Grammar Info

N4 Lesson 2: 10/17

~ていた Was doing ~

Structure

Verb[てい+

Details

  • Register

    Standard

About ていた

To convey that '(A) was happening', or that somebody 'was doing (A)' in Japanese, ていた (or ていました) will be used. ていた is a construction which uses the conjunction particle , and the ichidan verb いる (to exist), in its past tense form いた.

Sometimes ていた is used to express things that are still ongoing, but the speaker is not sure about, or would like to politely advise the listener about. This is very similar to the way in which English uses '(A) was doing (B)'.

In this example, although the action of 'sitting' is not finished, we can imagine that the speaker is suggesting that 'dad was sitting here, and he still is, but he just went to get a drink'.

The same kind of sentence could be used when the speaker has walked away from where their dad was sitting, and doesn't actually know if he is still sitting there or not.

Examples

--:--

    勉強(べんきょう)していたけど(いま)(やす)んでいる。

    I was studying but am taking a break right now.

    音楽(おんがく)()いていたから電話(でんわ)()こえなかった

    Because I was listening to music I couldn't hear the phone.

    昨日(きのう)1時(いちじ)ごろ()ていた

    Yesterday around one o'clock I was sleeping.

    4時間(よじかん)椅子(いす)(すわ)っていたから、お(しり)(いた)

    I was sitting for as much as four hours, so my butt hurts.

    (かあ)さん(かえ)って()(とき)(わたし)(はん)(つく)っていた

    When my mom came home I was making food.

  • Get more example sentences!

    Premium users get access to 12 example sentences on all Grammar Points.

Self-Study Sentences

Study your own way!

Add sentences and study them alongside Bunpro sentences.

  • Online

      There are no Online resources listed for 「ていた 」.

      You can . Resources are constantly updated, come back later to see new additions!


    • Offline

        There are no Offline resources listed for 「ていた 」.

        You can . Resources are constantly updated, come back later to see new additions!

      • Track Resources!

        Bunpro tracks all of the resources you’ve visited, and offers relevant bookmarks of physical books to help with offline tracking.

      ていた – Grammar Discussion

      Most Recent Replies (4 in total)

      • mrnoone

        mrnoone

        Hey

        Yes! This is the correct way of using the community forums! Feel free to ask as many questions as you want

      • Kurei

        Kurei

        As always clear and complete. Thank you very much!

        As you inferred the lack of an example that used て+いました was one of the reasons why I thought it may not exist. The other was that I didn’t get any warning about it being too polite.

        Then I’ll be less worried the next time I override an answer marked wrong due to a formality mismatch.

        I think I got too spoiled by all the “too polite” “more polite” and expected it always.
        Also, sorry for making you write all the explanation of the levels of politeness.

        P.S. I’ll be using these grammar points p...

      • Howl_UK

        Howl_UK

        On a slightly related note. Can ている also mean ‘will be doing’ (in the future) or can it only mean ‘am doing’ or ‘resultant change has happened and continues to remain in that state’?

        i.e. 明日本を読んだりケッキを食べたりしている
        Tomorrow I will be doing things like reading a book and eating cake.

      Got questions about ていた ? Join us to discuss, ask, and learn together!

      Join the Discussion