Ai oboete imasu ka, what does "imasu" add here?


"Ai oboete imasu ka" is translated as "Do you remember love?", now Ai is love,
oboete is remember and ka is the question marker, why do you need to add
"imasu" to this phrase?




### A note on translation

Expressing the same ideas in different languages inevitably results in all
kinds of things that don't fit very well, if we try to look only at the
individual words used in those expressions. This makes things quite difficult
for the beginning learner, since we don't yet have a bigger-picture
understanding of how a given language works.

So when we analyze how a given expression works in Language A, and we try to
explain how that matches up with the expression in Language B that has roughly
the same meaning, the explanation sometimes has to get pretty deep and nitty-
gritty. :)

### Background on the verb

The main verb here is the _oboete_ (dictionary form: 覚える _oboeru_ ). The verb
_oboeru_ is often translated as _"remember"_ , but the **aspect** of the
Japanese verb is a bit different.

**Aspect** is a tricky concept, and I won't get into it here -- read [the
Wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_aspect) for the
details.

In a simplified nutshell, the English verb _"remember"_ does not express any
change in state: the person doesn't necessarily change at all, comparing them
before they remember something, and after.

The Japanese verb _oboeru_ , however, **does** include a change in state, and
this is closer to the English verb _"memorize"_. In Japanese, you can say
漢字{かんじ}を **覚える{おぼえる}** to express the concept, _"I **memorize** the kanji."_
The change in state here is that the person doesn't have the kanji in their
head before they _oboeru_ , and they **do** have the kanji in their head after
they _oboeru_. A better translation thus might be _"put something in mind"_.

### Main question: what does the _imasu_ do here?

The Japanese verb _imasu_ (dictionary form: いる _iru_ ) is often translated as
_"am, is, be"_. This is usually a good fit -- 店{みせ}に行{い}きます, _"I go to the
store"_ , vs. 店{みせ}に行{い}って **います** , _"I **am** go​ **ing** to the store"_. In
most cases, _imasu_ is used as an auxiliary (additional) verb to indicate the
present progressive -- something **is** happen​ **ing**.

However, verbs that indicate a change of state -- and this gets back to that
tricky idea of **aspect** -- can take _imasu_ to mean either 1) that the verb
**is** happen​ **ing** , or 2) that the change indicated by the verb **has**
happen​ **ed** and the new state **is**.

By way of example, 切{き}れる ( _kireru_ ) is another of those verbs that
indicates a change in state, and it basically means _"to become cut"_. So
紙{かみ}が切{き}れる means _"the paper becomes cut"_ → _"the paper changes state from
whole, to cut into pieces"_. 紙{かみ}が切{き}れて **いる** could mean _"the paper **is**
becom​ **ing** cut"_, or it could mean _"the paper **has been** cut"_ → _"the
paper **is** now in a state of having been cut"_. Context makes it clear which
interpretation is more appropriate.

Looking back to the core verb _oboeru_ , when we add _imasu_ , we could mean
that the person **is** memoriz​ **ing** something -- this is a valid
translation, but it depends on the context. The context in your example
sentence suggests that the second interpretation makes more sense -- the
person isn't in the process of memorizing love, or of putting love into their
minds, but instead **has** put love in mind, i.e. they **have** it in their
head → they **remember** it.




### A note on translation

Expressing the same ideas in different languages inevitably results in all
kinds of things that don't fit very well, if we try to look only at the
individual words used in those expressions. This makes things quite difficult
for the beginning learner, since we don't yet have a bigger-picture
understanding of how a given language works.

So when we analyze how a given expression works in Language A, and we try to
explain how that matches up with the expression in Language B that has roughly
the same meaning, the explanation sometimes has to get pretty deep and nitty-
gritty. :)

### Background on the verb

The main verb here is the _oboete_ (dictionary form: 覚える _oboeru_ ). The verb
_oboeru_ is often translated as _"remember"_ , but the **aspect** of the
Japanese verb is a bit different.

**Aspect** is a tricky concept, and I won't get into it here -- read [the
Wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_aspect) for the
details.

In a simplified nutshell, the English verb _"remember"_ does not express any
change in state: the person doesn't necessarily change at all, comparing them
before they remember something, and after.

The Japanese verb _oboeru_ , however, **does** include a change in state, and
this is closer to the English verb _"memorize"_. In Japanese, you can say
漢字{かんじ}を **覚える{おぼえる}** to express the concept, _"I **memorize** the kanji."_
The change in state here is that the person doesn't have the kanji in their
head before they _oboeru_ , and they **do** have the kanji in their head after
they _oboeru_. A better translation thus might be _"put something in mind"_.

### Main question: what does the _imasu_ do here?

The Japanese verb _imasu_ (dictionary form: いる _iru_ ) is often translated as
_"am, is, be"_. This is usually a good fit -- 店{みせ}に行{い}きます, _"I go to the
store"_ , vs. 店{みせ}に行{い}って **います** , _"I **am** go​ **ing** to the store"_. In
most cases, _imasu_ is used as an auxiliary (additional) verb to indicate the
present progressive -- something **is** happen​ **ing**.

However, verbs that indicate a change of state -- and this gets back to that
tricky idea of **aspect** -- can take _imasu_ to mean either 1) that the verb
**is** happen​ **ing** , or 2) that the change indicated by the verb **has**
happen​ **ed** and the new state **is**.

By way of example, 切{き}れる ( _kireru_ ) is another of those verbs that
indicates a change in state, and it basically means _"to become cut"_. So
紙{かみ}が切{き}れる means _"the paper becomes cut"_ → _"the paper changes state from
whole, to cut into pieces"_. 紙{かみ}が切{き}れて **いる** could mean _"the paper **is**
becom​ **ing** cut"_, or it could mean _"the paper **has been** cut"_ → _"the
paper **is** now in a state of having been cut"_. Context makes it clear which
interpretation is more appropriate.

Looking back to the core verb _oboeru_ , when we add _imasu_ , we could mean
that the person **is** memoriz​ **ing** something -- this is a valid
translation, but it depends on the context. The context in your example
sentence suggests that the second interpretation makes more sense -- the
person isn't in the process of memorizing love, or of putting love into their
minds, but instead **has** put love in mind, i.e. they **have** it in their
head → they **remember** it.

