〜て います — three readings
In lesson 17 you met 〜て います for 'is doing right now' — たべて います = 'is eating'. That's only one of its jobs. The same form has two more: resultative state (the action happened, and the result is still true now — 結婚して います = 'is married') and habitual (something you do regularly — まいにち、コーヒー を のんで います = 'I drink coffee every day'). Which reading you get depends on the type of verb and the surrounding context. Today's job: learn the three readings and which verbs trigger which.
Reading 1 — progressive ('is …-ing')
With verbs that describe an action that takes time — たべる, のむ, 読む, 見る, 書く, はなす — 〜て います means 'is in the middle of doing it now'. アナさん は 本 を 読んで います。 = 'Anna is reading a book.' 雨 が ふって います。 = 'It's raining.' This matches the English progressive almost exactly. Polite: 〜て います. Plain (for casual speech, lesson 21): 〜て いる, often shortened to 〜てる: 読んで る, ふって る.
Reading 2 — resultative state
With verbs that describe an instantaneous change — 結婚する ('marry'), しぬ ('die'), 行く / 来る / かえる ('go / come / go home'), しる ('come to know'), きる ('put on'), すむ ('live' = 'come to live in') — 〜て います does NOT mean 'is in the middle of'. It means the change already happened, and the resulting state is still in effect now. やまだ せんせい は 結婚して います。 = 'Mr. Yamada is married.' (Not 'is getting married' — that would be 結婚します in the future.) アナさん は とうきょう に 行って います。 = 'Anna has gone to Tokyo (and is there now).' しって います = 'I know.' (Not 'I'm in the process of knowing.') This reading catches English speakers off guard — once you see it, half of Japanese state expressions click into place.
Reading 3 — habitual
With a frequency word like まいにち ('every day'), いつも ('always'), よく ('often'), 〜て います describes a habit rather than a one-time action: ケンさん は まいにち ジム で およいで います。 = 'Ken swims at the gym every day.' アナさん は とうきょう で はたらいて います。 = 'Anna works in Tokyo.' (Long-term ongoing job, not 'is at work right now'.) The plain present 〜ます also works for habits, but 〜て います is preferred when the activity feels ongoing across a longer stretch of time — your job, where you live, what you do every morning.
How to tell which reading
The verb does most of the work. Action verbs (durative — they unfold over time): たべる, 読む, 書く, およぐ, ねる, あるく, はなす. With these, default reading is progressive. Add a frequency word and it shifts to habitual. Change-of-state verbs (instantaneous — they happen in a flash): 結婚する, 行く, 来る, かえる, おきる ('wake up'), しる, きる ('put on'), すむ. With these, default reading is resultative state. There's no ambiguity — Japanese speakers don't think about it; they just know which verb is which. For now, memorize a few of each kind and you'll cover most everyday cases.
Negative — 〜て いません
Negative is 〜て いません (polite) / 〜て いない (plain). With a state verb the negative is the natural way to say 'haven't done X yet': まだ たべて いません。 = 'I haven't eaten yet.' (Literally: 'I'm not in the state of having eaten.') Note まだ + 〜て いません is the standard pairing. しって いません is rare — natives say しらない ('I don't know') for the negative of しる. Don't memorize a list — when you read more, you'll absorb which negative each verb prefers.
Casual: 〜てる
In casual speech (lesson 21), the い of 〜て いる disappears almost every time. たべて る instead of たべて いる, しって る instead of しって いる, 見て る instead of 見て いる. This is one of the most common features of casual Japanese — pay attention to it in TV and song lyrics. Plain past: 〜てた (たべて た = 'I was eating'). For polite speech, keep the い in: 〜て います, 〜て いました.
