Meaning
An intransitive verb in the ています form describes the current state of a thing: ドアが閉まっています — the door is closed. A transitive verb in the てあります form stresses that the state results from someone's deliberate action: ドアが閉めてあります — the door has been closed and left that way.
Formation
- Result of a deliberate act: transitive て form + ある: 開けてあります
- Plain state: intransitive て form + いる: 開いています
When to use it
- Core use
- Verb pairs: state and result
Example
ドアはもう開けてあります
The door has been left open.
Important notes
- Pay attention to the word form before the construction and to the particles around it.
Common mistakes
- Do not translate the pattern word for word; first identify its function in the whole situation.