Well, actually no. ;-) "Tobu" is also an intransitive verb, so it cannot be used with ~te aru form at all. As you correctly noticed, ~te aru is used only with transitive verbs, while ~te iru only with intransitive verbs. That is why a sentence "Hon wa dai ni oite aru" is correct (oku is a transitive verb), but you normally say "Hikouki ga tonde iru", not "tonde aru" (tobu is intransitive, so ~te iru is used to express the state of performing the action).
It is, though, possible to say "Hikouki wo tobasete/tobashite aru", which would roughly translate into "Somebody has put the plane into operation/flying" or perhaps "Somebody has made the plane fly". The verb is the same, "tobu", but if it is turned into the causative form it becomes transitive, so the above structure becomes possible, although it is not often used, as you might expect. Similarly, in theory it is possible to say "Kujira wo oyogasete/oyogashite aru", but it would make even less sense than the above and is probably restricted to use in aquariums and zoos ;-)) Maciek 2007/10/2, ai3131 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > > > > I see. So would it be correct to say, "Hikôki wa tonde aru" (The > airplane is flying), but not, "Kujira ga oyoide aru" (The whale is > swimming)? "-Te aru" would imply a transitive action. My take is that > in the first example, the pilot put the airplane into a state of > flying (transitive action), so "-te aru" would be appropiate here. As > for the whale, it swims of its own accord and thus the action is > intransitive. > > In what sense is it best to use "-te aru" or "-te iru"? I often hear > both being used rather liberally at times. > > - Arian I. > > > > --- In [email protected], Herouth Maoz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > wrote: > > > ~te iru = something is in a certain state > > ~te aru = something is in a certain state because it was > > deliberately put in that state > > > > So for example - kuruma ha chuusha shite arimasu: the car is > > parked > > (somebody has parked it) > > > > I don't think you can say "aruite aru", because nobody has put the > > dog into a state of walking. Walking, as you say, is not a static > > state. > > > > Herouth > > Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Japanese_Language/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Japanese_Language/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
