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I have confusion with the past tense of verb combined with the past tense of はず したはずだった

From what I understand:

  1. するはず - Supposed to do verb at some point in the future (don't know outcome yet)
  2. したはず - Verb is supposed to happen at some point in the past (don't know whether the verb happened)
  3. するはずだった - Verb was supposed to happen (but it didn't) - am I speaking in the present?
  4. したはずだった - Verb was supposed to happen in the past? (but it didn't)

For example, what are the differences between 3 and 4 in this sentence?

  1. 彼女は一時までに電話するはずだ - She is supposed to call by 1 o'clock

  2. 彼女は一時までに電話したはずだ - I suppose she called by 1 o'clock

  3. 彼女は一時までに電話するはずだった - She was supposed to call by 1 o'clock

  4. 彼女は一時までに電話したはずだった - She was supposed to have called by 1 o'clock?

And in this sentence:

あれ、携帯電話がない!うちを出るとき、カバンに(X)けど、カバンに入れ忘れたかもしれないね。?

Which is correct (X) and why?

  1. 入れるはずだった
  2. 入れたはずだ
  3. 入れたはずだった
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1 Answer 1

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The sentence 3 means "She was supposed to call by 1 o'clock, but she didn't.

The sentence 4 means "She was supposed to have called by 1 o'clock, but we don't know she actually called by 1 o'clock. She may misunderstand it".

As for your second question, カバンに入れたはずだけど is best.

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  • I still don't understand completely. What is the difference between 彼女は一時までに電話したはずだ and 彼女は一時までに電話したはずだった then? I understand はずだ means the speaker does not know whether she called at 1 o'clock, but wouldn't that be the same meaning as はずだった?And also, would カバンに入れたはずだった be correct? in the sentence above? Can you please explain further? Thanks!
    – shade549
    Commented Jun 25, 2018 at 2:25
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    したはずだ is "I am supposed to have done it", it is a view from the present. したはずだった is " I was supposed to have done it", It is a view from the past. I think カバンに入れたはずだけど is better because it is a view from the present. Commented Jun 25, 2018 at 6:58

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