Billy Go’s Beginner Korean Course - #52- The Progressive Tense

Welcome back. In this lesson we're going to learn about the progressive tense. Now the progressive tense, just like the present tense, can be used for talking about something that you're doing right now. However, unlike the present tense, the progressive tense can only be used for something that's happening currently, right now, or continually. The progressive tense can translate as ing when it's used with any action verb, and it's called the progressive tense because it's used to show that any action is currently in progress. So here's basically how to use it with some examples, and in the next slide we'll cover how to actually conjugate it. So here's just a quick outline of the form. You take an action verb stem with 고 있다, and conjugate 있다. So you can have 한국어를 자주 공부해요. I study Korean often. Or 한국어를 공부해요. Which can mean, I study Korean, or I am studying Korean. And finally, 한국어를 공부하고 있어요. I am studying Korean, currently, or continually. So here's how to conjugate the progressive tense. Simply take an action verb stem and attach 고 있다. Then conjugate the verb 있다. So this can be 있어요. Again, although you can also use the regular present tense to say that something is happening, the progressive tense is only used to say that something is currently or continually happening. Not that it will happen, or that it just happens in general. So let's do a conversation practice using the progressive form. We have two people, 지효 and 나연. First, 지효 says, 저는 요즘 강아지를 키우고 있어요. I am recently, or these days, raising a dog. 강아지요? A dog? 전 고양이를 키우고 싶어요. I want to raise, or I want to have, a cat. Next, we have a second unrelated conversation. First, 지효 says, 네? Note that when you're answering the phone, you can simply say 네 when you know who it is on the other end. 아직 잠자고 있어요? Are you still sleeping, currently or continually? Note that 잠자다 literally means to sleep a sleep. So you can use 잠자다 or just 자다 as we already learned. 아니요. No. 일어났어요. I woke up. 왜요? Why? 오늘 뭐해요? What are you doing today? 오늘 친구를 만나요. I meet a friend today, or I will meet a friend today, or I'm meeting a friend today. 나연 씨는요? How about you, 나연? Or, as for you? 전 지금 빌리 씨랑 현우 씨의 집에서 놀고 있어요. As for me, right now, I am hanging out with Billy at Hyunwoo's house. 저는 요즘 강아지를 키우고 있어요. 강아지요? 전 고양이를 키우고 싶어요. 네? 아직 잠자고 있어요? 아니요. 일어났어요. 왜요? 오늘 뭐해요? 오늘 친구를 만나요. 나연 씨는요? 전 지금 빌리 씨랑 현우 씨의 집에서 놀고 있어요. However, if you want to make the progressive tense into a negative, and say that you are not currently or not continually doing something, do not change 고 있다 into 고 없다. Instead, change 고 있다 into 고 있지 않다. Alternatively, you can also just make the verb that comes before the progressive tense negative by using 안. Here are some examples. 지금 하고 있지 않아요. 지금 안 하고 있어요. I'm not doing it now, or I'm not currently doing it now. But before we go, a quick note about the progressive tense. Unless you want to emphasize that you're currently doing something or continually doing something, feel free to just keep using the present tense as usual. For example, 요즘 한국어를 공부해요. These days I study Korean. Or, 요즘 한국어를 공부하고 있어요. These days I am studying Korean. The first sentence just means that I'm studying Korean in general. Perhaps I study it often. Maybe I'm studying it right now too. While the second sentence can only mean that I am currently studying Korean, and that it's going on continually. Now, maybe this means I'm studying right now. The point is that the progressive tense emphasizes that this is currently or continually happening. So in this lesson we learned about the progressive tense, and also how it's different from the regular present tense. So practice the concepts that we learned in this lesson, and I'll see you again next time. 그럼 다음에 또 봐! Well then, see you again next time!