2 · Aspect: le, guo, zhe and zai
Zài and zhèngzài … ne: an action in progress
the progressive aspect
Zài or zhèngzài before the verb, often with ne at the end, says that an action is going on.
在 before a verb says that the action is in progress: 我在做饭, “I’m cooking”. 正在 stresses that it is happening at this very moment, and 呢 at the end adds “that’s what is going on”. They combine freely: 在…呢, 正在…呢, 正…呢, or 呢 alone — 他睡觉呢, “he’s asleep”.
Like everything in this area, 在 says nothing about time. An action can be in progress in the past: 你来的时候，我正在做饭, “when you came, I was cooking”. English changes “am” to “was”; Chinese keeps the sentence as it is and lets the time phrase do the work.
English uses “-ing” far more widely than Chinese uses 在. A plan is not an action in progress: “I’m going to Beijing tomorrow” is 我明天去北京, with no 在. A state is not one either: “she is wearing a red coat” describes what she has on, and that is 着. And verbs that do not go on over time — 是, 知道, 认识, 到 — never take 在.
The negative is 没在: 我没在睡觉, “I’m not sleeping”. It is used mostly to correct someone, usually followed by what is really going on.
The form
| in progress | 我在做饭。 |
| right at this moment | 我正在做饭。 |
| with ne | 我在做饭呢。 |
| ne alone | 他睡觉呢。 |
| negative | 我没在做饭。 |
| in the past | 你来的时候，我正在做饭。 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
Zài before the verb says that the action is going on.
妈妈在打电话。Mum is on the phone.
Zhèngzài stresses that it is happening at this very moment.
经理正在开会，请您等一下。The manager is in a meeting just now — please wait a moment.
Ne at the end can join in, or do the job alone.
别吵，宝宝睡觉呢。Quiet — the baby is sleeping.
A time word can place the action in the past.
昨天晚上八点我在看电视。At eight o’clock yesterday evening I was watching TV.
English “-ing” for a plan is not zài: a plan has no zài.
我明天去北京。I’m going to Beijing tomorrow.
A closer look
Being at an action
The progressive 在 is the same word as the verb “to be at”. 他在做饭 is, at bottom, “he is at cooking” — much like the old English “he is a-cooking”. That is why a place and the progressive share one word: 他在厨房做饭, “he is cooking in the kitchen”, already sounds like an action in progress.
Chinese also leaves the progressive out more readily than English. When the situation makes it obvious — you are looking at it, or it is a general description — the plain verb is enough. 在 is used when it matters that the action is under way at that moment.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the verb describes something that does not go on over time: 到, 是, 知道, 认识
it takes no zài; English “is arriving” becomes “is about to arrive”.
火车快到了。The train is arriving.
Arriving happens in a moment; there is no stretch of time in which to be at it. What English means by “is arriving” is that it will happen very soon, which is 快…了.
How to spot it
- 在
- 正在
- 正…呢
- …呢
Example sentences
你在干什么呢？What are you doing?
我正在写作业。I’m doing my homework right now.
外面在下雨，带把伞吧。It’s raining outside — take an umbrella.
他最近在学开车。He’s learning to drive at the moment.
我给你打电话的时候，你在做什么？What were you doing when I rang you?
他们正吃饭呢。They’re in the middle of eating.
8 more example sentences
爸爸正在洗碗。Dad is washing up.
你听，谁在唱歌？Listen — who’s singing?
我没在睡觉，我在看书。I’m not sleeping — I’m reading.
别打扰他，他正在准备考试。Don’t disturb him — he’s revising for an exam.
大家都在等你呢。Everyone is waiting for you.
我进门的时候，他们正在看比赛。When I came in, they were watching the match.
这几天我在找房子。I’m looking for a flat at the moment.
她在房间里打电话呢。She’s in her room, on the phone.
Worth knowing (1)
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A place and the progressive together
Chinese cannot say 在 twice in a row. To put a place and the progressive in one sentence, use 正 before the place phrase: 正 carries the “right now”, and 在 carries the place.
他正在厨房做饭。He is cooking in the kitchen right now.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English uses the “-ing” form for plans (“I’m going to Shanghai tomorrow”), so it is tempting to add 在. But nothing is in progress yet — it is a plan, and a plan in Chinese is the plain verb with a time word.
Zài before the verb: it is happening — now, or at the time you name.
Your turn
8 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.