# HSK 2 Grammar: 着 for Continuing Actions | HSKReady Canonical: https://hskready.app/en/grammar/hsk-2-durative-aspect-g073 Language: en Content ID: web-grammar-hsk-2-g073 HSK levels: 2 Updated: 2026-10-23T04:55:37.344Z Scope: published website educational content; full vocabulary, question bank and mock exams remain in the app. Use verb + 着 to describe a continuing action. Learn object placement, reference time, 呢, and the contrast with 在/正在. Grammar [HSK 2 · Aspect › Durative aspect](https://hskready.app/en/grammar/hsk-2#hsk-2-g073) # 着 for an Action That Continues Place 着 after an action verb to present the activity as continuing at a reference time. Learn its word order with an object, its use with 呢, and its relationship to 在 or 正在. This is the action-continuation part of the outline’s 动词+着 entry. Verb 着（+宾语）（+呢） Example sentence 外面下着雨。 Wàimian xiàzhe yǔ. It is raining outside. 下着雨 presents the rain as continuing. 着 stands between 下 and its object 雨. **Read the full explanation and examples** ## A continuing action, not a completed event The outline’s parent entry is 动词+着, with one subpoint for a continuing state and this subpoint for a continuing action. Here 着 follows an action verb and presents the activity as continuing: singing, smiling, reading or washing. The sentence does not by itself state that the whole activity has finished. With a verb–object phrase, put 着 after the verb and before the object: 唱着歌, not 唱歌着 for this intended construction. With a verb such as 笑, no object is needed. 着 is pronounced zhe in this use. 外面下着雨。 Wàimian xiàzhe yǔ. It is raining outside. 下着雨 presents the rain as continuing. 着 stands between 下 and its object 雨. 孩子们唱着歌呢。 Háizimen chàngzhe gē ne. The children are singing. 唱着歌 describes a continuing action. 呢 supports the conversational presentation but is not obligatory. ## How to form it A useful basic order is Subject + Verb + 着 + Object, with the object omitted when the verb does not need one. 呢 can come at the end: 孩子们唱着歌呢. 一直 may precede the verb to emphasize continuation: 她一直笑着. These additions are not compulsory parts of every sentence. Verb 着（+宾语）（+呢） 一直 Verb 着（+宾语） 她一直笑着。 Tā yìzhí xiàozhe. She keeps smiling. 一直 makes continuation especially explicit. No object is needed after 笑. 我进来的时候，他还看着书呢。 Wǒ jìnlái de shíhou, tā hái kànzhe shū ne. When I came in, he was still reading. The surrounding clause supplies a past reference time; 着 itself is not a present-tense marker. ## Choose the viewpoint and the reference time Use this pattern when the continuing activity matters in the scene, rather than its completed endpoint. Context can locate that scene now or at another time. In the washing-and-cooking example, two actions continue alongside one another. 着 does not tell us when either task began or ended. 妈妈洗着衣服，爸爸做着饭。 Māma xǐzhe yīfu, bàba zuòzhe fàn. Mom is washing clothes while Dad is cooking. Both activities are presented as continuing in the same scene. Neither 着 means that the task is already finished. - Use 着 after the action verb to present its continuation. - Use 一直 when you want to make the stretch of continuation explicit. - Add 呢 when its conversational emphasis fits; 着 does not always require it. ## Useful contrasts Aspect concerns the way an event is viewed, while time expressions locate it in time. In 我进来的时候，他还看着书呢, the reading continues at a past reference point. English therefore uses “was still reading”; Thai can express this with ยัง…อยู่ and the past-time context. 着 itself does not fix the sentence in the present. Compare 他站着, a maintained posture, with 她一直笑着, a continuing activity. These are the two uses distinguished in the outline’s 动词+着 entry. An individual verb can support different readings in context, so the distinction is about what the sentence presents, not a rigid list of state verbs versus action verbs. 在 or 正在 goes before a verb phrase and highlights an action in progress: 他正在看书. 着 follows the verb and presents continuation: 他看着书呢. The meanings can overlap, and they can occur together, as in 他正在看着书呢. They are not freely interchangeable with every verb. Neither pattern should be replaced mechanically with a completion marker. ## A practical way to choose - Decide whether the scene presents an activity continuing at the reference time. - Put 着 immediately after the verb and before its object, if any. - Use context to identify the reference time; 着 itself is not a tense ending. - Check that optional 一直 or 呢 suits the meaning and tone. For a question, keep the core order: 他还看着书吗？ asks whether he is still reading. Do not assume that every Chinese verb can take 着 naturally or that 不 + verb + 着 is always the right negative; choose a complete negative expression that fits the intended situation. ## Frequently asked questions **Are 着 and 在/正在 identical?** No. They differ in position and viewpoint. 在/正在 comes before the verb phrase; 着 follows the verb. Both may concern a continuing activity and can sometimes occur together, but substitution depends on the verb and context. **Must I add 呢 after 着?** No. 她一直笑着 is complete without 呢. It may be added when it fits the conversational presentation. **Can 着 describe an activity at a past time?** Yes. A surrounding clause can establish the past reference time, as in 我进来的时候，他还看着书呢. 着 presents the activity as continuing at that point; it does not mean that the reading is complete. **Source**[hsk.cn-bj.ufileos.com · PDF page 391](https://hsk.cn-bj.ufileos.com/3.0/%E6%96%B0%E7%89%88HSK%E8%80%83%E8%AF%95%E5%A4%A7%E7%BA%B21219.pdf#page=391) ## Continue in the app Full mock exams are available in HSKReady. [![Download on the App Store](https://hskready.app/download-on-app-store-black.svg)Download on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id6791916440?l=en)[![Get it on Google Play](https://hskready.app/get-it-on-google-play.svg)Get it on Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.curiolab.hskready&hl=en) [HSKReady App](https://hskready.app/en/app)