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Sentence explanations

1. 何をしていますか。

   What are you doing?

   何を

   what

   していますか

   are doing?

   More detail

   何を asks “what” about the thing affected by an action. 何 means “what,” and を marks the direct object of the verb. The object can be omitted when it is already clear, but here it is asked explicitly. Example: 何を食べますか。 — “What will you eat?” していますか is the polite question form of する (“to do”). The form している expresses an action in progress, and しています is its polite form; final か marks the sentence as a question. Thus, していますか asks about what someone is doing now, rather than simply asking whether they do something in general. Example: 何を読んでいますか。 — “What are you reading?” Together, 何を identifies the unknown object of しています, and か turns the sentence into a polite question: “What are you doing?”

2. 今、食べています。

   I am eating now.

   今

   now

   食べています

   am eating

   More detail

   今 means “now” and locates the action in the present. It can appear at the beginning of a sentence, as here, or in other positions depending on emphasis. 食べています is the polite form of 食べる (“to eat”) combined with ている. 食べる is the dictionary form; 食べている expresses an action in progress, and 食べています is its polite nonpast form. In this utterance, the natural meaning is “am eating.” The subject is omitted in Japanese; the fixed translation identifies that subject as “I.” A useful contrast is 食べます, which can mean “eat” or “will eat” in polite speech but does not by itself specifically present the action as currently in progress. For example, 今、本を読んでいます。 means “I am reading a book now.” Together, 今 (“now”) and 食べています (“am eating”) produce “I am eating now.”

3. 水を飲んでいます。

   I am drinking water.

   水

   water

   飲んでいます

   am drinking

   More detail

   水 means “water” here. It is a noun and can be used as the object of an action with を: 水を飲む means “drink water.” Japanese nouns do not change form for singular or plural in this expression, so 水 can refer to water generally rather than asserting a particular amount. 飲んでいます expresses the current activity “am drinking” in this sentence. Its base form is 飲む, “to drink.” The form 飲んでいます consists of the て-form 飲んで plus います; here, this pattern presents the drinking as in progress. The ending ます makes the expression polite. For example, 水を飲みます means “drink water” or “will drink water,” depending on context, while 水を飲んでいます means “am drinking water” in the relevant context. The particle を marks 水 as what is being drunk, and it connects the noun to 飲んでいます. Together, 水を飲んでいます means “I am drinking water.”

4. 夕食を作っています。

   I am making dinner.

   夕食

   dinner

   作っています

   am making

   More detail

   夕食 means “dinner” here. It is a noun. The particle を marks it as the object of the action, so 夕食を means “dinner” as the thing being made. Example: 朝食を作ります。 — “I make breakfast.” 作っています means “am making” in this sentence. Its base form is 作る, “to make”; 作って is its て-form, and います after that form presents the action as ongoing. Thus 作っています describes an action in progress, rather than simply stating a habitual or completed making. The subject is not stated in Japanese, but the fixed translation identifies the actor here as “I.” Example: 本を読んでいます。 — “I am reading a book.” Together, 夕食を作っています。 means “I am making dinner.” The pattern 名詞を作っています can be reused for “I am making [a noun],” with the noun naming what is being made. Japanese commonly leaves the subject unspoken when it is clear from context.

5. 自分の部屋を掃除しています。

   I am cleaning my room.

   自分の

   one’s own

   部屋

   room

   掃除しています

   am cleaning

   More detail

   自分の means “one’s own” here, and the fixed translation identifies the possessor as the speaker: “my own.” 自分 can refer to oneself, while の links that possessor to the following noun. The exact referent is supplied here by the translation, not by the form alone. Example: 自分の名前 means “one’s own name.” 部屋 is the noun “room.” The pattern 自分の + noun is reusable for identifying something as the speaker’s or another person’s own: 自分の部屋 = “one’s own room.” 掃除しています means “am cleaning” in this sentence. Its base verb is 掃除する, “to clean”; 掃除 combines with する to form the verb. The form 掃除している presents the cleaning as ongoing, and 掃除しています is its polite form. Compare 掃除します (“clean” / “will clean,” polite nonpast) and 掃除しました (“cleaned,” polite past). Example: 今、部屋を掃除しています。 means “I am cleaning the room now.” Together, 自分の部屋を marks “my own room” as the object of the action, and 掃除しています says that the cleaning is currently in progress. The whole utterance means “I am cleaning my room.”

6. シャワーを浴びています。

   I am taking a shower.

   シャワー

   shower

   浴びています

   am bathing

   More detail

   シャワー is the noun “shower,” written in katakana as a loanword. Here, を marks it as the object of 浴びる. 浴びています is based on 浴びる, meaning “to bathe in” or “to be exposed to” something. With シャワー, the reusable pattern シャワーを浴びる means “take a shower.” The form 浴びている presents the action as ongoing here, and ます makes that form polite: 浴びる → 浴びている → 浴びています. Example: 今、音楽を聴いています。 — “I am listening to music now.” Here, -ています likewise presents an action as in progress. Together, シャワーを marks “shower” as the object, and 浴びています says that the speaker is currently bathing with it. The complete meaning is “I am taking a shower.”