～ていた

Was doing ~

Structure

Verb［ている］+ た

Details

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Standard
使用域
一般

About ていた

To convey that '(A) was happening', or that somebody 'was doing (A)' in Japanese, ていた (or ていました) will be used. ていた is a construction which uses the conjunction particle て, and the ichidan verb いる (to exist), in its past tense form いた.

シャワーが壊(こわ)れていたから2日間(かかん)もシャワーを浴(あ)びれなかった。
Because the shower was broken, I was not able to take a shower for 2 days. (Was in the state of being broken)
昨日(きのう)は夜遅(よるおそ)くまでカラオケで歌(うた)っていたので、のどが痛(いた)いです。
I was singing until late last night at karaoke, so my throat hurts. (Was doing karaoke)
昔(むかし)はパーマをかけていました。
In the past, I used to have my hair permed. (Was getting perms)
窓(まど)が割(わ)れていました。
The window was smashed. (Was in the state of being smashed)

Sometimes ていた is used to express things that are still ongoing, but the speaker is not sure about, or would like to politely advise the listener about. This is very similar to the way in which English uses '(A) was doing (B)'.

お父(ちち)さんがその椅子(いす)に座(すわ)っていたから、こっちに座(すわ)りな。
Dad was sitting there, so sit here please.

In this example, although the action of 'sitting' is not finished, we can imagine that the speaker is suggesting that 'dad was sitting here, and he still is, but he just went to get a drink'.
The same kind of sentence could be used when the speaker has walked away from where their dad was sitting, and doesn't actually know if he is still sitting there or not.

Synonyms

Examples

勉強(べんきょう)をしていたけど、今(いま)は休(やす)んでいる。
I was studying but am taking a break right now.
音楽(おんがく)を聴(き)いていたから、電話(でんわ)が聞(き)こえなかった。
Because I was listening to music I couldn't hear the phone.
昨日(きのう)１時(じ)ごろに寝(ね)ていた。
Yesterday around one o'clock I was sleeping.
４時間(じかん)も椅子(いす)に座(すわ)っていたから、お尻(しり)が痛(いた)い。
I was sitting for as much as four hours, so my butt hurts.
お母(かあ)さんが帰(かえ)って来(き)た時(とき)私(わたし)はご飯(はん)を作(つく)っていた。
When my mom came home I was making food.
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- Japanese Grammar – て- Form + いる – Part 2
  PuniPuni
- What is Vて+た construction?
  JStackExchange

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ていた – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (4 in total)

mrnoone
About 3 years ago
Hey

Kurei:

P.S. I hope this usage of the Community pages is correct. Or is it better to ask in the popular threads?

Yes! This is the correct way of using the community forums! Feel free to ask as many questions as you want
Kurei
About 3 years ago
As always clear and complete. Thank you very much!

As you inferred the lack of an example that used て+いました was one of the reasons why I thought it may not exist. The other was that I didn’t get any warning about it being too polite.

mrnoone:

It is assumed that all verbs can become polite by adding ます・ました so there is no need to mention them.

Then I’ll be less worried the next time I override an answer marked wrong due to a formality mismatch.

I think I got too spoiled by all the “too polite” “more polite” and expected it always.
Also, sorry for making you write all the explanation of the levels of politeness.

P.S. I’ll be using these grammar points p...
Howl_UK
About 2 years ago
On a slightly related note. Can ている also mean ‘will be doing’ (in the future) or can it only mean ‘am doing’ or ‘resultant change has happened and continues to remain in that state’?

i.e. 明日本を読んだりケッキを食べたりしている
Tomorrow I will be doing things like reading a book and eating cake.