JLPT N3 grammar

〜てばかりいるmeaning and usage

Meaning

Always doing A

How to form it

  • verb (te-form)ばかりいる
  • verb (te-form)ばかりいないで

How it is used

'Do nothing but A, always A', usually with the speaker's disapproval. 「〜てばかりいないで」 tells someone to stop doing just that. Unlike plain 「〜ている」, it stresses that nothing else gets done.

Examples

  1. 父は出張で家を空けてばかりいます。

    Dad is always away on business trips.

  2. 弟は休みの日、ゲームをしてばかりいる。

    On his days off my little brother does nothing but play video games.

  3. 泣いてばかりいないで、理由を話してごらん。

    Stop just crying and tell me what's wrong.