Expressing actions in progress (full form)

You may have learned that 在 (zài) and 正在 (zhèngzài) can be used before verbs to express that an action is ongoing or in progress. They are used to create the Mandarin equivalent of present continuous in English. But that pattern is actually a part of a longer, fuller pattern. It's rarely used in its full form, but bits and pieces of it are frequently used in everyday speech, so it's important to know the full form, even if you don't use it regularly yourself.

Structure

Subject + 正在 + Verb + 着 + Object + 呢

It's important to remember that virtually every part of the above pattern is optional, so you're going to see all sorts of variations of it (and rarely the full form). The most common variation is just the "在 + V" pattern that you probably already learned long ago. Another common variation is "正 + V" pattern.

Examples

Some examples using the verb phrase 看报纸:

• 她 在 看 报纸。
• 她 正在 看 报纸。
• 她 正 看 报纸 呢。
• 她 正 看 着 报纸 呢。All these sentences mean "She is reading the newspaper."

Some examples using the verb phrase 喝啤酒:

• 我 在 喝 啤酒。
• 我 正在 喝 啤酒 呢。
• 我 正 喝 啤酒 呢
• 我 在 喝 着 啤酒。All these sentences mean "I am drinking beer."

Some examples using the verb phrase 学习中文:

• 我们 正在 学习 中文。
• 我们 正学习 中文 呢。
• 我们 学习 着 中文 呢。All these sentences mean "We are studying Chinese."

Some examples using the separable verb 跳舞:

• 他们 正在 跳舞。
• 他们 正 跳 着 舞。
• 他们 跳 着 舞。
• 他们 跳 着 舞 呢。All these sentences mean "They are dancing."

Sources and further reading

Books

• Chinese Grammar Without Tears (简明汉语语法学习手册) (pp. 54-7) →buy
• Common Chinese Patterns 330 (汉语常用格式330例) (pp. 321) →buy
• Mandarin Chinese: A Functional Reference Grammar (pp. 217-26) →buy
• Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (pp. 216-8) →buy

Websites

• ChinesePod: Qing Wen - The 着 (zhe) Chronicles: Actions in Progress (free podcast content)