Progressive Verb Ending: ~고 있어요, ~고 있었어요, ~고 있을 거예요

- Author: Good Job Korean team 
- Editor: Good Job Korean team

👍 Contents (Click to navigate instantly)

✅ Present Progressive Tense (~고 있어요)
✅ Past Progressive Tense (~고 있었어요)
✅ Future Progressive Tense (~고 있을 거예요)
✅ Simple Tenses vs Progressive Tenses

 As we are familiar with the simple present, past, and future tenses in Korean, we will learn the progressive tense ~고 있다 grammar. The ~고 있다 is equivalent to 'to be (verb)-ing' in English. We would use this grammar when we are progressively doing something.

 Firstly, let us learn the conjugation rule. The conjugation rule is simple — drop 다 of the base verb and attach ~고 있다, that is, verb stem + 고 있다

For example: To use this grammar in sentences, we need to conjugate ~고 있다 into their present, past, and future tenses. Let us go through each of them.

Present Progressive Tense (~고 있어요)

 The present progressive tense for ~고 있다 is equivalent to am/is/are (verb)-ing in English. The conjugation for the present progressive tense is as follows:

Present progressive [am/is/are (verb)-ing]: verb stem + ~고 있어요

Example sentences:

굿잡코리안으로 한국어를 배우고 있어요.
I am learning Korean with Good Job Korean.
*굿잡코리안: Good Job Korean 
*으로: with
*한국어: Korean (language)
*를: object marker
*배우다: to learn

저는 영화를 보고 있어요.
I am watching a movie.
*저: I, me
*는: topic marker
*영화: movie
*를: object marker
*보다: to watch, to see

형은 자고 있어요.
My brother is sleeping.
*형: older brother (for male)
*은: topic marker
*자다: to sleep

A: 어떻게 지내세요?
A: How are you?

B: 잘 지내고 있어요.
B: I am doing well.

*어떻게: how
*지내다: to spend (time), to pass (one’s time)
*잘: well

Past Progressive Tense (~고 있었어요)

 The past progressive tense for ~고 있다 is equivalent to was/were (verb)-ing in English. The conjugation for the past progressive tense is as follows:

Past progressive [was/were (verb)-ing]: verb stem + ~고 있었어요

Example sentences:

학교에서 졸고 있었어요.
I was dozing off at school.
*학교: school
*에서: at (location particle)
*졸다: to doze off

어젯밤에 수영을 하고 있었어요.
I was swimming last night.
*어젯밤: last night
*에: time particle
*수영하다: to be swimming

그 학생은 불량배에게서 도망치고 있었어요.
The student was running away from the bully.
*그: that
*학생: student
*은: topic marker
*불량배: bully, thug
*에게서: from
*도망치다: to escape (by running)

 생일을 혼자 보내고 있었어요.
I was celebrating (my birthday) alone.
*생일: birthday
*보내다: to spend (time)
*혼자: alone

Future Progressive Tense (~고 있을 거예요)

 Lastly, the future progressive tense for ~고 있다 is equivalent to will be (verb)-ing, and the conjugation for the future progressive tense is as follows:

Future progressive [will be (verb)-ing]: verb stem + ~고 있을 거예요

Example sentences:

저는 공원에서 조깅을 하고 있을 거예요.
I will be jogging at the park.
*저: I, me
*는: topic marker
*공원: park
*에서: location particle
*조깅하다: to jog

언니는 오늘 밤 소개팅을 하고 있을 거예요.
My sister will be going on a blind date tonight.
*언니: older sister (for female)
*는: topic marker
*오늘 밤: tonight
*소개팅하다: to be on a blind date

저는 집에 도착할 때 남자친구랑 전화하고 있을 거예요.
I will be on the phone with my boyfriend when I get home.
*저: I, me
*는: topic marker
*집: home, house
*도착하다: to arrive
*~(으)ㄹ 때: when
*남자친구: boyfriend
*랑: with
*전화하다: to make a phone call

A: 이번 주말 7시에 뭐 할 거예요?
A: What will you be doing at 7 on this weekend?

B: 집을 청소하고 있을 거예요.
B: I will be cleaning my house.
*이번: this (time)
*주말: weekend
*시: hour counter 
*에: time particle
*을: object particle
*하다: to do
*집: house, home
*청소하다: to clean

Simple Tenses vs Progressive Tenses

 Do note that sometimes Koreans prefer to use simple tenses over progressive tenses. For example, we would ask in English, “What are you doing now?” In Korean, asking, ”지금 뭐 하고 있어요?“ is correct, and so is “지금 뭐 해요?”

Example sentences:

Present tense:

A: 지금 뭐 하고 있어요? (O)
A: 지금 뭐 해요? (O)
A: What are you doing now?

B: 책을 읽고 있어요. (O)
B: 책을 읽어요. (O)
B: I am reading a book.
*지금: now
*뭐: what
*하다: to do
*책: book
*읽다: to read

One common mistake is to use '고 있어요' for the future tense. You can use the simple present tense for future actions, but '고 있어요' should only be used for ongoing actions.

A: 내일 뭐 하고 있어요? (X)
A: 내일 뭐 해요? (O)
A: What are you doing tomorrow?

B:  내일 책을 읽고 있어요. (X)
B: 내일 책을 읽어요. (O)
B: I am reading a book tomorrow.

 Besides that, it is sometimes awkward for speakers to use past and future progressive tenses in Korean, and using the simple past and future tense would sound more natural. For example:

Past tense:

A: 어제 뭐 했어요? (O)
A: What did you do yesterday? / 

B: 밥 먹었어요. (O)
B: 밥 먹고 있었어요. (awkward)
B: I ate. / I was eating.
*방금: just now
*뭐: what
*하다: to do
*밥: rice
*먹다: to eat

In these example sentences, 밥 먹고 있었어요 is grammatically correct. However, saying 밥 먹었어요 sounds a lot more natural. 

'고 있다' is more commonly used when talking about a continuous action at a specific moment or a repeated action over a while.

Continuous action at a specific moment

A: 어제 7 시에 뭐 하고 있었어요? (O)
A: What were you doing at 7 yesterday?

B: 밥 먹고 있었어요. (O) 
B: I was eating. 

Repeated action over a while.

A: 의진 씨는 2018 년 쯤 뭐 하고 있었어요?  (O)
A: What were you doing around 2018, Eujin?

B: 저는 대학교에서 공부하고 있었어요.  (O)
B: I was studying at university.

*년: counter for year
*쯤: around, approximately 
*대학교: university
*공부하다: to study 
 

 Let us recap.

 Now, we have learnt progressive tenses. Using them correctly while speaking to your Korean friends will make you sound more natural. Therefore, please keep practicing making sentences with this grammar point!

- Author: Good Job Korean team 
- Editor: Good Job Korean team