the "atm"/"now" form?

Hello!

I was wondering how you say that you´re doing something right now as opposed to saying that you do something in general. I've learned all the kana's, some kanji and gone through all the grammar stuff from "Nihongo o narau" website ( learn-japanese.info ), which were great but it didn't really go in depth with some of its teachings. I know how to say somethings red or isn't red, where the dog is, where i am, where i'm going and some other really basic stuff. However, how do I say I'm doing something RIGHT NOW?

I've found no definite answers except some odd form that goes something like "ika irettearu". I thought it might have something to do with the "to do" form "shimasu" ( します ) like for instance: このにくはたべします。 ( kono niku wa tabeshimasu ). To me it seems grammatically ok but obviously isn't. At a time I also believed "I eat meat" and "I'm eating meat" to be the same thing in japanese a.k.a. にくおたべます。 Please if someone could clarify for me the differences and various approaches toward saying similar things, thank you! どもありがとう！

Please excuse my spelling mistakes and any mistakes I've made in japanese. If you notice something odd about my japanese or perhaps have a feeling I've misunderstood something about the language, notify me please and try to rectify my mistakes and explain where I went wrong.
Thanks again

Japanese verbs have a lot of conjugations. Do a search for "Japanese verbs" or "Japanese verb conjugations" on this forum or google, and you will get the answers you seek. The specific form you're looking for is "present progressive"

Basically, "te-form of verb + iru/imasu" is used for present progressive.

tabemasu --> tabeteimasu
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanes...ent_and_future
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanes...ations#Te_form


どもありがとう！ --> どうもありがとう！

But, first of all, ありがとう can't be used IN ADVANCE in Japanese. It should be よろしくおねがいします.

Solchan said:

I've found no definite answers except some odd form that goes something like "ika irettearu". I thought it might have something to do with the "to do" form "shimasu" ( します ) like for instance: このにくはたべします。 ( kono niku wa tabeshimasu ). To me it seems grammatically ok but obviously isn't. At a time I also believed "I eat meat" and "I'm eating meat" to be the same thing in japanese a.k.a. にくおたべます。 Please if someone could clarify for me the differences and various approaches toward saying similar things, thank you! どもありがとう！
Please excuse my spelling mistakes and any mistakes I've made in japanese. If you notice something odd about my japanese or perhaps have a feeling I've misunderstood something about the language, notify me please and try to rectify my mistakes and explain where I went wrong. Thanks again

Click to expand...

I'm sorry, what is "ika irettearu" ?

このにくはたべます = This meat eats. (polite) ;-). This is an interpretation without context.
にくをたべます。= I/he/she/someone eats meat.

どうもありがとう！

Toritoribe said:

Basically, "te-form of verb + iru/imasu" is used for present progressive.
tabemasu --> tabeteimasu

Click to expand...

I see. I read somewhere that the -te form to be one of the most useful conjugations in japanese and they seem to have been right. Mind you I have little familiarity with all the conjugations and have basically only learned the polite forms. I did not know, for instance, that します could be substituted for する and that their difference is purely a matter of formality. Thank you both

どもありがとう！ --> どうもありがとう！
But, first of all, ありがとう can't be used IN ADVANCE in Japanese. It should be よろしくおねがいします

Click to expand...

I did not know that
One further question, how do you form the negative of the sentence? Ex. I'm not eating eat.
I suppose "Niku wo tabeteimasen"? ( how does it work for the 'iru' form? Probably not "niku wo tabeteirunai" ). As a bonus question ( yay, bonus questions ), how would I say "I did not know that" in japanese? 私はそれ知ってませんでした ? and how would it be said in the casual ( iru, in this case, shitteru ) form?

Elizabeth said:

I'm sorry, what is "ika irettearu" ?

このにくはたべます = This meat eats. (polite). This is an interpretation without context.
にくをたべます。= I/he/she/someone eats meat.

どうもありがとう！

Click to expand...

I see I wrote お instead of を, my mistake. In any case the clarifiation is helpful since I still mostly likely don't get it, even now when it's staring me right in the face. I swear, sometimes, it jumps right out of my monitor and slaps me in the face.

and "ika irettearu" probably, in some convoluted kind of way referenced toward the "-te form + iru/imasu" solution... だれしってる ( = who knows? )

Solchan said:

One further question, how do you form the negative of the sentence? Ex. I'm not eating eat.
I suppose "Niku wo tabeteimasen"? ( how does it work for the 'iru' form? Probably not "niku wo tabeteirunai" ). As a bonus question ( yay, bonus questions ), how would I say "I did not know that" in japanese? 私はそれ知ってませんでした ? and how would it be said in the casual ( iru, in this case, shitteru ) form?

Click to expand...

formal; 肉を食べていません[Niku wo tabeteimasen.]
casual; 肉を食べていない[Niku wo tabeteinai.]

But these two sentences also mean "I haven't eaten meat yet." As I wrote "basically" in my previous post, it's far more complecated. You need to know the type of the verb and/or the context to select the most appropriate form for the case. For instance, 知りませんでした[shirimasendeshita] is generally used for "I did not know that" in formal form, 知らなかった[shiranakatta] for casual. However, 知っていませんでした[shitteimasendeshita] can be more appropriate for some cases.

Toritoribe said:

But, first of all, ありがとう can't be used IN ADVANCE in Japanese. It should be よろしくおねがいします

Click to expand...

Hmm, 知りませんでした! Or would it be, 知っていませんでした? Is the latter more formal and used around to address people you don't know very well? I'm only guessing it is more formal because it is has a longer pronunciation.

paryn said:

Hmm, 知りませんでした! Or would it be, 知っていませんでした? Is the latter more formal and used around to address people you don't know very well? I'm only guessing it is more formal because it is has a longer pronunciation.

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I don't think there's that much difference, you see them interchangeable most instances. Or it's equivalent to "Didn't know" v. "Hadn't known."

But in this case, the appropriate response is something very simple and elegant like "Wakarimashita. Oshiete moratte arigatou gozaimasu" etc.

paryn said:

Hmm, 知りませんでした! Or would it be, 知っていませんでした? Is the latter more formal and used around to address people you don't know very well? I'm only guessing it is more formal because it is has a longer pronunciation.

Click to expand...

They are different in the point of view of aspect, not the degree/level of politeness. In this case, 知りませんでした is correct. Also, わかりました has a nuance of "I see."

Elizabeth said:

I'm sorry, what is "ika irettearu" ?

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"The squid has been inserted" ?