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According to my grammar book, the 普通形 of a verb in Japanese usually has two functions: it shows a regular common action and the action that the subject is going to do in the future.

For instance:

  1. （毎日）テレビを見る
  2. （明日）テレビを見る  

And it is also said that the '......ている' form is also used to show a regular common action, like:

  1. （毎日）テレビを見ている.

So are sentences 1 and 3, （毎日）テレビを見る and （毎日）テレビを見ている, interchangeable?    

And if I simply say わたしは本を読む, how will the listener understand it?  Will they see it like 'I read books everyday' or 'I will read a book'?

Pavalovski
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  • Though not directly your question, it's weird that you're pairing みます with みている rather than みています. (either both ます or neither removes an element of difference). – virmaior May 16 '15 at 14:47
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    But it depends on the predicate. If it's stative, like in かごの中にうさぎが**いる**, then it's generally taken as describing **a present time situation** rather than future, unless the rest of the sentence or context indicates otherwise. –  May 16 '15 at 14:49

1 Answers1

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毎日テレビを見ている is conscious that you are keeping the habit so far but could quit it soon or some time. On the other hand, 毎日テレビを見る is not conscious of that. And, 私は本を読む depends on contexts.

user4092
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