N5 · Unit 4
Lesson 15Ongoing actions, permission, and prohibition
Describe an ongoing action, ask for or grant permission, and state prohibited behavior.
What you learn
Describe an ongoing action, ask for or grant permission, and state prohibited behavior.
Learning points
- Ongoing activity
- Permission
- Prohibition and attachment points
Why this lesson comes now
This lesson connects what you can already say to a new way of expressing it. Hear the key sentences, understand the structure, then use it in a real situation.
Your next step
Listen to the key sentences, understand the pattern, finish the examples and vocabulary, then continue to the next lesson.
Open the interactive lessonCore pattern
動詞ています ・ 動詞ても いいです ・ 動詞ては いけません ・ 場所に 乗ります / 入りますBeginner explanation
Use 〜ています for an action in progress. Use 〜てもいいです to ask for or grant permission, and 〜てはいけません to state a prohibition. Mark a vehicle, room, seat, or similar destination of attachment with に.
Understand these sentences first
- 今 電話で 話しています。ima denwa de hanashite imasu
I am talking on the phone now.
- ここで 写真を 撮っても いいですか。koko de shashin o totte mo ii desu ka
May I take a photo here?
- はい、撮っても いいです。hai, totte mo ii desu
Yes, you may.
- ここに 車を 止めては いけません。koko ni kuruma o tomete wa ikemasen
You must not park a car here.
Core vocabulary
- 話しますはなしますspeak
- 待ちますまちますwait
- 使いますつかいますuse
- 座りますすわりますsit
- 入りますはいりますenter
- 乗りますのりますride
- 止めますとめますstop; park
- 写真しゃしんphoto
Grammar, one point at a time
Vています marks an action in progress
Vて いますPut the action in the te-form and add います. 今 can make the current moment explicit. The same structure later expresses resulting states or habits; this lesson focuses on ongoing action.
Examples
- 今 新聞を 読んでいます。I am reading the newspaper now.
- 市役所の 前を 歩いています。I am walking past city hall.
- 会議室で 打ち合わせを しています。They are having a meeting in the conference room.
Vてもいいですか asks permission
Vて も いいですかUse this to ask whether you may do something. A person granting their own permission can say どうぞ or かまいません, while a rule-based answer may use いいですよ. 大丈夫です can be ambiguous in some contexts, so beginners should state permission clearly.
Examples
- ここで 写真を 撮っても いいですか。May I take photos here?
- ええ、撮っても いいですよ。Yes, you may.
- すみません、それは ちょっと……。Sorry, that would be difficult...
Vてはいけません states a rule or clear prohibition
Vて は いけませんUse this for laws, regulations, site rules, or when the speaker has authority to prohibit. It can sound forceful when directed at a senior or stranger; depending on the relationship, use ないでください or explain the rule.
Examples
- ここで タバコを 吸っては いけません。You must not smoke here.
- この 部屋に 入っては いけません。You must not enter this room.
Use に for a point of attachment, boarding, sitting, or placement
attachment point に VUse に for the point where a person or object attaches or comes to rest: 電車に乗る, いすに座る, or かばんに書類を入れる. Do not replace に with object-marker を in these collocations.
Examples
- ボートに 乗りました。I got into a boat.
- この いすに 座ってください。Please sit in this chair.
- かばんに 書類を 入れます。I put the document in the bag.
A destination with a movement verb can take に or へ
destination に／へ 行きます・来ます・帰りますに focuses on the endpoint, while へ has a directional feel. They often alternate before movement verbs such as 行きます, 来ます, and 帰ります. Other uses of に for existence, time, target, purpose, or attachment cannot all be replaced by へ.
Examples
- 病院に 行きます。I am going to the hospital.
- 家へ 帰りました。I returned home.
Expressions and situations
Permission answers distinguish personal judgement from public rules
A newspaper owner may grant permission with どうぞ. Public-space permission should follow signs or staff instructions. To decline a personal request, explain the reason with すみません、今使っています.
- この 新聞を 借りても いいですか。— すみません、今 使っています。May I borrow this newspaper? — Sorry, I am using it now.
Vehicles and boats take に with 乗ります
Say 電車に乗る, 自転車に乗る, and ボートに乗る. The activity location separately takes で, so 公園でボートに乗る contains both location で and attachment に.
- 公園で ボートに 乗りました。I went boating in the park.
もちろんです can stand for permission already clear from context
When asked may I rest, もちろんです means of course. It should not replace a full answer when conditions, exceptions, or safety information matter.
- 今日 休んでも いいですか。— もちろんです。May I take today off? — Of course.
無理をする means exceeding physical, time, or financial limits
無理をしてはいけません advises someone not to overdo it. For real health issues, follow professional medical advice; a language example is not medical care.
- あまり 無理を しては いけませんよ。Do not overdo it.
ゆっくり can mean slowly or at ease
ゆっくり話す means speak slowly, while ゆっくり休む means rest properly. The verb determines the interpretation.
- 家で ゆっくり 休みます。I will rest at home.
A clinician's 薬を出します means prescribe medicine
In medical context, 薬を出します is not ordinary selling. A common Japanese workflow is for the medical provider to issue a prescription and the patient to collect medicine at a pharmacy; details vary by facility and system.
- 薬を 出します。薬局で 受け取ってください。I will prescribe medicine. Please collect it at the pharmacy.
お大事に is said to someone ill or injured
It shortens どうぞお大事にしてください. Use it at a clinic, pharmacy, or when leaving an ill person; it is not a general goodbye for someone well.
- お大事に。— ありがとうございます。Take care. — Thank you.
A formal call opens, identifies the caller, confirms the recipient, then asks for a person
A basic sequence is もしもし, こちらは〜です or 〜と申します, confirm 〜さんのお宅ですか, and ask 〜さんをお願いします. Business calls use more formal formulas, so do not copy home-call wording unchanged.
- もしもし、ミナと 申します。田中さんを お願いします。Hello, this is Mina. May I speak to Tanaka?
What you should be able to do
- Put common actions into ています and distinguish in progress from not yet.
- Ask permission to borrow, photograph, sit, or use equipment with てもいいですか.
- Choose どうぞ, ちょっと, いいです, or いけません based on personal authority or public rules.
- Turn public signs into てはいけません sentences.
- Distinguish attachment-point に with 乗る, 座る, and 入れる from destination に or へ.
- Complete an original leave-request call: identify yourself, state the situation, ask permission, relay a message, and close politely.
Culture and real use
Hospitals, clinics, and common facility names
Japan's Medical Care Act defines a hospital as a facility able to admit at least 20 patients, while a clinic has no inpatient facility or beds for at most 19 patients. MHLW functional categories also include advanced treatment hospitals, regional medical support hospitals, and core clinical research hospitals. The old statutory general hospital naming system was abolished in April 1998, so a rule based on 100 beds and specified departments is not a current legal definition. Check local official information for facility names, referrals, and access. These terms help identify facility types and do not replace diagnosis or treatment advice.
- 病院と 診療所は どう 違いますか。How do hospitals and clinics differ?
- 予約が 必要ですか。Is an appointment required?
- お大事に。Take care.