Usage Notes: Progressive is used similarly to the English progressive "[to be] doing", as in "I am working now". It can also express habitual action in the same way as the English, for instance "I am studying Japanese" would be "Nihongo wo benkyou shite imasu." Just as in English, it can mean being engaged in the activity right now, or being in the middle of a long-term continuing process, depending on the context.

The progressive is also used to express a continuing state for "instantaneous" verbs such as "shiru". See the usage notes for present indicative. Another example is the verb "aku" used to describe a store as being open. One says "omise ha aite imasu" rather than *"omise ha akimasu" when one means "the store is open". What this literally means is, the store was closed at one point, at an instant of time it was opened, and it continues to be in that state: "the store is in the state of being open", sort of. Note that "aku" is most properly glossed as "to be open". This "to be ..." form of gloss can be a clue that a verb has this instantaneous quality (but does not guarantee it).

The progressive, oddly enough, can also take on a perfective (completed action) meaning under certain circumstances. I'm not entirely certain what those circumstances are.

Usage Examples: