In the phrase 「褒められたものではない」, why is 「褒められた」 in past tense (as opposed to present tense 「褒められる」)? [duplicate]

Question

For reference, there's an entry in 実用日本語表現辞典: 褒められたものではない

Answer 1

As is mentioned in the related post linked in the comments above by @broken headphones, this「た」isn't being used to imply past tense.

Past tense is a common reason for using 「た」, but in this case I think the following definition from デジタル大辞泉 applies:

[３] 実現していない動作・状態を仮に実現したと考えていう意を表す。

So,

• 「褒められたものではない」

is establishing the hypothetical circumstance of something being praiseworthy,「褒められたもの」, and then negating that with ではない.

This た might be the same as the た in「～したら」and seems similar to the way the English Subjunctive Tense often ends up looking like the past tense, like "If he was taller", etc.

Here are some other ways of using the same construct:

• その値段では払えたものではない - There's no way (anyone) would pay that price
• 歩いていたら帰れたものではない - There's no way (you) could walk back

This grammar is used in giving a very strong and unquestionable opinion in a matter-of-fact way that whatever it is could not possibly be done.

In both cases the form of the verb used is

可能（払{はら}え）+ 完了・仮定（た）+ ものではない

This is a strong phrase indicating something like 払{はら}うことは到底{とうてい}できない, emphasizing that there is "no way" that payment is possible.

Using 褒められる・払える・帰れる instead of「た」would break the structure above and the meaning would be difficult to understand.