ている and てある
This page explains ている and てある, which express the current state of an object or person.
ている
“Doing“
Verbてform + いる
Present Progressive
ているis used to describe the current verb state. This is the Japanese equivalent of the present progressive tense.
However, this isn’t a true tense in Japanese however, so much as a combination of a verb + いる. いる here means “state”.
ている usually means “doing“
Although ている usually translates as “ing” it is important not to confuse it with gerund (nominalization) ing.
Examples
- ご飯を食べている – (someone) is eating food.
- 本を読んでいる – (someone) is reading a book.
Current State
However, it may also be a current state. In these cases, the verb tends to change to an adjective in English.
Examples
- 疲れる（つかれる) – to tire
- 疲れている – to be tired. (currently tired)
- 僕（ぼく）は疲れている – I’m tiring -> I’m (state of being tired) -> I’m tired.
- おなかがすいている – My stomach is emptying. -> My stomach is empty -> I’m hungry.
Past State
Finally, ている can be used to describe a past tense state by conjugating いる into its past tense: ていた
Examples
- ごはんをたべていた – I was eating food.
- ねていた – I was sleeping.
てある
Verb state of an object
verbてform + ある
This is technically N4 grammar, and its semi-rarely used. It has the same meaning as ている but as you might have guessed from the ある, it is used for the current state of inanimate objects instead of people. It implies that someone did it. It is most often used with かく (write) or 貼る（はる).
It is ok to use ている in these cases as well, so for now just focus on using ている.
Examples
- かべにもじがかいてある – there are characters written on the wall.
- こくばんにはってある – Posted on the blackboard.