Actions in progress: 正在 / 在 … 呢
Put 在 in front of the verb to say the action is going on right now. 正在 makes it more immediate, and 呢 at the end softens the sentence.
Structure
主语 + （正）在 + 动词 + 宾语 + （呢）
Explanation
Chinese words in this text can be activated to show a dictionary gloss.
To report what someone is in the middle of doing, put directly in front of the verb: “He’s on the phone.” is the fuller form and stresses “at this very moment”; can be hung on the end to make the sentence sound conversational, and in relaxed speech on its own is enough: . All of them can appear together: . The pattern only works with action verbs. Plain adjectives and state verbs such as , , and are never used with it — “I’m tired” is , not . It also cannot combine with or on the same verb, because those say the action is over while says it is still running. The negative is (), or simply + verb: “I’m not watching TV.” Using there would deny a habit or a willingness instead. Finally, the “now” does not have to be the moment of speaking: ， “When you called, I was cooking.” Do not confuse this with the preposition of place (); the two can even stand side by side: .
Correct
Say each one out loud before moving on. The audio is a reference pronunciation, not a model to imitate exactly — match the tone contour, not the voice.
他正在打电话。他正在打電話。
Tā (first tone, high and level) zhèngzài (fourth tone, falling) dǎ (third tone, dipping) diànhuà. (fourth tone, falling)···
He’s on the phone right now.
我在做饭呢，等一会儿。我在做飯呢，等一會兒。
Wǒ (third tone, dipping) zài (fourth tone, falling) zuòfàn (fourth tone, falling) ne, (neutral tone) děng (third tone, dipping) yíhuìr. (second tone, rising)···
I’m cooking — give me a minute.
妈妈来的时候，我正在睡觉。媽媽來的時候，我正在睡覺。
Māma (first tone, high and level) lái (second tone, rising) de (neutral tone) shíhou, (second tone, rising) wǒ (third tone, dipping) zhèngzài (fourth tone, falling) shuìjiào. (fourth tone, falling)···
When my mum arrived, I was asleep.
Incorrect — Common mistakes
These sentences are wrong. They are printed here on purpose, each one paired with the repair and the reason, because the error you can recognise is the error you stop making.
Not quite
Incorrect sentence: 我在很忙。
Correct
Correct sentence: 我很忙。
Why: 在 announces an action that is unfolding, not a quality. Adjectives take 很 and never enter the progressive.
Not quite
Incorrect sentence: 他在看了电视。
Correct
Correct sentence: 他在看电视。
Why: 在 says the action is still running and 了 says it reached its end. The two cannot describe the same verb.
Not quite
Incorrect sentence: 我不在看电视。
Correct
Correct sentence: 我没在看电视。
Why: To deny that something is happening at this moment, use 没(在). 不看电视 would mean “I don’t watch TV” as a habit.
Compared with
Most errors with this pattern are not errors about this pattern — they are a neighbouring pattern arriving at the wrong moment. Read these side by side.
在 and 了 look at an action from opposite ends. 在 catches it in the middle — 我在写作业 “I’m doing my homework” — while 了 reports that it got as far as its end point — 我写了作业. That is why they never share a verb, and why the negatives differ too: the progressive is denied with 没在, the completed action with plain 没. A useful check: if you could add “right now” to the English, use 在; if you could add “already”, use 了.
了 for a completed action →Mini quiz
Question 1 / 3Total score: 0
Choose the word that correctly fills the gap.
你在做什么？——我 ___ 做饭呢。