The 正在construction and V+着

Exercises

 

Other terminology: progressive aspect; duration and progression

 

How do I form a sentence that implies progressive action?

 

The following sentence pattern indicates a progressive action.

s

正

在

v

着

o

呢.

wŏ

我

zhèng

正

zài

在

kàn

看

zhe

着

shū

书

ne

呢。

I

JUST (NOW)

IN THE MIDDLE OF

READ

ZHE

BOOK

NE

I am reading a book.

 

Is there any difference in meaning between the uses of the function words 正, 在, 着 and呢 in a progressive aspect sentence?

 

The sentence above can be expressed in the following nine ways without changing its meaning.

1.

s

正

在

v

 

o

呢.

wŏ

我

zhèng

正

zài

在

kàn

看

 

shū

书

ne

呢。

I

JUST (NOW)

IN THE MIDDLE OF

READ

 

BOOK

NE.

2.

s

正

 

v

着

o

呢.

wŏ

我

zhèng

正

 

kàn

看

zhe

着

shū

书

ne

呢。

I

JUST (NOW)

 

READ

ZHE

BOOK

NE

3.

s

 

在

v

着

o

呢.

wŏ

我

 

zài

在

kàn

看

zhe

着

shū

书

ne

呢。

I

 

IN THE MIDDLE OF

READ

ZHE

BOOK

NE.

4.

s

 

 

v

着

o

呢.

wŏ

我

 

 

kàn

看

zhe

着

shū

书

ne

呢。

I

 

 

READ

ZHE

BOOK

NE

5

s

正

 

v

 

o

呢.

wŏ

我

zhèng

正

 

kàn

看

 

shū

书

ne

呢。

I

JUST (NOW)

 

READ

 

BOOK

NE.

  6.

s

正

在

v

着

o

 

wŏ

我

zhèng

正

zài

在

kàn

看

zhe

着

shū

书。

 

I

JUST (NOW)

IN THE MIDDLE OF

READ

ZHE

BOOK.

 

7.

s

正

 

v

着

o

 

wŏ

我

zhèng

正

 

kàn

看

zhe

着

shū

书。

 

I

JUST (NOW)

 

READ

ZHE

BOOK.

 

8.

s

 

在

v

 

o

呢

wŏ

我

 

zài

在

kàn

看

 

shū

书

ne

呢。

I

 

IN THE MIDDLE OF

READ

 

BOOK.

 

9.

s

 

在

v

着

o

 

wŏ

我

 

zài

在

kàn

看

zhe

着

shū

书。

 

I

 

IN THE MIDDLE OF

READ

ZHE

BOOK.

 

 

Do any of the elements 正, 在, 着 and呢imply longer or shorter duration?

 

Duration has little to do with any difference in the indication of time by正, 在, 着or呢, but is determined by the action itself. For instance, studying for a university degree takes longer than watching a film. The functional words of the ‘ongoing’ aspect正 zhèng, 在 zài, 着zhe and 呢ne can apply to both long and short duration. However, 着 zhe is often omitted when describing a longer duration, as indicated in the following examples.

 

s

正

在

v

着

o

呢.

wŏ

我

zhèng

正

zài

在

kàn

看

zhe

着

diànyǐng

电影

ne

呢。

HE　

JUST (NOW)

IN THE MIDDLE OF

WATCH

ZHE

FILM

NE.

 He is watching a film.

 

s

正

在

v

着

o

呢.

tā

他

zhèng

正

zài

在

niàn

念

zhe

着

xuéwèi

学位

ne

呢。

HE　

JUST (NOW)

IN THE MIDDLE OF

READ

ZHE

DEGREE

NE.

It is more common to say (without着):

s

正

在

v

 

o

呢.

tā

他

zhèng

正

zài

在

niàn

念

 

xuéwèi

学位

ne

呢。

HE　

JUST (NOW)

IN THE MIDDLE OF

READ

 

DEGREE

NE.

He is studying for a degree.

 

Sometimes 在zài serves both as a co-verb and as an element of the ‘ongoing’ aspect in a sentence, as in:

s

 

在 + place

v

 

o

呢.

tā

他

 

zài dàxué

在大学

niàn

念

 

xuéwèi

学位

ne

呢。

HE　

 

AT UNIVERSITY

IN THE MIDDLE OF

READ

 

DEGREE

NE.

He is studying for a degree at university.

 

On the other hand 正zhèng is often used to describe the ‘heat of the moment’. For example,

s

正

 

v

 

o

呢.

他

正

 

炒

 

菜　

呢。

HE　

JUST (NOW)

 

STIR-FRY

 

DISH

NE.

He is in the middle of frying a dish.

 

Is a co-verb clause always placed after 正and before a verb?

 

Yes, co-verbs such as跟 gēn and 给gěi… are placed after 正在zhèng zài and before a verb, as indicated below.

s

正

在

co-v clause

v

着

o

呢.

tā

他

zhèng

正

zài

在

gěi wŏ

给我

zuò

作

zhe

着

fàn

饭

ne

呢。

HE　

JUST (NOW)

IN THE MIDDLE OF

FOR  ME

COOK

ZHE

MEAL

NE.

He is in the middle of cooking a meal for me.

 Or

s

正

 

co-v clause

v

着

o

呢.

tā

他

zhèng

正

 

gěi wŏ

给我

zuò

作

zhe

着

fàn

饭

ne

呢。

HE　

JUST (NOW)

 

FOR  ME

COOK

ZHE

MEAL

NE

Or

s

 

在

co-v clause

v

着

o

呢.

tā

他

 

zài

在

gěi wŏ

给我

zuò

作

zhe

着

fàn

饭

ne

呢。

HE　

 

IN THE MIDDLE OF

FOR  ME

COOK

ZHE

MEAL

NE.

Or

s

正

在

co-v clause

v

 

o

呢.

tā

他

zhèng

正

zài

在

gěi wŏ

给我

zuò

作

 

fàn

饭

ne

呢。

HE　

JUST (NOW)

IN THE MIDDLE OF

FOR  ME

COOK

 

MEAL

NE.

Or

s

正

在

co-v clause

v

着

o

 

tā

他

zhèng

正

zài

在

gěi wŏ

给我

zuò

作

zhe

着

fàn

饭。

 

HE　

JUST (NOW)

IN THE MIDDLE OF

FOR  ME

COOK

ZHE

MEAL

 

Or


s

 

 

co-v clause

v

着

o

呢.

tā

他

 

 

gěi wŏ

给我

zuò

作

zhe

着

fàn

饭

ne

呢。

HE　

 

 

FOR  ME

COOK

ZHE

MEAL

NE

 

Where should I place an adverbial 地clause in a 正在sentence?

 

An adverbial clause is placed after 正在 zhèngzài and before the verb as shown below.

s

正

在

adv. clause

v

着

o

呢.

tā

他

zhèng

正

zài

在

rènzhēn de

认真   地

xiě

写

zhe

着

zì

字

ne

呢。

HE　

JUST (NOW)

IN THE MIDDLE OF

CONSCIENTIOUSLY

WRITE

ZHE

WORDS

NE

 

Does the particle着have any other usages?

 

Yes, 着zhe can be used in the following two situations.

  1. 着zhe can be used to describe how something has been left. For example, 门开着mén kāizhe the door is open (the door has been left open); 墙上挂着一张画qiáng shàng guàzhe yì zhāng huà a picture is hanging on the wall (a picture has been left hanging on the wall) ; 纸上写着三个字zhǐshàng xiězhe sān ge zì on the paper are written three characters (three characters have been written on the paper).
  2. 着zhe can also be used to describe how two actions are done simultaneously. However, an action in the 着zhe clause describes the manner in which another action is carried out. For example, in 她唱着歌去了学校tā chàngzhe gē qù xuéxiào she went to school singing, 唱着歌chàngzhe gē singing describes the way that she went to school.

 

Certain stative verbs, such as 忙máng to be busy and 急jí to be anxious, can also be used in the same way to describe yet another action. For instance, in 我忙着准备考试wŏ mángzhe zhǔbèi kǎoshì I am busy preparing for the examinations, the words 忙着 mángzhe busy(‘ing’) describes the manner of preparation for the examinations.

 

 

 

 

Exercises

Click here for the answers

 

Translate the following sentences into Chinese.

 

  1. There is a poster hanging on the canteen wall, which says, “Please sit while you are eating.”
  2. I am busy getting ready for her birthday party.
  3. He is in a hurry to go to the class.
  4. She is in a hurry to go to the toilet.
  5. Xiao Wang said with a smile, “I’m saying this just for fun.”
  6. It is 11:30 p.m., but the lights in his study are still on. He is in the middle of preparing for the examinations.
  7. I am waiting for him to come out!
  8. When I was reading a newspaper in the library yesterday morning, I saw your best friend running in there with his girlfriend, laughing and shouting.
  9. He came and asked me with a smile, “Do you know where Xiao Wang is?”
  10. I told him that you were in the middle of a lesson and asked him to look for you here in the afternoon.