。

おゆの　なかで　タオルを　つかっては　いけません。タオルは　あたまの　うえに　おいてください。おおきい　こえで　はなしては　いけません。ほかの　ひとが　しずかに　はいっています。

おんせんの　おゆは　とても　あついです。ながく　はいりすぎないで　ください。みずを　のんでも　いいですか。はい、のんでも　いいです。おんせんの　あとに　みずを　たくさん　のんでください。

おんせんの　あと、みんな　リラックスしています。にほんじんは　おんせんが　とても　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

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

からだを 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 あびてから — "after taking a shower." てから marks one action completed before the next begins.

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

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

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