Is it accurate to think of the て-form as meaning "in the state/condition/form of"?


It is difficult to rationslise the て-form of Japanese verbs in the mind of a
speaker of an Indoeuropean language because there isn't something directly
equivalent. However, it's been a few years now that this concept popped into
my head that there is an implied meaning within the て-form as meaning "in the
state/condition/form of". This to me makes sense with the te iru structure:

私はリンゴを食べている Literally: I exist in the state of eating an apple.

I just wanted to see if this thought goes in the correct direction in relation
to the て-form.

