Study time: what are you doing now?

How to use these phrases

正在 (zhèngzài) goes before a verb to show that an action is happening now. 我正在写作业。 means 'I am doing my homework.' Chinese does not change the verb ending to match English '-ing'. You do not add 是 before 正在. Ask 你正在做什么？ to find out what someone is doing. 什么 stays after 做, where the answer goes. You may hear 在 without 正 or an optional 呢 at the end in everyday speech; begin with the full 正在 pattern in this lesson. 正在 is for ongoing actions, not every English sentence containing 'am' or 'is': 我是学生 identifies you as a student and does not need 正在. The dialogue checks what a classmate is working on before suggesting revision together. Read the learner's part, then swap roles. For your own answer, choose 写作业 or 复习 and keep the rest of the sentence the same. Say the whole sentence rather than translating one word at a time.

Example sentences