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I'm missing someone, this sentence is correct? and what is the difference it then I miss someone?

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Tense of both the sentences are different, hence both of them convey a completely different meaning. Let's tackle both of them:

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"I'm missing someone" This sentence is in present continuous tense therefore here it means that you're missing someone at that particular moment. This sentence is generally used when you're having a conversation, so as to show your present state.

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"I miss someone" This sentence means you you miss someone often. It may also mean that you are missing someone at a particular moment while not necessarily. This sentence here can take both the forms depending on the condition hence it is a conditional - sentence.

I hope I was able to make it clear to you. Please leave a comment in case you still have a doubt.

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The verb miss in the sentence is a stative verb, and stative verbs are not usually in the progressive. So when you say "I miss someone", it means that you miss him often; of course, also at the time of speaking. That's more common and idiomatic.

However, the use of the verb in the progressive restricting the meaning to the time of your speaking, though not common, is acceptable.

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  • Thank you! So both sentences are corrects if my context is referencing specifically that moment?
    – Lai32290
    Commented Apr 3, 2017 at 10:10
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    If you look at actual instances of I am missing in the NGram, the names of the authors seem to indicate that the majority are not native english speakers.
    – JavaLatte
    Commented Apr 3, 2017 at 11:28
  • @JavaLatte, I appreciate your interesting comments.
    – Khan
    Commented Apr 3, 2017 at 11:32
  • So if I'm a daily conversation, it's more common I say "I miss someone"?
    – Lai32290
    Commented Apr 3, 2017 at 16:49
  • @Lai32290, You are right.
    – Khan
    Commented Apr 4, 2017 at 1:08
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When native Anglo-American speakers say I'm missing {something or someone} they're usually trying to express something more than the fact that they feel a certain longing. For that basic fact, we would say "I miss {someone|something}".

With I am missing..., we might be trying to say that this feeling is one we are having quite often or continuously:

I'm sorry if I've been moody lately. I'm missing having the kids around.

It is not that "I miss having the kids around" is an improper choice. Since missing someone is not something that happens like a camera flash, over in an instant, the verb already expresses the idea of state of longing. But the simple present doesn't have the extra little emphasis on the recurrence or persistence of that state of longing.

The -ing form expresses the recurrent or the continuous.

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