wǒ zài děng diànhuà.

I

Breakdown of wǒ zài děng diànhuà.

• 在zài: progressive marker
• 等děng: to wait
• 电话diànhuà: phone call

Questions & Answers about wǒ zài děng diànhuà.

Why is there no word for am in this sentence?

Mandarin usually does not use a separate verb like am / is / are before an action verb.

In English, you say I am waiting.
In Mandarin, you normally say 我在等.

Here, 在 helps show that the action is in progress, so 我在等电话 corresponds to I am waiting for a phone call.

So:

• 我 = I
• 在等 = am waiting / be in the middle of waiting
• 电话 = phone call / telephone

What is 在 doing here?

In this sentence, 在 is marking an ongoing action. It works a bit like the English -ing idea.

So:

• 我在等电话 = I am waiting for a call

This is different from the other very common use of 在, where it means at / in / on as a location word.

For example:

• 我在家 = I am at home

So 在 can have different jobs depending on the sentence.
Here, it is not about location. It is showing that 等 is happening right now.

Why is there no word for for after 等?