Discussion of 着/著 [zhe] (after a verb to indicate an action is in a progress or in a certain state that continues)

Discussion of 着/著

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Used after a verb, 着 indicates that an action or a conduct is in progress or in a certain state. There are certain categories of verbs that cannot be used with 着:
1. Verbs who cannot express a continuous aspect by themselves: 是、在、等于、结束、完、进、去、出、逃, etc.
2. Verbs which contain a continuous aspect: 怕、知道、认识、同意，etc.
3. Verbs which have a auxiliary verb before them: 能、会、想，etc. verb E.g. 会游泳
4. Verb-Complement phrases: E.g. 吃饱

lisaC

The particle 着 indicates the continuation of either an action or a state which is the result of an action. The predicate verb and 着 go closely together, so if there is an object involved, we should put 着 between the verb and the object (E.g.1). Its negative form is formed by adding 没 before the predicate verb, meanwhile keeping 着 (E.g. 2).
E.g. 1.老师看着我们 [phr] The teacher is looking at us.
E.g. 2 老师没看着我们 [phr] The teacher is not looking at us.

lisaC

The continuation and the progression of an action (expressed by 正/在/正在...呢) may take place simultaneously (E.g.3), but not in all the cases (exception E.g. 4).
E.g. 3 那避雷针在保护着我们呢！ [phr] The lightning rod is protecting us!
E.g. 4 桌子上放着一本书。 [phr] There is one book on the table.
In E.g. 4 above, 着 indicates the continuation of the result of action. In this case, it cannot be used together with “正/在/正在...呢” which expresses the progression of an action. Thus, it is wrong to add 正/在/正在 before 放 in E.g. 4.

lisaC

V＋着 is often used before another predicate verb to illustrate the manners of the action. In the example below, 笑着 illustrates the manner of the action 打招呼.
E.g. 5. 他笑着和我打招呼。 [phr] He greeted me with a smile.

lisaC

This is the aspect particle indicating the continuation of an action,

Abidal89

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