Habitual aspect?

Question

My (poor) understanding of things is that there are two ways to get habitual semantics in Japanese: * use the dictionary form of the verb: > 毎日、映画{えいが}を見に行く "I go to the movies every day." * use the -teiru form of the verb: > 毎日、映画を見に行っている "I go to the movies every day." Do both the dictionary form and -teiru form allow a habitual reading for all verbs, or do certain types of verbs not allow one or the other? Also, when both ways are available, how do you pick between the two -- is there any difference between the two?

Answer 1

Both can be used to show habitual actions, but the dictionary form might be closer to saying you perform the action naturally, rather than as observing a custom (-teiru).

毎日、新聞を読みます。- I read the newspaper every day (something I do)

毎日、新聞を読んでいます。I read the newspaper everyday (consciously observing and sustaining a custom/habit)