Beginner1> Quiz7

The -는 중이에요 construction has the nuance of being “in the middle” of something because the word 중 comes from the Chinese character 中with the literal meaning of “middle”. Therefore, this construction would be closer to the translation than -고 있어요 would be.

The NOUN + 중이에요 construction can ONLY be used for nouns that when combined with 하다 become a verb (e.g., 일하다). Since 가다 (to go) cannot do this, this sentence is grammatically incorrect.

The NOUN + 중이에요 construction can be used with nouns that when combined with 하다 become a verb. This construction would translate to “in the middle of NOUN” and is exactly the same as the equivalent -하는 중이에요 verb form.

운전하다: to drive
Since 운전하다 is a noun+하다 verb,
you can use all noun + 중이에요, Verb-는 중이에요, and Verb-고 있어요 constructions.

For example, the phrase “I’m studying” can be translated as 공부하고 있어요 / 공부하는 중이에요 / 공부 중이에요 / 공부해요. All are grammatically correct.

In most cases, these 2 forms are interchangeable, however, when talking about natural or emotional phenomena, it is more natural to use -고 있어요 over -는 중이에요.

For example, verbs with ㄹ 받침 have this final ㄹ deleted before the -는 중이에요 construction is added.

Note how verbs with ㄹ 받침 have this final ㄹ deleted before the 는 중이에요 construction is added. In this case,  만들다 (to make) verb stem has changed from 만들 to 만드.

When the sentence is in present progressive tense, you can interchange it with present tense.

Since, -고 있어요 doesn’t have any irregular forms, the verb stem for the verb 놀다 (to play, hang out) remains 놀. If -는 중이에요 were to have been added, the verb stem of 놀다 would be changed to 노 instead of 놀 since verbs with ㄹ 받침 have this final ㄹ deleted before the -는 중이에요 construction is added.

When the third person is the subject, it’s natural to use 싶다+아/어하다 = 싶어하다