Does verb-てあった mean the same thing as verb-てあります?
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1You mean てあった(the past tense/plain form) and てありました (the past tense/polite form), or てある(the present tense/plain form) and てあります(the present tense/polite form)? – user1016 Feb 4 '12 at 5:46
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2No they do not. The former is plain past form. The latter is polite non-past form. I don't know why you are comparing particularly those two forms. It just looks as if you randomly choose two forms. – user458 Feb 4 '12 at 5:49
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4Why be so harsh on someone asking a simple question? Yes, they have mixed up two unrelated verb forms... that's why they are asking! Everyone has to start somewhere. Lighten up. – Questioner Feb 4 '12 at 7:17
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1Can you give us examples? Then the answer will be more concrete. – shin Feb 4 '12 at 13:00
To answer your question simply, the two forms you are asking about do not mean the same thing.
You've actually got two differences at work here.
One difference is the politeness level. ~てあった, is the plain form. ~てあります is the polite form.
The other difference is the tense. ~てあった, is the past tense. ~てあります is the present tense.
I hope that helps clear it up.