ている is a construction used in Japanese to convey that someone or something is existing in a constant state of ‘doing’ the verb that comes before
て. In English, depending on the verb, this can be translated as ‘is (A)’, ‘am (A), or ‘are (A)~ing’. The expression is made by adding
いる to the
て form of either
る-Verbs, or
う-Verbs.
Due to いる being one of the verbs for ‘existing’ in Japanese, the
ている form means something closer to ‘continuing to exist in a specific state’, rather than (A)~ing in English. This is why verbs like
死(し)ぬ, and
知(し)る, appear as the
ている form in Japanese, when they would appear as the past form in English.
-
お前(まえ)はもう死(し)んでいる。
You are already dead.
-
この人(ひと)誰(だれ)か知(し)っている?
Do you know who this is?