Lesson 10
Here is another lesson about TENSES! In this lesson, we are introducing how to make sentences in the present progressive form (현재 진행형) in Korean.
Examples of present progressive sentences in English.
- I’m reading a book.
- What are you watching?
- He’s helping me a lot.
Conjugation:
- to be -ing = Verb stem + -고 있다 [-go it-tta]
보다 [bo-da] = to see
보고 있다 [bo-go it-tta] = to be seeing
Present progressive:
- am/are/is -ing = Verb stem + -고 있어요 [-go i-sseo-yo]
밖에 비가 오고 있어요. [ba-kke bi-ga o-go i-sseo-yo] = It is raining outside.
밖에 눈이 오고 있어요. [ba-kke nu-ni o-go i-sseo-yo] = It is snowing outside.
밖에 바람이 불고 있어요. [ba-kke ba-ra-mi bul-go i-sseo-yo] = The wind is blowing outside.
Past progressive:
- was/were -ing = Verb stem + -고 있었어요 [-go i-sseo-sseo-yo]
눈이 오고 있었어요. [nu-ni o-go i-sseo-sseo-yo] = It was snowing.
비가 오고 있었어요. [bi-ga o-go i-sseo-sseo-yo] = It was raining.
바람이 불고 있었어요. [ba-ra-mi bul-go i-sseo-sseo-yo] = The wind was blowing.
경은 씨가 자고 있었어요. [gyeong-eun ssi-ga ja-go i-sseo-sseo-yo] = Kyeong-eun was sleeping.
Future progressive:
- will be -ing = Verb stem + -고 있을 거예요 [-go i-sseul geo-ye-yo]
Past and future progressive sentences are commonly used in everyday Korean as well, if you have a thorough understanding of how to use the present progressive form, past and future progressive forms are very easy to use too.
When using the present progressive tense, there are two important points to remember:
1) Literal translation between Korean present progressive sentences and
English present progressive sentences do not always work, especially if you use the present progressive form in English to indicate the future.
For example, if you say “I’m not going to work tomorrow” in English, you are not talking about the present but the future, so in Korean you cannot use the -고 있어요 form.
2) In everyday conversations, sentences that need to be in the present progressive form do not always take the -고 있어요 form. Korean people often just use the plain present tense form even for sentences that take the present progressive tense in English.
Example
Instead of saying:
A: 지금 뭐 하고 있어요? [ji-geum mwo ha-go i-sseo-yo?] = What are you doing now?
B: 공부하고 있어요. [gong-bu-ha-go i-sseo-yo] = I am studying.
many people say:
A: 지금 뭐 해요? [ji-geum mwo hae-yo?] = What are you doing now?
B: 공부해요. [gong-bu-hae-yo] = I am studying.
Sample sentences
일하다 [il-ha-da] = to work
일하고 있어요. [il-ha-go i-sseo-yo] = I am working.
일하고 있었어요. [il-ha-go i-sseo-sseo-yo] = I was working.
일하고 있을 거예요. [il-ha-go i-sseul geo-ye-yo] = I’ll be working.
듣다 [deut-tta] = to listen
듣고 있어요. [deut-kko i-sseo-yo] = I am listening.
듣고 있었어요. [deut-kko i-sseo-sseo-yo] = I was listening.
듣고 있을 거예요. [deut-kko i-sseul geo-ye-yo] = I will be listening.