What does 「て」 mean in 「読んでて」 (te-form + て)?


It's a sentence from Tae Kim's grammar guide:

> 崇君{たかしくん}は漫画{まんが}ばっかり読{よ}んで **て** さ。 かっこ悪{わる}い。

The 「て」 that appears after the te-form of 「読む」 and before 「さ」, what is it and
what effect does it give? Possibly a colloquial-only thing?

I appreciate the help.




「読んで **て** 」 is the very common colloquial contraction of 「読んで **いて** 」. This
elision of 「い」 happens all the time when we are speaking.

Contrary to what seems to me a popular belief among J-learners, we use
「～～て/でいる」 verb form to describe a habitual action. (I have seen/heard
**_many_** J-learners use the dictionary form instead for this purpose.)

「マンガばっかり読んで（い）る」← Natural

「マンガばっかり読む」← Not natural




「読んで **て** 」 is the very common colloquial contraction of 「読んで **いて** 」. This
elision of 「い」 happens all the time when we are speaking.

Contrary to what seems to me a popular belief among J-learners, we use
「～～て/でいる」 verb form to describe a habitual action. (I have seen/heard
**_many_** J-learners use the dictionary form instead for this purpose.)

「マンガばっかり読んで（い）る」← Natural

「マンガばっかり読む」← Not natural

