So far, you have learned how to use the present progressive tense, aka the ている form. But in this lesson, we are going to step it up a notch by learning how to say while in Japanese. This grammar conjugation is referred to as ながら.

Conjugating Verbs To Use ながら

Luckily for you guys, this verb form is quite easy. The general rule of thumb is Verb-ます stem + ながら. However, there are still a few instances where this conjugation can be a little bit deceiving. Let’s go over it some more by separating its forms in verb groups.

る verbs

As mentioned before, all you need to do to use ながら is to use the verb stem. In other words, cut off the る and add ながら。

Here are some examples of this verb form in action.

 

る Verbs	Stem Form	ながら
食べる	食べ	たべながら
見る	見	見ながら
伝える	伝え	伝えながら
開ける	開けながら	開けながら

 

 

 

IMPORTANT NOTE: Keep in mind that ながら always goes with a verb and shouldn’t stand by itself at any given moment in time.

 

うVerbs

 

う Verbs are in the same category, but since the stem of う verbs isn’t syllabic like those of る verbs, usually another character is needed to fill in the gap before making a conjugation.

Here are some examples of this verb form in action in うverbs

 

う Verbs	Stem Form	ながら
書く	かｋ	書きながら
歩く	あるｋ	歩きながら
買う	買	買いながら
踊る	踊r	踊りながら

 

As you can see I left some characters in romaji because that is where the stem ends. I just did this to show you that you must be careful using conjugating うverbs with ながら. However, if it is one thing you can always count on when dealing with うverbs, it’s the use of いなが. Just remember to drop the うbefore you do anything though.

Irregular Verbs

Using ながらwith irregular verbs is a common way of expressing “while doing something” in Japanese. The conjugations are simple, so you shouldn’t have too much of a problem when dealing with them.

 

The most important irregular verbs you ought to pay attention to are：

する(to do)

And

来る (to come)

 

With their conjugations being:

する―→　しながら

来るー→　来ながら

 

When to use ながら

Think of ながら as a more advanced form of ている. Yes, its used to describe the present progressive tense, but it also used to describe actions done at the SAME time. This is the main distinction between the two. Here are some examples to further explain its usage:

 

私(わたし)は歩(ある)きながら食(た)べ物(もの)を落(お)ちてしまった。

While I was walking, I dropped my food.

パソコン(ぱそこん)を使(つか)えながら、もう電話(でんわ)を掛(か)けました。

While using the computer, I was also on the phone.

歌(うた)いながら声(こえ)をなくしてしまった。

While singing, I lost my voice.

勉強(べんきょう)しながら音楽(おんがく)を聴(き)いていた。

While studying, I was listening to music.

Okay, so you see just how useful this little particle/ grammar point can be right? Once again, use it to describe simultaneous actions in either the past, present or future. Let’s put what you’ve just learned to the test in a short homework assignment. 頑張って 皆さん。

Homework

Conjugate the following verbs using ながら

1. 食(た)べる
2. 飲(の)む
3. 歩(ある)く
4. 泳(およ)ぐ
5. 読(よ)む
6. 歌(うた)う
7. 死(し)ぬ
8. する
9. くる
10. 見(み)る
11. 掃除(そうじ)する
12. 聴く

 

Answer Key

 

1. 食(た)べながら
2. 飲(の)みながら
3. 歩(ある)きながら
4. 泳(およ)ぎながら
5. 読(よ)みながら
6. 歌(うた)いながら
7. 死(し)にながら
8. しながら
9. きながら
10. 見(み)ながら
11. 掃除(そうじ)しながら
12. 聴きながら

 

 

In the last lesson, you learned a pretty handy grammar point known as the TEて form, and as you’ve come to realize its great at making connections. Today we’ll be adding on a little something extra to the TE form known as the TE IRU form. The ている form of a verb is used to express the -ing, or in a more technical term, the present progressive.

Conjugating ている Form

The conjugation of the ている form isn’t too tricky, but there are certain things you need to be careful of when doing so. We’ll be looking at る, う、 and irregular verbs to make this lesson as in-depth as possible.

る Verbs

Think of conjugating these verbs in the て form first, and then simply add いる. A nifty trick is to remember that いる by itself means ‘to be/to exist.’ So, let’s apply that trick to our favorite る verb, 食べる (to eat). First comes the て form, 食べて, then add いる、食べている. “To exist eating.”

う  verbs

Unfortunately, うverbs always have to go and make things hard in Japanese. Conjugating these won’t be as easy since うverbs can end in つ, る, む, ぬ, く, ぐ, and す.  The same rule still applies, but you need to conjugate with caution.

Here are some examples

飲むーのんでいる

踊るーおどっている

脱ぐーぬいでる

持つ― もっている

書くー かいてる

If you looked at that and went “これはなに？ “It’s okay, I did too.

1. For verbs ending in む, remove the う, replace the ‘m’ sound with ん and て becomes で. As for the rest, add いる。
2. For う verbs ending in る, take off the る add a small っ, and then follow up with ている。
3. For verbs ending in ぐ, take off the ぐ、and add いでいる。
4. For verbs ending in く, take off the く, and add いている.
5. For verbs ending in つ, replace the つ with a small っ and add ている。

Irregular verbs

Irregular verbs with the ているform are much more forgiving than that of the うverbs. So, you won’t have to struggle as much. The irregular verbs you’ve learned so far are する、くる。

する becomes している。

くる becomes きている 。

It’s that simple!

 

ているUses

As mentioned earlier this form is used for when you want to express the act of doing something, hence the -ing form. Whether it’s eating, swimming, walking, running, singing, dancing, drinking, etc., the ているcan help you with expressing all of that. It can also be used in connection with the て form to make connections to present progressive actions (-ing). Let’s practice with dialogue; it’ll be easy I promise. But a few notes before we start our practice! Think of ている like any other verb conjugation; it can be used in the negative, polite, or short form, along with many other ways that we won’t get into in this exact lesson, so keep that in mind.

See if you can translate the dialogue while identifying the uses of the ている form.

Practice I

See if you can translate the dialogue while identifying the uses of the ている form.

メアリ：ね。。。たけしさん、何をしている。

たけし：しゅくだいをしています。あなたは。。。？

メアリ：テレビを見ていて、みずをのんでいます。

たけし：ああ、そうですか。宿題がありませんでしょう。

メアリ：ありませんよ。今、ピッザを食べています ?。

Practice II

Conjugate these verbs into the ているform.

1. かつぐ

２．おどる

３．かりる

４．のぞむ

５．くる

 

 

Answer Key

Practice I

Mary: Takeshi, what are you doing?

Takeshi: I am doing my homework, how about you?

Mary: I’m watching T.V and drinking water

Takeshi: Oh, I see. So, you don’t have any homework I assume?

Mary: Nope. Now, I’m eating pizza ?.

 

Practice II

1. かついでる

2. おどっている
3. かりている
4. のぞんでいる
5. きている