Practise the thinking. Keep the judgement.
在、正在、着: actions and continuing states
Original Chinese study material with English explanations. Simplified Chinese with pinyin; beginner, intermediate and advanced are editorial difficulty labels.
在 or 正在 (zhèngzài) before a verb can present an action in progress. 着 (zhe) after a verb often describes a continuing state or a background action.
她正在看书。
Tā zhèngzài kàn shū.
She is reading.
门开着。
Mén kāi zhe.
The door is open.
着 is not interchangeable with 正在. 门开着 describes a state; 正在开门 describes the action of opening the door.
Try it
Which describes a continuing state?
- 门开着。
- 他明天开门。
- 他想开门。
Answer and explanation
门开着。. 开着 presents the door as remaining open.