Present progressive tense of 覚える


I'm trying to say `I remember his ex-girlfriend's name`.

> 私は彼の元彼女の名前を **覚えます** 。
>
> 私は彼の元彼女の名前を **覚えています** 。

As I understand, the last sentence is in present progressive tense, i.e. an
action that is ongoing. But I don't think `I'm remembering his ex-girlfriend's
name` makes sense.

So in this case, does the first sentence mean `I will remember his ex-
girlfriend's name`? And does the last sentence mean `I remember his ex-
girlfriend's name`?




In Japanese, the て+いる form does not necessarily represent present-progressive
(as such a concept doesn't really exist in Japanese in the first place); in
many cases, it describes a resultant or enduring state. In this case, the verb
is "to remember/learn," so using the て+いる form implies a "state" of having
already learned something (and remembering it). The translation of the first
sentence would probably be something like "I will learn his ex-girlfriend's
name," while the second one could be translated as "I remember his ex-
girlfriend's name" (this is what you wanted in this case).

There are definitely cases where て+いる can be translated as present-
progressive, but rather than being the specified purpose or meaning of the
form, it's more like that just happens to be the realization of that
particular verb in that form. For a more in-depth look at what is really
happening with this form, I've found this page helpful:
<http://homepage3.nifty.com/park/aspect.htm>




In Japanese, the て+いる form does not necessarily represent present-progressive
(as such a concept doesn't really exist in Japanese in the first place); in
many cases, it describes a resultant or enduring state. In this case, the verb
is "to remember/learn," so using the て+いる form implies a "state" of having
already learned something (and remembering it). The translation of the first
sentence would probably be something like "I will learn his ex-girlfriend's
name," while the second one could be translated as "I remember his ex-
girlfriend's name" (this is what you wanted in this case).

There are definitely cases where て+いる can be translated as present-
progressive, but rather than being the specified purpose or meaning of the
form, it's more like that just happens to be the realization of that
particular verb in that form. For a more in-depth look at what is really
happening with this form, I've found this page helpful:
<http://homepage3.nifty.com/park/aspect.htm>

