Korean Grammar Beginner -Tenses- (5): Progressive V-고 있다

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I. Examples

When expressing the continuation or progression of an action, you can add -고 있다 to the verb stems. It is equivalent of ‘-ing’ in English. In order to express the past progressive tense, -고 있었다 is used. (the past form of 있다 = 있었다)

그는 지금 음악을 듣고 있어요. (He is listening to music now.)

지금 서울에서 살고 있어요. (I am living in Seoul now.)

그때 마이클은 자고 있었어요. (Michael was sleeping at that time.)

II. Grammar Point

1. Variations 1

As mentioned, the progressive tense in Korean is formed by adding -고 있다. By modifying “있다” in “-고 있다,” several different forms can be derived based on what you have learned so far: i) -고 있습니다 (polite + formal + present), ii)-고 있어요 (polite + informal + present) iii) -(으)ㄹ 거예요 (polite + informal + future)

I am going to the theater.
- 극장에 가고 있습니다 (polite + formal + present)
- 극장에 가고 있어요 (polite + informal + present)

I was going to the theater.
- 극장에 가고 있었습니다 (polite + formal + past)
- 극장에 가고 있었어요 (polite + informal + past)

I will be going to the theater.
- 극장에 가고 있을 겁니다 (polite + formal + future)
- 극장에 가고 있을 거에요 (polite + informal + future)

2. More Examples

사다(buy) –> 사고 있어요
보다(see) –> 보고 있어요
찾다(find) –> 찾고 있어요
일하다(study) –> 일하고 있어요

3. vs The Simple Past Form -았/었어요

If you want to express an action simply occurred in the past, the simple past form -았/었어요 is used. For instance, if you want to emphasize the fact that you were just resting at home, you can say “지난 토요일에 집에서 쉬었어요. (I took a rest at home last Saturday)” If you want to convey that you were doing something during a specific time, you may say “그 때 집에서 쉬고 있었어요. (I was resting at home at that time.)”

III. Practice

한국어를 ___ (배우다)
점심을 ___ (먹다)
시계를 ___ (찾다)