-te imasu or -masu

Hello everyone,

I'm a bit confused with the use of -te Form + imasu (iru), maybe you can help me to sort it out.

In my Japanese class we translated some sentences, in which people do something regularly or something is a state of being and I with some example I can't figure out why I use -te imasu. Maybe it's best to give you examples:

1. Kyoko is a university student:
"Kyoko san ha gakusei desu."
- I understand that it's a state therefore I simply use -masu form

2. My father works at a small company:
"Chichi ha chisai kaisha de hataraite
imasu."
- This is also a state, as he works there all the time, but why do I use -te imasu then?

3. My father comes home late everyday:
"Chichi ha mainichi osoku ie ni kaette
kimasu."
. Do I use -te form because it's something he does regularly?

The same for "Berlin ni sunde imasu." I understand that it's more a state of being to live in a city and not something that I'm doing at the moment.

Can someone explain when and why I use -te imasu and if there are fixed verbs with which I more likely us it?

Thanks!

1. In this case "desu" is simply a "be" verb in English. No question about it :)

2. To describe a constant condition/continuing condition, while in English you can say "he works at...," in Japanese it is expressed in "hataraite imasu." The same applies to "sunde imasu." In English you say "I live in..." but as it describes a continuing state, the "te+imasu" structure is used.

3. This one is different. In this case, it is "kaette + kimasu," meaning "returns and comes back (home to me)." Note that the second verb is "kimasu," NOT "imasu. You remember probably that "kimasu" is to be used when someone is "coming (to where the speakers is)," right?


There are many structures using the "te-form" followed by another verb, which is used as "helping verb," to express many different things.