What is happening now? Five fixed action phrases
From lesson 06, you know the pattern object + を + verb. Put a book or drink nearby, point to it, and say one familiar sentence ending in ます. Then change only the time meaning by using a ready-made phrase from this lesson.
1. One small difference: right now
In lesson 06, みずをのみます (MIZU O NOMIMASU) said that you drink or will drink water. That polite non-past form can describe a habit, a plan, or an action whose timing comes from context. When someone is visibly drinking right now, this lesson uses the fixed phrase のんでいます (NONDEIMASU).
いま (IMA), ‘now’, makes the time clear at the beginning. The rest keeps the familiar pattern: the object comes before を, and the action phrase goes at the end. Read the example in three parts: now — book + object marker — reading in progress. Japanese can omit the subject when the situation makes the person clear.
いま、ほんをよんでいます。
いま、みずをのんでいます。
2. Learn the five forms as complete phrases
The five forms do not all change in the same way: のみます pairs with のんでいます, while たべます pairs with たべています. In this preview, recognise and remember that difference. Do not build a new form from an arbitrary verb yet. The general rule for forming these expressions comes later in the verb pathway.
Pair each phrase with a sensible object: テレビをみています (TEREBI O MITEIMASU), みずをのんでいます (MIZU O NONDEIMASU), おにぎりをたべています (ONIGIRI O TABETEIMASU), ほんをよんでいます (HON O YONDEIMASU), and にほんごをべんきょうしています (NIHONGO O BENKYOU SHITEIMASU). れいぞうこ is vocabulary support for ‘refrigerator’; you might look at a refrigerator, but れいぞうこをみています does not mean ‘I am watching television’. Match object and action by meaning.
Listen to the complete form and repeat it without turning it into smaller conjugation steps. Pay special attention to ん in のんでいます and よんでいます, small ょ in べんきょう, and the long vowels れい and ぞう in れいぞうこ. Then use the lesson filter for a short vocabulary recall round.
テレビをみています。
おにぎりをたべています。
にほんごをべんきょうしています。
3. Ask what someone is doing
The fixed question なにをしていますか (NANI O SHITEIMASU KA) asks about the action happening now. なに means ‘what’, を marks that unknown element as the object or content of the action, and していますか makes this a polite question about the activity in progress. Learn this question as one useful whole too.
Putting いま first makes the timing explicit: いま、なにをしていますか. A fitting answer names an object and uses one of the five phrases. You do not need to add わたしは because the question already makes it clear that you are answering about yourself. Every active answer in this lesson is positive; a negative form is outside this limited preview.
いま、なにをしていますか。
いま、ほんをよんでいます。
4. Choose the time frame first
Three forms can describe the same activity while placing it in different time frames. ほんをよみます (HON O YOMIMASU) is the familiar polite non-past form. いま、ほんをよんでいます uses the fixed phrase for reading in progress right now. きのう、ほんをよみました refers to a completed event in the past; lesson 08 teaches that third form actively.
So first look for a time word or the visible situation. If someone has a book open now and their eyes are moving across the lines, よんでいます fits. A form alone does not tell you everything about reality: the time anchor and situation help you choose the intended meaning. In this lesson, you only need to produce the five learned current-action phrases.
5. From a question to a short conversation
Read the dialogue silently first and identify who asks and who answers before checking the translation. Aki asks about the current moment. Bram names Japanese as the content of his activity and ends with the fixed study phrase. そうですか means ‘oh, I see’ here; it does not ask for new information.
Then play both roles. In a second round, replace only Bram's answer with ほんをよんでいます. In a third round, choose one of the other learned combinations. Keep the question unchanged so your attention stays on the meaning of the answer.
いま、なにをしていますか。
にほんごをべんきょうしています。
そうですか。
6. Recall independently within the lesson boundary
Lay out five object cards: water, rice ball, television, book, and Japanese. Draw one, say its Japanese word, and choose the learned phrase that fits it. Then ask the fixed question aloud and give one answer without looking at the model. This practises recall and meaning without requiring you to form an unfamiliar expression.
The final check first asks you to recognise the correct time frame, then to produce two short responses. Kana and romaji for the requested answer are accepted; the question also accepts the specific kanji variant with 何. Using a hint counts as help. This check only demonstrates command of the fixed positive phrases in this lesson.