Habitual action: ～ます vs ～ている

[ArthurK]

So I'm studying Japanese using Genki and I came across the fact that both the masu form and the te iru form can mean habitual action. I'm very confused by this. When is it more appropriate to use one instead of another when referring to action you do every day, for example?

Thanks!

 

[Toritoribe]

～ている form is more common to express a current habitual action. The present form can express the speaker's will depending on the verb.

毎朝コーヒーを飲んでいる。
毎朝コーヒーを飲む。

In the second sentence, the speaker might not have a habit to drink coffee until this morning, and is going to drink every morning from tomorrow. Although 明日から毎朝コーヒーを飲む。 is usually used for that meaning. Thus, a temporal adverbs/adverbial phrase such like 毎朝, 明日から affects the meaning of the sentence. In fact, just コーヒーを飲んでいる without 毎朝 expresses an on-going action, i.e., present progressive.

 

[ArthurK]

Thank you very much!

 

[Elizabeth]

So I'm studying Japanese using Genki and I came across the fact that both the masu form and the te iru form can mean habitual action. I'm very confused by this. When is it more appropriate to use one instead of another when referring to action you do every day, for example?

Thanks!

I think you can also say "Do you drink coffee at your house?" to indicate an action or ask a question that the other person does more broadly on a regular basis (daily, weekly, monthly etc) not (necessarily) referring to what the person is doing right now. お宅ではコーヒーを飲んでいますか