The verbal form te-aru is one of those constructions that catches many students by surprise. At first glance, it seems like just another variation of Japanese, but when diving into its usage, one realizes that it carries a quite specific and even subtle meaning. The biggest challenge lies in the fact that we do not have a direct equivalent in other languages, which ends up requiring more from the student's contextual reasoning.
Before understanding how to use this form correctly, it is essential to comprehend the logic behind it: te-aru describes an action that was done with a purpose and whose result is still present. It is not just about what happened, but about the current state generated by it. This construction is extremely common in Japanese everyday life — often used so naturally that it goes unnoticed.
Table of Content
What is the verbal form? te-aru?
The form te-aru is composed of the conjugation of the main verb in the te form, followed by the verb ある (aru), which indicates the existence of something inanimate. However, this combination does not serve to indicate just existence, but rather the result of an action done intentionally.
To understand better, see the example:
- The door is open (and someone opened it for a purpose).
In this case, we are not simply informing that the door is open. We are saying that someone opened the door with a specific intention, and it remains in that state.
Post vocabulary
In this first excerpt we will see the words that will appear during this Post, so that you are already familiar with what will come next.
- 半分（はんぶん）: A half
- ケーキ : I'm sorry, but there is no content to translate. Please provide the text that needs translation.
- 食べる（たべる）: Eat
- テレビ : Television
- 見る（みる）: To see
- 倉庫 そうこ - Warehouse, storage.
- 貯蔵 ちょぞう : Store, preserve. storage; preservation
- 狭い せまい : Short, confined, tight.
- 空間 くうかん : Space, area.
- 物 もの, もん, モノ : Things, objects.
- 沢山 たくさん : A lot, quite a bit, many.
- アドレス : Address.
- 名刺 めいし : Business card.
- 書く かく : Write.
particles
Now, let's familiarize ourselves with the particles that will come up during the lesson.
- の: It has the function of connecting elements, it is usually translated as: de/do/da.
Example: 彼のノート (Kare no nooto): His notebook. - を: Its function is to show the object or thing that receives the action of the verb to identify the object, it always comes before this particle.
- Example: テレビを見る (Terebi wo miru): Watch television.
Forma Te
Before continuing, we need to know the te form.
The te form is used after the verb, that is, generally part of the verb is removed and te is added.
Example:
- 見るー＞見て (miru -> mite) : eat. - (removed ru and added te)
- 食べるー＞食べて (taberu -> tabete): eat - (removed ru and added te)
Te (て) - How does this form work in Japanese?
Teiru
When you want to say that the action is happening, for example, in the present and continues to occur, the form teiru is used.
The following example sentence is: 半分のケーキを食べている (Hanbun no keeki o tabeteiru) this sentence means: Half of the cake is being eaten.
If you want to say that it happened before, you can use the form た or ていた.
- 半分のケーキ食べた - I ate half the cake.
- 半分のケーキを食べていた - I was eating half of the cake.
What changes is that the Ta form only says that it happened previously, while Teita says that it was happening before, in other words (in a progressive process). Why the progressive form? It is useful to show that the actions were in conjunction with something, for example:
- テレビを見てて、ケーキを食べていた。 - I watched television while eating cake.
Te aru
In Japanese てある, it represents the condition of permanence of an action or the consequence that remains in the face of the action. In other words, the action is carried out and its effect continues even after it has been done much earlier.
For example:
- 半分のケーキを食べてある (Half the cake was eaten) and the effect of this action remains. that is, that half that was eaten no longer exists and this fact does not change.
- 顔に嘘って書いてあるよ。 - "Lie" is written on your face. (and it remains written).
- 米は倉庫に貯蔵してある - Rice is stored in warehouses. (and it continues there).
- 狭い空間に物がたくさん置いてあるね。- There's a lot in a small space, right? (in other words, these things are still there taking up space)
- アドレスは名刺に書いてある。 - The address is on the business card. (That is, it remains written on the business card)
Aru
We know about Te in Japanese, but what about the aru that comes right after, what does it mean?
ある Aru has the following main meanings: To have, to exist, to remain, to be located, to arise, to happen. Often confused with いる Iru which also has similar meanings, what changes is that いる is used for things that move/live. While Aru for inanimate objects.
Example:
彼女がいる
He has a girlfriend.
There is a girlfriend;
ビルがある
There is a building.