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Questions & Answers about tā zhèngzài kāi mén.
What does the adverb 正在 (zhèngzài) do here? How is it different from 在 (zài), 正 (zhèng), and sentence-final 呢 (ne)?
- 正在 marks the progressive aspect: the action is in progress “right now.” It strongly focuses on the ongoing process.
- 在 also marks the progressive, but is a bit lighter/neutral: 他在开门 is very common.
- 正 is a shorter variant with a similar meaning to 正在: 他正开门.
- Sentence-final 呢 can mark an ongoing action or “current relevance”: 他开门呢. You can combine it with 在/正在 for extra emphasis: 他正在开门呢. All of these are natural; 正在 gives the clearest “in the middle of doing” feel.
Where does 正在 go in the sentence?
Place it before the verb phrase: Subject + (time) + 正在 + (place/manner) + Verb (+ Object).
- Correct: 他现在正在开门 (tā xiànzài zhèngzài kāi mén).
- Correct: 他正在门口开门 (tā zhèngzài ménkǒu kāi mén).
- Incorrect: ❌ 他开正在门 (don’t put 正在 between the verb and its object).
Do I need to use a form of “to be,” like 是 (shì), to say “is opening”?
No. Chinese progressive is shown with 在/正在/正 or sentence-final 呢, not with 是. Don’t say 他是正在开门 unless you’re doing special contrastive emphasis (e.g., 他不是在玩，他是在开门).
How do I negate this progressive?
- Plain negation of an ongoing action: 他没在开门 / 他没有在开门 (tā méi zài kāi mén / tā méiyǒu zài kāi mén).
- Contrastive negation: 他不是在开门 (He isn’t opening the door; he’s doing something else).
- Avoid: 他不在开门 — this is usually read as “he’s not present (不在) opening the door,” which is odd/ambiguous.
- For a non-progressive, completed sense: 他没开门 = “He didn’t open the door / hasn’t opened the door.”
How do I say the action is completed rather than in progress?
- 他开了门 (tā kāi le mén): perfective; the event happened/finished — “He opened the door.”
- 他开门了 (tā kāi mén le): change-of-state or completed event; often “He has opened the door (now).”
- 他把门打开了 (tā bǎ mén dǎkāi le): using 把 to foreground the object and the result; very clear that the door ended up open. You can also have progressive with 把: 他正在把门打开 (he is in the process of opening the door).
What’s the difference between 开 (kāi), 打开 (dǎkāi), and 开开 (kāikāi)?
- 开 = “open,” widely used: 开门, 开灯, 开车, etc.
- 打开 highlights achieving the open result with a specific object: 打开门/窗/盒子.
- 开开 is a colloquial reduplication suggesting a light/brief action or “open it up a bit”: 把门开开 (“open the door [a bit]”). It’s common in commands/requests. All three can be natural; with a specific door and a clear result, 把门打开 is very idiomatic.
How do I express “The door is open” vs. “He is opening the door”?
- Ongoing action: 他正在开门 (He is in the middle of opening the door).
- Resulting state: 门开着 (mén kāi zhe) = “The door is open” (and remains open).
- Don’t mix progressive with the stative 着: avoid 他正在开着门 for “he is opening the door.”
Does 门 (mén) need an article or measure word here?
Chinese doesn’t have articles. With 开门, context supplies which door. If you need to specify, use a measure word:
- 一扇门 (yí shàn mén) = a door
- 那扇门 (nà shàn mén) = that door Examples: 他正在开那扇门; 他把那扇门打开了.
Is 开门 a “separable” verb? Where can I put things like 一下 or 了?
Treat 开 + 门 as a verb-object structure.
- Softening/briefly: 开一下门 or 把门开一下.
- Perfective: 他开了门 or 他开门了 (both are used; nuances differ slightly as noted earlier).
- Degree/complements go after the verb: 把门开大一点 (“open the door a bit wider”). Don’t insert adverbs between the verb and object in odd places (e.g., ❌开正在门).
Can 开门 mean “open for business”?
Yes, with the right subject/context:
- 商店开门了 = “The store is open (now).”
- 我们九点开门 = “We open at 9.” Your sentence with 他 normally means physically opening a door, not “he (as a person) is open for business.”
Is 他 (tā) only “he”? What about “she/it”?
- 他 = he; 她 = she; 它 = it. All pronounced tā. In speech they sound the same; characters disambiguate in writing. Plurals: 他们/她们/它们 (tāmen).
Pronunciation check: any tone issues here?
- 他 tā (1), 正在 zhèngzài (4-4), 开 kāi (1), 门 mén (2). When two 4th tones are adjacent (zhèngzài), the first often sounds slightly shorter/less forcefully falling in natural speech, but you keep both as 4th tones.
Where do time and place expressions go with this pattern?
Typical order: Subject + Time + 正在/在 + Place + Verb (+ Object).
- 他现在正在门口开门 (tā xiànzài zhèngzài ménkǒu kāi mén).
- 他昨天正在开门的时候… (tā zuótiān zhèngzài kāi mén de shíhou…) — “when he was opening the door yesterday…”
Can I drop the subject, or add 呢 at the end?
Yes, if context makes the subject clear:
- 正在开门呢。 (zhèngzài kāi mén ne.) — “(He/Someone) is opening the door.” This is common as a reply to “What’s he doing?”
How do I make a polite request like “Please open the door”?
- Neutral polite: 请开门。 (qǐng kāi mén.)
- Softer: 把门打开一下吧。 (bǎ mén dǎkāi yíxià ba.)
- Very polite: 麻烦你把门开一下。 (máfan nǐ bǎ mén kāi yíxià.) Using 一下 and 吧 softens the tone.
How do I ask related wh-questions?
- Who is opening the door? 谁正在开门？ (shéi zhèngzài kāi mén?)
- What is he opening? 他正在开什么？ (tā zhèngzài kāi shénme?)
- When is he opening the door? 他什么时候开门？ (tā shénme shíhou kāi mén?) For a store: 你们几点开门？ (nǐmen jǐ diǎn kāi mén?) = “What time do you open?”
Could I use 打开 instead of 开门 in the original?
Yes: 他正在打开门 is fine and slightly emphasizes the result of making it open. With 把, 他正在把门打开 is very natural. Without 把, 他正在开门 is the most neutral/colloquial.