Lesson 22: 고 있어요

In this short lesson, you will learn how to use the present progressive tense ending 고 있어요 to say things like “I am watching a movie.“, “She is reading a book.“, etc. Before we start, one important thing to note is that it in Korean the present tense is often used instead of the present progressive tense. For example, the sentence “I am studying now.” can be stated as 지금 공부해요 (present tense form) or 지금 공부하고 있어요 (present progressive tense form).

Lesson 22: 고 있어요

Changing verbs into the present progressive tense is super easy. There are no special conjugation rules to remember. Simply remove 다 from the base form of a verb and attach 고 있어요 to the verb stem. For example, the verb ‘to sleep’ is 자다 and the present progressive form (sleeping) is 자고 있어요. Easy right?

Example Sentences

Here are some example sentences. Try making your own sentences by changing the verb. You can use these Korean verbs for beginners to make your own sentences.

뭐 해요? = What are you doing?
음악을 듣고 있어요. = I’m listening to music.

지금 어디에 가요? = Where are you going now?
집에 가고 있어요. = I’m going home.

어디에서 살고 있어요? = Where are you living?
서울에서 살고 있어요. = I’m living in Seoul.

지금 만날까요? = Shall we meet now?
미안해요. 지금 숙제하고 있어요. = I’m sorry. I’m doing my homework.

요즘 뭐 해요? = What do you do these days?
한국어를 배우고 있어요. = I’m learning Korean.