Japanese Grammar Bank

JAPANESE RESULTS & CONSEQUENCES

In Japanese, expressing results and consequences can involve various structures like ている, ていた, になる, and となる, each adding layers to describe ongoing, past, and transformative outcomes.

Mastering these expressions helps convey the progression, completion, and impact of actions in different contexts.

HOW TO USE ている & ていた, RESULT OF AN ACTION

Many verbs in the ている form describe continuous actions.

However, depending on the context, some verbs in the ている form express the result of an action.

With these verbs, the ている form describes the state that results from the change.

PATTERN

Verb (て form) + いる / いた

To make a verb into the ている form, you need to conjugate the verb into the て form and add 〜いる to the end.

When a verb changes the state of something instantly, the ている form of that verb describes the resulting state.

The clue to whether a verb falls into this category or not is if the change is instantaneous.

Let’s see example sentences.

JapaneseRomajiEnglish
テレビがついている。Terebi ga tsuite iru.The TV is on.
蚊が死んでいる。Ka ga shinde iru.The mosquito is dead.
切符が落ちている。Kippu ga ochite iru.There’s a ticket on the ground.
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彼はとても疲れている。Kare wa totemo tsukarete iruHe is very tired.
お父さんは仕事のためにもう家を出ていた。Otosan wa shigoto no tameni mou ie wo deteita.My dad had left home for work already.
レストランはもう開いている。Resutoran wa mou aiteiru.The restaurant is already open.

As you can notice in these examples, they are not talking about ongoing action, rather they are describing the result of an action even though using the ている form.

We also noticed that the change happened instantly.

HOW TO USE になる, TO RESULT IN

There are more expressions in Japanese that describe the results and consequences. The first one is ～になる.

～になる means “to become”, “to result in”, or “to change into”.

PATTERN

Verb (dictionary form) + ことになる
Noun + になる
い adjective(remove final い) + く + なる
な adjective(remove final な) + になる

Let’s see some examples:

JapaneseRomajiEnglish
息子も大人になりました。Musuko mo otona ni nari mashita.My son also became an adult.
仕事で疲れたので、とても眠くなりました。Shigoto de tsukareta node, totemo nemuku nari mashita.I became very sleepy because I was so tired from the work.
来年、私は20歳になります。Rainen watashi wa 20 sai ni nari masu.I will be 20 years old next year.
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妻はもっときれいになりたいそうです。Tsuma wa motto kirei ni naritai sou desu.My wife wants to be more beautiful.
友達の結婚式に行くことになりました。Tomodachi no kekkonshiki ni iku kotoni nari mashita.I have to attend the wedding of my friend.
大学生になるのが楽しみです。Daigakusei ni naru noga tanoshimi desu.I am looking forward to becoming a university student.

HOW TO USE となる, FORMAL WAY

となる basically means the same as になる, with slight differences.

First of all, となる may sound more formal, and it can only be used with verbs and nouns, not with adjectives.

Also, it is often used in formal writing.

PATTERN

Verb (dictionary form) + こととなる
Noun + となる

JapaneseRomajiEnglish
学校の先生となることが目標です。Gakko no sensei to naru koto ga mokuhyou desu.My goal is to become a school teacher.
来月結婚することとなりました。Raigetsu kekkon suru koto to nari mashita.I am going to get married next month.
英語を勉強するために3か月間アメリカに行くこととなりました。Eigo wo benkyou suru tameni 3 kagetsu kan amerika ni iku kototo nari mashita.I will go to the United States for 3 months to study English.
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兄が会社の社長となることとなりました。Ani ga kaisha no shachou to naru koto to nari mashita.My older brother became CEO of that company.
この度、就職することとなりました。Kono tabi shuushoku suru koto to nari mashita.I was able to get the chance to start working.
高橋さんは出張のため、中国に行くこととなります。Takahashi san wa shucchou no tame, chuugoku ni iku koto to nari masu.Mr. Takahashi will go to China to make a business trip.

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FAQs

What is the difference between ている and ていた when expressing results?

ている expresses a continuous or current result, while ていた indicates a past result or consequence that no longer applies.

How do になる and となる differ in showing results or transformations?

になる is commonly used for natural changes or expected results, while となる often emphasizes a formal or significant transformation.

Can になる and ている be used together?

Yes, using になっている can describe a state resulting from a transformation that is currently ongoing or exists as a consequence.

When is it appropriate to use となる over になる?

となる is typically used in written or formal contexts to describe official outcomes, major transformations, or declarative results.

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