Quote:
Originally Posted by KyleGoetz
masaeguさん
「する間」と「している間」の使い分けを教えてくださ いませんか。
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Excuse me but I am going to answer in English. It is easier for me to do it in Japanese but I am sure someone will request a translation if I explained this in Japanese.
First, I would like to state, in case some members here did not know, that when Japanese-speakers use the word する in discussing grammar, we do not only mean する but we mean to include all dictionary form verbs. The same applies to している or any other forms of the verb する.
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When both 「～～する間」 and 「～～している間」 are "correct".
～～する間
This phrase sounds more formal, technical, proffesional, etc.
～～している間
This phrase sounds less formal and "everyday".
Now, there are actions that may occur simultaneously that people simply would not need to describe in a formal speech, such as "eating Cheetos while reading manga" and "picking my nose while listening to Lady Gaga". In describing these sets of actions, you naturally will not use 「～～する間」 too often.
The reverse case also exists. If an accountant is explaining in a book or lecture that one must keep "paying property taxes while you own your house", he probably opt to use 「所有する間」.
In either case, both forms are grammatical but the content and the occasion of the discussion require the use of one form over the other. Call this aesthetics if you want to. It is the higher level of "correctness" than the mere grammar itself that we are discussing here.
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Exceptional cases where only one form is correct.
「瞬きする間」、「あっという間」、「くしゃみする間 」, etc.
These actions only take a moment, literally. One cannot use the 「している間」 form.
「生きている間」、「結婚している間」、etc.
These actions, or rather situations, can literally last a lifetime. One cannot use the 「する間」 form.
And as in the first example about two guys' swimming ability in my previous post, one often uses the 「する間」 form to talk about something hypothetically.