Questions tagged [tense]
時制. Questions relating to that property of verbs which allows them to refer to events in the past, present, or future.
195
questions
2
votes
1answer
65 views
The difference between 困る and 困った in this sentence
This is a multiple choice question and the correct answer seems to be 困った, but I wonder why 困る is not right.
The sentence is as follows
しまった!財布を忘れてきた。(困る/困った)なあ。
I do think Japanese tense can be quite ...
1
vote
0answers
89 views
What's this strange use of non-past 〜た in a question?
I've come across a character in a show wondering:
...っとは言った物の...どこから手を付けたものか
This was translated as:
But after all I said, where do we start?
I generally view the 〜た form as past tense, but here ...
0
votes
1answer
69 views
Difference between るところだった and たところだった
My question is probably closely related to this one but I wasn`t able to successfully apply the explanation to the grammar of （もう少し/危うく）...ところだった
On this site it is stated that ところだった is formed with ...
2
votes
0answers
51 views
Explanation for 変わった and 似た as adjectivals
I often see the two verbs 変わる and 似る used in their た-form when modifying nouns and I'm not really sure exactly how to make sense of them.
変わる: e.g. as in 「変わった人」. Here I'm wondering why it's not just ...
3
votes
2answers
729 views
Why is わからない the wrong choice in this sentence
I came across the following exercise for JLPT N2:
親に本当のことを言おうか言うまいか＿
a わからない b ３日も考えている c 関係ない
The right answer is b, which makes sense. Though I wonder why a wouldn't also be a reasonable choice here....
2
votes
2answers
261 views
Why usage of た and not ている in the following usage
I was watching a Japanese Drama, and I have questions regarding the usage of Past tense (た) instead of Present Perfect (ている) in the following sentence.
In this Drama a person was looking for someone ...
0
votes
0answers
48 views
Sentence that I find odd [duplicate]
So the title of a video I've watched for immersion (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmd_p5qnzCM) is the following :
天の川がアンドロメダと衝突したとき何が起こるか
I would translate it to something like "When the milky ...
0
votes
1answer
85 views
double past correct?
If I want to say:
I THOUGHT (I no longer think that) that you called me～
Would it be okay to say:
～を呼んだと思った
(edit) or maybe:
～を呼ばれたと思った
I'm not very sure, I think I have never read such a double ...
6
votes
2answers
730 views
Past tense and ~と思う
In my grammar textbook, there's the following fill in the blank:
報告書はこのような書き方では（ ）と思います。
One of the incorrect choices is
報告書はこのような書き方では（わかりやすかった）と思います。
Incidentally, the correct answer is
...
1
vote
0answers
66 views
Why is past form だった used to describe a present scene?
そんな様子を見てか、亜衣麻衣美衣がひそひそと話を始めた。
「ねーねー、鳶一さんて五河くん狙いじゃなかったの？」
「女の子もいけるクチだったの？」
「五河姓なら誰でもOKってこと？DNA狙い？」
Hi. Why is past form used to describe a present scene?
鳶一折紙 likes 五河士道, a boy. But now the speakers ...
0
votes
1answer
237 views
How can I combine time markers with different verb tenses?
The original title of
Question:
Sentences with strange/Incorrect(from English point of view) [Time conjunctive][Conclusive verb form] combinations and aspects/nuances reflected?
I read this thread:
...
0
votes
1answer
78 views
Do わずかに and しか alter the negation of negative verb to make the meaning positive?+Cases when 行っていません expresses the past?
私は学校へわずかに二ヶ月しか行っていません。
Translation was:
I only went to school for barely 2 months.
My understanding of the sentence was:
2)[I don't/didn't go to school for barely 2 months only].
Why would 1) be ...
0
votes
1answer
105 views
そう with verbs in different forms as well as the differences with みたい
Here are a couple of sentences:
雨が降るそうです
雨が降りそうです
Does 1 mean I hear it will rain, while 2 means It seems it will rain??
And then, what about tenses?:
雨が降ったそうです
?
1 meaning I heard it will rain? ...
6
votes
2answers
181 views
住んでいた時 or 住んでいる時
In this question, there is a sentence
私はローマに住んでいた時に子供でした。
My question is: do we need to consider relative tense here?
Can we say 住んでいる時 to mean that the event that I was living in Rome (A) and the ...
4
votes
1answer
148 views
「見つかりません」v.s.「見つけません」
In my Japanese textbook, there’s a fill-in-the-blank question (and here I will modify it into a multiple-choice question for better comparison and contrast):
さっきから携帯電話を探しているのですが、
A. 見つかりません。
B. ...
7
votes
1answer
173 views
Usage of した時 vs. している時?
I was reading a passage (from AIAIJ) and came across this sentence:
ベティーは、日本でホームステイをした時、スリッパの使い方になれるまで、ずいぶん時間がかかった。
I was wondering why した時 is used. To me, this gives me the nuance of "After Betty ...
1
vote
0answers
40 views
Japanese Past Progressive? [duplicate]
《アパート『へ』帰る『と』ハガキ『が』一枚届いていた…》
In that sentence, why is the verb using the past progressive form?
届いていた=〜て+いた right? Does it mean that the letter was being delivered when he got to this apartment?
...
1
vote
1answer
66 views
持て余していた vs 持て余している
持て余していた力を、陽菜さんにもらった勇気を、僕のなかで叫び続けている気持ちを、今こそ全部使い切るために僕は走る。
Hi. Why is 持て余す used in ていた form instead of ている form?
If either 持て余していた or 持て余している can be used there, what is the difference between them? I ...
7
votes
1answer
263 views
Tense and conjugation: いないみたいでした v.s. いなかったみたいでした
Consider the following four sentences:
1.誰もいないみたいでした。ノックしましたが、返事がありませんでした。
2.誰もいなかったみたいでした。ノックしましたが、返事がありませんでした。
3.誰もいなかったみたいです。ノックしましたが、返事がありませんでした。
4.誰もいないみたいです。ノックしましたが、返事がありませんでした。
There are two ...
2
votes
0answers
73 views
Mixing of non-past/past in narratives
In the ASK Graded Readers, which present beginner-appropriate short stories, there is a frequently occurring pattern of writing with ~ます during the 'setup' of the story, and then switching to 〜ました ...
3
votes
1answer
140 views
What tense of a verb should be used in the subordinate clause?
In the following example, what tense of the verb should be used: past or non-past? If both are possible will the meaning change?
Children will eat anything their mother brings home.
...
4
votes
2answers
242 views
How to say “I am going” and boundaries of てくる
As far as I have learned 私は行っている can't mean something like "I am going", but would mean something like "I am going regularly (for a certain time)" or "I went there and am ...
0
votes
1answer
426 views
What is the meaning of している in this sentence?
I know from looking at the title many of you are thinking "Frey, you should KNOW THIS by now." And to be honest I should, its just a matter of the more research I did only served to further confuse me....
2
votes
0answers
86 views
Using ていく to express doing something deeply/longer/strongly and tense agreement with ていくうちに
While trying to understand how to use ていくうちに in this sentence: (from https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/55251/17515)
子どもの頃から使っていくうちに、身についてきたものだからです。
(The て form) is something we master after ...
3
votes
1answer
126 views
Do you always need the passive voice when saying what happened to you?
For example if I wanted to say “He told me what I needed to know.”
would I say
彼に知らなきゃことを教えられた？
Or would it be something different?
And do I always need to use it if I’m telling someone what ...
2
votes
1answer
145 views
On the interaction between tense harmony and factivity in (dialects of) Japanese
First of all, I'm a linguist asking a VERY technical question, so I'll do my best to make myself understood. I'd prefer if commenters made it clear what their level of Japanese is (native, advanced, ...
3
votes
1answer
133 views
past tense vs non-past in a book
I'm reading 大きな森の小さな家 (Little House in the Big Woods).
This sequence of sentences are all describing a particular occurrence in the past, but some sentences are in non-past forms:
ある晩、父さんは、...
3
votes
1answer
87 views
verb tense in ため clause
I have learnt that we can use a 普通形 before ため but I don't know whether the tense in 普通形 should agree with the tense in the main clause or not.
Thanks a lot.
0
votes
1answer
136 views
Possible explanation for the ている-form also being used as past tense?
I was thrown for a loop when I found out that, in addition to describing events that are happening currently, the ている-form could also be used as past tense:
まだ食べていない。
I have not eaten yet.
I now ...
1
vote
1answer
306 views
Why is it correct to use ～た in this sentence, even though we're talking about next week?
This is how we filled in the blank in class, but I am still having a hard time seeing why or how it would be correct. Here is the sentence,
来週の日曜日、ほかの学生たちといっしょに先生の家にしょうたいされました。
I was thinking that,...
1
vote
1answer
130 views
Why is 燃える + ゴミ = burnable? But the verb is not in ta-form
I saw this in the book.
管理人{かんりにん}: 燃{も}える ごみは 月{げつ}・水{すい}・金{きん}の 朝{あさ} 出{だ}して ください。
I remember that If we want to use a verb as an adjective, we need to change a verb into the Ta-form, but this ...
0
votes
1answer
136 views
What should I use 来ません or 来ません でした
What is correct answer for the question もう ジョンさんは 来ましたか。
いいえ, まだ ジョンさんは 来ません。
or
いいえ, まだ ジョンさんは 来ません でした。
0
votes
1answer
277 views
How to say “a few years in the future” / “a few years from now”
I'd like to express the idea that maybe a few years from now things would work out better. But I can't figure out how that would be said in Japanese. I know that if it were past tense, it could be ...
5
votes
1answer
136 views
What is the reason leading to the difference in tense used for affirmative and negative statements in the construction V~ほうがいい
In the construction of a suggestion statement with V~ほうがいい, the past (perfect) tense is used for the affirmative (according to this and this, the present tense can also be used for general advice), ...
3
votes
1answer
122 views
Raishuu ni natta or naru?
I found the following sentence in Minna No Nihongo:
すみませんが、出張は来週になったと伝えていただけませんか
Sumimasenga, Shucho wa raishu ni natta to tsutaete itadakemasenka?
'Please, Could you tell him that the business trip ...
2
votes
1answer
225 views
Progressive form of movement verbs (or other stative verbs)
This is a fork from the question What's the progressive form of 来る, 帰る and 行く.
So the question explained that when ている is conjugated with these movement verbs (or other verbs that are more or ...
7
votes
1answer
588 views
The past tense for the quoting particle って
I have this sentence in front of me
耳元で男の人の声がするのが耐えられないって
which is translated as:
she said she couldn't stand hearing a male voice near her ear.
If I am right, here, って is actually translated ...
1
vote
2answers
340 views
How can 若い時 and ずっと work in this sentence?
I'm trying to write
"I have wanted to study Japanese from a young age"
And I have
"若い時に私は日本語をずっと勉強したいです."
Does this work? How can I make it more correct?
3
votes
1answer
138 views
What does てくる mean when used with 選ぶ?
I don't understand what the difference is between this sentence:
おいしそうなカップ麺を選んできます。
and this sentence:
おいしそうなカップ麺を選ぶ。
2
votes
2answers
188 views
Past tense …でする vs. past tense copula です confusion
Maybe this is a stupid question, because very likely it is possible for advanced learners to distuiguish this. However, in the present tense ...でする (particle で) and ...です (copula) are distinct, while ...
9
votes
1answer
1k views
「卒業して以来」と「卒業した以来」どちらが正しいですか？
I got the wrong answer when playing the 'JLPT Taisen' japanese game.
The question is: "田中さんとは、学校を_____以来、会っていない".
I think the answer is "卒業した", but "卒業して" is correct.
Please teach me why?
6
votes
1answer
196 views
Can みたい refer to a clause in the past?
I was thinking the other day that one of the differences between みたい and そう (meaning "it seems") is that the first can be bound to a sentence in the past while the second forces the verb of the ...
4
votes
2answers
114 views
そうです or そうでした for sentences that end with でしたか
山下先生のせんこうはれきしでしたか。
To answer the above sentence, would the sentences below be acceptable?
はい、そうでした。
はい、そうです。
Is 1 the only acceptable answer since the question is in past tense?
8
votes
2answers
2k views
Is there a distinction between ‘did“ and ”have done" in Japanese?
According to internet sources and my Chinese friend living in Japan, there isn't. However, can someone provide more evidence on this issue? If there is no grammatical distinction, how can we ...
5
votes
1answer
219 views
Confused with verb form ( I am eating vs I was eating, vs I haven’t eaten (yet))
So i came across this question and I can’t seem to get my head around it! Sorry if it’s obvious.
I learned that the progressive form for a verb (-ing ) is the ーて form + (-いる/-います） .
So I am eating ...
5
votes
1answer
129 views
Usage of the verb 続く in past tense
From this article
日本では、スポーツの選手がコーチなどから暴力やパワーハラスメントを受ける問題が続きました。
The problem of sportsmen receiving violence and harassment from coaches in Japan continued.
I don't understand why 続く is written ...
11
votes
1answer
271 views
Does the tense of the final verb ALWAYS dictate the tense of an earlier て form verb?
So I was always taught in my textbooks that the last verb in a sentence dictates the whole tense of the sentence, e.g:
神戸に行って、映画を見ました。
I WENT to Kobe and WATCHED a movie.
However, I've started ...
5
votes
1answer
536 views
“I have become sleepy, because I did not sleep much last night”textbook wrong translation?
"I have become sleepy, because I did not sleep much last night"
What in the textbook:
きのうの夜あまり寝なかったから、眠くなりました。
What I think is right:
きのうの夜あまり寝なかったから、眠くなります。
6
votes
2answers
898 views
How does one differentiate between future tense (will) and present tense?
How do I differentiate between future tense and present tense. For example, the sentence:
私は魚を食べる
If I am not mistaken, the above sentence can either mean "I will eat fish" or "I eat fish".
...
3
votes
1answer
175 views
When to use ところ / て+いるところ / た+ところ
In this sentence:
「もしもし、今、駅に向かって（_______）ところです。 あと５、６分でつきます。」
What should be the correct tense of the verb 歩く? Should I base my answer on the word 今 or the てform of 向かう?
If there is 今 does that ...
