About the ～ている form
If you’re familiar with Japanese, you may have noticed some expressions like “分かっている” (wakatte iru) and “知っている” (shitte iru), which roughly translate into English as “I understand” and “I know”, but literally mean “I’m understanding” and “I’m knowing” – which would sound very strange in English.
In Japanese, several verbs use the continuous form ～ている to express states or conditions, whereas in English, we use the simple present tense. Other examples include:
English: I have money.
Japanese: お金を持っている (okane o motte iru, literally “I’m having money”).
English: I live in Tokyo.
Japanese: 東京に住んでいる (Tokyo ni sunde iru, literally “I’m living in Tokyo”).
This happens because, in Japanese, states and conditions are often viewed as ongoing processes. The ～ている form conveys a sense of continuity or ongoing existence. For example, when someone says 知っている (shitte iru), it reflects that the state of knowing persists over time. Similarly, 持っている (motte iru) indicates that the state of possession of something is ongoing. In contrast, English typically uses the simple present tense to describe states and conditions because it views them as static or general truths. For example, "I know" or "I have got" are seen as stable states rather than ongoing processes.
Furthermore, Japanese places more emphasis on the duration or the current state of an action. The ～ている form explicitly marks this, making it clear that the state is not a one-time event but something that persists over time. On the other hand, English often uses separate words or relies on context to convey aspectual differences.
To make this clearer, consider these examples:
知る (shiru) means "to come to know" (a moment of realization).
知っている (shitte iru) means "to know" (continuously being in the state of knowing).
覚える (oboeru) means “to memorize” (a moment of committing to memory).
覚えている (oboete iru) means “to remember” (continuously being in the state of having memorized).
In some contexts, the ～ている form can be somewhat similar to the English present perfect tense ("have -ed"), as both can describe a state resulting from a past action. For example, the Japanese “鍵を見つけている” (kagi o mitsukete iru) translates to the English “I have found the key,” as it indicates that the key was found in the past, and the result of having found it is still relevant now. However, we must keep in mind that ～ている can indicate both an ongoing action and a state resulting from a past action, whereas the English present perfect tense primarily indicates a state resulting from a past action.
In conclusion, we can say that Japanese has developed a nuanced system of aspect marking that emphasizes the continuity of states and actions. In contrast, English, with its different linguistic evolution, does not always mark aspect as explicitly, especially in the simple present tense. The use of ～ている in Japanese reflects a focus on ongoing processes, while English tends to describe states as static truths using the simple present tense. This difference highlights the broader linguistic principle that languages can vary significantly in how they encode meaning and conceptualize the world.
