Breakdown of gimon wo motte iru.
Questions & Answers about gimon wo motte iru.
How do you read 疑問を持っている?
It is read ぎもん を もって いる.
- 疑問 = ぎもん
- を = object particle
- 持っている = もっている
In natural speech, 持っている is often shortened to 持ってる.
Why is を used after 疑問?
を marks 疑問 as the direct object of 持つ.
Here, 持つ does not mean only physically to hold something in your hand. It also commonly means to have in a more abstract sense. So:
- 疑問を持つ = to have a doubt / to have questions / to feel uncertain about something
The structure is:
- 疑問 = doubt, question, uncertainty
- を持つ = to have, to hold
So 疑問を持っている literally looks like is holding a doubt, but naturally means has doubts or has a question/uncertainty.
Why is it 持っている instead of just 持つ?
Because ~ている often shows a continuing state.
With 持つ, the ~ている form often means to be in possession of or to have something as an ongoing state.
So:
- 疑問を持つ = to come to have a doubt / to hold a doubt
- 疑問を持っている = to currently have a doubt / to be holding that doubt as a present state
In many cases, 持っている sounds more natural when talking about someone’s current mental state.
Does 持っている here mean someone is literally holding something?
Who is having the doubt? The sentence does not say.
That is very normal in Japanese. The subject or topic is often omitted when it is understood from context.
So 疑問を持っている。 by itself could mean:
- I have doubts.
- He has doubts.
- She has a question about it.
- They are uncertain.
The actual subject depends on the situation or previous conversation.
If you wanted to state it explicitly, you could say:
- 私は疑問を持っている。 = I have doubts.
- 彼は疑問を持っている。 = He has doubts.
Is 疑問 the same as 質問?
No, they are related but not the same.
- 疑問 = a doubt, uncertainty, something you are unsure about
- 質問 = a question you ask someone
So 疑問を持っている usually means to have doubts or to have something you are unsure about, not necessarily that you are actively asking a question out loud.
For example, someone might 疑問を持っている but not say anything yet.
Could this also be translated as to suspect or to be skeptical?
Sometimes, depending on context, yes.
疑問を持っている often means:
- to have doubts
- to question something
- to be unsure
- to be skeptical about something
For example, if someone says:
- その説明に疑問を持っている。
it could mean:
- I have doubts about that explanation.
- I question that explanation.
- I’m skeptical about that explanation.
So the exact English wording depends on what the doubt is about.
Is this a complete sentence even though it seems short?
Yes. In Japanese, this can absolutely function as a complete sentence in casual/plain style, especially when the subject and other details are understood from context.
It is a plain-style sentence ending in いる. In more polite speech, you would often say:
- 疑問を持っています。
Both are grammatically fine; the difference is mainly politeness.
Could I say 疑問がある instead?
Yes, and it is similar, but there is a nuance difference.
- 疑問がある = there is a doubt / I have a question or uncertainty
- 疑問を持っている = I hold doubts / I have doubts
疑問がある is often a bit more neutral and direct. 疑問を持っている can sound a little more like the person has consciously formed that doubt or is maintaining that skeptical feeling.
In many contexts, both are natural.
What exactly does ~ている mean here?
Here, ~ている shows a current ongoing state, not an action in progress like is doing in English.
With some verbs, ~ている means an ongoing action:
- 食べている = is eating
But with verbs like 持つ, it often describes a resulting state:
- 車を持っている = owns a car
- 疑問を持っている = has doubts
So here it means is in the state of having doubts, not is in the middle of picking up a doubt.
Would 疑問を持ってる be okay too?
Yes. 持ってる is the casual spoken contraction of 持っている.
So:
- 疑問を持っている = standard full form
- 疑問を持ってる = casual spoken form
Both mean the same thing. The shorter form is very common in conversation.
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