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.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
2 votes
0 answers
84 views

What is the tense of 「卒業して5年になる」?

I was studying the te-form in depth and found out that it can be used as a starting point (起点) and a Japanese friend of mine told me that it is the same as ~てから; just an omission of から. It seems to be ...
BIG-95's user avatar
  • 780
1 vote
1 answer
421 views

Why is おもだった in past-tense?

In すでにおもだった犯罪者の名前は書き尽くし徐々に悪人のレベルも下げてる Here おも means "important", so おもだった犯罪者の名前 means "important criminal's names". But why is もだった in the past tense? Instead of: ...
George's user avatar
  • 2,736
1 vote
1 answer
129 views

Tense of sentences ending with のだ such as 楽しかったんだ

From what I can find, 楽しかったんだ is considered to be in the past tense, which confuses me. I would have thought that の nominalized the preceding phrase, and the sentences as a whole was then placed in ...
Magnus Lidbom's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
129 views

Why are conflicting verb tenses allowed in usage of なら

In https://japanesetest4you.com/japanese-language-proficiency-test-jlpt-n4-grammar-exercise-7/ I encountered the following sentence: 父は何でも作れたんだ。 戸棚が必要なら、父が作ってくれた。 If I were to translate this into ...
richizy's user avatar
  • 145
1 vote
2 answers
219 views

The tense of osagashi

In the sentence "nanika osagashi desu ka?" (Are you looking for something), in which tense is "osagashi"? Why is it not osagashimasu?
user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
132 views

Any differences between 「学生の時」 and 「学生だった時」?

They seem to mean the same, although I hear 「学生の時」 much more often. Another example I'm unsure of is: 「犬が病気(の・だった)時、病院に連れていきました。」 "I took the dog to a vet when it was sick." Are both options ...
Hikonyan's user avatar
  • 1,900
2 votes
2 answers
140 views

Does 「決めることにしています」 = 「決めます」?

In this NHK News Easy article, the final sentence says: 豊明市は職員たちに意見を聞いて、この働き方をこれからも続けるか決めることにしています。 After asking a native, a good translation for the second phrase would apparently be "[Toyoake ...
Hikonyan's user avatar
  • 1,900
1 vote
1 answer
57 views

Asking about invitation/desire in basic tense, vs. specific patterns?

When it comes to asking questions, specifically about invitation and want/desire, I've come across sentences that avoid using specific patterns (ませんか/ましょうか, or たい/ほしい), and just use basic future tense ...
Hikonyan's user avatar
  • 1,900
1 vote
1 answer
295 views

「かいてくれていた」- Does it have to mean "was drawing"?

In Chapter 3 of Yotsuba-to, Yotsuba wakes up and finds a picture of herself, that Fuuka drew and left there while she was sleeping. Yotsuba exclaims: 「ふーかがよつばかいてくれてた!」 Any natural-sounding English ...
Hikonyan's user avatar
  • 1,900
2 votes
1 answer
248 views

Negative form of お腹が空きました

I understand that お腹が空きました means "I am hungry" since its literal translation would be "My stomach has become empty". Meanwhile, お腹が空きます is closer to "I get hungry" as in ...
xiver77's user avatar
  • 187
4 votes
3 answers
336 views

What is the difference between 冷える and 冷えている?

I came across the following example sentence in a dictionary. 今晩は冷えますね。It’s cold tonight, isn’t it? I thought 冷えます, being a verb, would mean "will become cold". But the translation above ...
LAMC's user avatar
  • 221
2 votes
2 answers
184 views

When does てきた take place? Is it representing an ongoing change or not?

Quick Notice: For many months now I've been struggling with てくる and it's exact meaning when dealing with time flow and indication of change. I do however, understand, when it is used with movement or ...
levikara's user avatar
  • 100
3 votes
1 answer
139 views

Can the past progressive tense ever "overlap" into the present time?

I know that the tense of Japanese subordinate clauses is always relative to the time the main clause happens (which is different than in English). But consider the following: 子供が[昼寝]{ひるね}をしていた ...
George's user avatar
  • 2,736
1 vote
1 answer
112 views

the use of した to modify nouns

Recently I came across this phrase: 血液型に関係したことって、日本では、すごく人気がある Why is 関係した in the past and not in the present? In this case, is there any difference between them?
Eric Caram De Souz's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
105 views

This sentence 「君は何かに足をかじられたんだね」 looks really weird

I know the meaning of 「君は何かに足をかじられたんだね」 is "Something has bitten your leg" but is this sentence grammatically correct? (Probably yes because it's quoted from a book...) But for me this ...
vdegenne's user avatar
  • 309
2 votes
1 answer
148 views

Why is しない used for a past event?

植野:ちょっとからかってた的な…ことはあったかも 将也:まあ一応。僕もやめとけとは言ったんですけどね。聞かなかったし 石田:お前も一緒にやってたじゃん!女子なんてすげぇ悪口言ってたでしょ。ねえ!特に(植野)と(川井)が 川井:ひどい…。私そんなことしないよ。どうして…。石田くんひどいよ Everyone's putting the blame on 石田 for bullying. I ...
firuvi's user avatar
  • 694
1 vote
1 answer
135 views

Meaning of 殴り描き and the use of 'would'

I think I get most of this tweet https://twitter.com/hanjuku_monme/status/1544706459556265985 今日(昨日)からメイドインアビス2期が始まると知ったのでファプタ殴り描き "I knew that the second season of Made in Abyss would begin ...
SpikedHelmet's user avatar
  • 1,103
2 votes
1 answer
167 views

How should we tell an imaginary story or situation in Japanese?

In English, when we tell an imaginary story or situation, we use subjective mood, or use simply present or past tenses accordingly. I wonder how we should tell an imaginary story or situation in ...
vincentlin's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
132 views

Difference between イライラする and イライラしている

I already know that the ている expresses a state after an action ended, rather than a continuous aspect in some verbs, but in some contexts I wonder why the natives would opt for する instead of している. “...
初心者's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
302 views

なってる versus なる. Who is this sentence talking about?

The younger sister is worried about dog attacks. The older sister says this: 「そんなに心配することないわよ。もうどっかに行っちゃっていなくなってるわよ。」 There's no need to worry so much. You'll reach the point where you end up not ...
user3856370's user avatar
  • 29.4k
1 vote
1 answer
104 views

Why 広がる前 isn't 広がった前 in this sentence

In this NHK Easy article there's the sentence: しかし1年{ねん}に3000万{まん}人{にん}以上{いじょう}が来{き}ていたウイルスが広{ひろ}がる前{まえ}のときのようには、すぐに戻{もど}りません。 If I remove the part I'm having trouble with: しかし1年{ねん}に3000万{まん}人{にん}...
OtheJared's user avatar
  • 913
0 votes
1 answer
129 views

How to ask about someone's opinion regarding the future?

I have a question. I wanna ask: "Do You think in the near future/from now on more people will be learning Japanese?". What is the best way to ask that? I have come up with two ideas: ...
Aleksandra Konieczna's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
100 views

その店で去年{○働いていた/×働いている}男性がテレビに出た。 - why is that?

According to this website (I think it is 初級を教える人のための日本語文法ハンドブック), if there are no time adverbs in an adjective clause, you have to use ていた or ている to mean an action in the past. However, if a time ...
vincentlin's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
87 views

If a time adverb is used in an adjective clause, you have to use ていた instead of ている - does this rule apply to normal verbs?

According to this website (I think it is 初級を教える人のための日本語文法ハンドブック), if a time adverb is used in an adjective clause, you have to use ていた. https://learn-the-basics-of-japanese.blogspot.com/p/s71-1-123a1-...
vincentlin's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
85 views

Why "We've worked" can't be in the past?

On Duolingo with the phrase "We've worked at this bakery since twenty eleven." It doesn't accept 私たちは2011年からこのパン屋で働いていました. It says the correct answer is 私たちは2011年からこのパン屋で働いています Why can't I ...
user5507535's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
97 views

終わる to mean closed shop

Is it a natural or at least used way to say "closed" like in that example, using the verb 終わる ? A : 今7時ですが、スーパーは終わりましたか。 B : いいえ、8時まで開いているはずですよ。
Poulp's user avatar
  • 607
4 votes
2 answers
591 views

What is the difference between していたりします and したりしています

For example 歌を歌ったりしていますか? vs 歌を歌っていたりしますか? Also for a sentence like this: あなた、私が盗んだと思っていたりします? vs あなた、私が盗んだと思ったりしています? I've asked a native speaker and apparently the second sentence seems more ...
Tomm's user avatar
  • 1,607
0 votes
2 answers
188 views

How does these sentences work in regard to tenses when translated into natural English?

Source 月曜の夜には、そこは閉まってる。 The source sentence says: “On monday nights it was closed.” But why not 閉まっていた then? Since it happened in the past. I think 閉まった might also work to describe that the place ...
美しい孤独's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
121 views

Katta in nagamete itakatta

So, I was trying to make a translation, and I found nagamete itakatta. I thought it was referring to the te form and the past tense of iru combined, then there was katta, which I also thought was past ...
Star Peep's user avatar
  • 170
1 vote
0 answers
127 views

Why not the past tense before 方 in this sentence?

みんなが彼の指差す方を見たんだ。 Why not 指差した or 指差していた ?
美しい孤独's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
223 views

Why is it おいしかったです and not おいしかったでした? [duplicate]

There are a few other questions related to this, but they do not explain the why of the matter. As I understand it です is present tense while でした is past tense. As such, I would (wrongly) intuit to say ...
Mitchell van Zuylen's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
164 views

“ている” usage related question

Are “どこに行くの” and “どこに行っているの” both correct? If I regard “ている” in this sentence as “progressive tense”, why is it that I have seen people mostly say 行く? Also, can the ている also be used when talking about ...
美しい孤独's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
84 views

Could the “ていない” in “絶対無理って言ってない?” be interpreted as past?

“絶対無理って言ってない?” from context I would translate it as “didn’t you say it was impossible?”, but I just can’t wrap my head around the grammar. How would “って言ってなかった?” or “って言わなかった?” change the meaning?
美しい孤独's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
93 views

Past tense when noun clause is in the middle of the sentence

For this sentence, how does past tense apply with noun clauses Mr Suzuki was writer who wanted to live near the forest Do I say 鈴木さんは森林の近くに住みたい作家でした。 or 鈴木さんは森林の近くに住みたかった作家でした。
SpikedHelmet's user avatar
  • 1,103
0 votes
1 answer
231 views

Interpretations of できる and できている

Here are two lines (台詞) from different animes. 女の子って、何でできてる? (放浪息子) でも、それ、じゃ赤ちゃんってどうしてできるんだろう (苺ましまろ) I'm wondering why the verb できる (make) appears in the different tenses but it's expressing same ...
Iori's user avatar
  • 237
2 votes
1 answer
173 views

Why 言うから instead of 言ったから?

これも結局 理沙が言うから 買っちゃったんだよね I only bought this because Risa talked me into it. Why is it not using the past tense: 理沙が言ったから ? Not only was Risa saying this in the past, but even the resulting action ...
max's user avatar
  • 1,079
0 votes
1 answer
78 views

What is the correct tense for を生み?

一つの時代の積み重ねが新たな伝説を生み、ここにまた一人のヒーローが誕生した。ロックマン (source) Here are two translations I have: The culmination of one era gives birth to a new legend, and here again another hero is born. The efforts of an ...
SomaRise's user avatar
  • 709
1 vote
2 answers
299 views

Don't understand past tense used as present perfect in Japanese

I'm reading a Japanese beginners book in which I have found a 'present perfect' sentence for the first time, but I don't understand it very well: The sentence 見たことがある女の人がいます according to my book, is ...
Martel's user avatar
  • 179
1 vote
1 answer
302 views

Helping verb きた vs. きていた

During studies I recently stumbled over this sentence: 大きな犬がこっちに走ってきたので、びっくりした。 My question is why きた is used in 走ってきた. I would have guessed it should be a きていた, as びっくりした is past tense and 走って ...
omgold's user avatar
  • 11
3 votes
2 answers
167 views

What tense to use for verbs describing abstract actions?

Here are 3 examples of 重きを置く. 昔は徳育に重きを置いた。People used to attach weight to moral culture. [斉藤和英大辞典] 聞くことと話すことに重きを置いた言語獲得の体系 system of language acquisition focusing intensively on listening and ...
Cabbage's user avatar
  • 882
2 votes
2 answers
114 views

A counter example to the rule on tense in relative clauses?

In the comments to this question I learnt that 明日、林さんに会うときに、この本を返そう and 明日、林さんに会ったときに、この本を返そう have the same meaning, although 会った is more common. With my current understanding, that the tense in a ...
user3856370's user avatar
  • 29.4k
4 votes
1 answer
167 views

相対テンス in 名詞修飾 is also true when it comes to アスペクト(テイル) or other forms like 〜てしまう, etc?

According to 初級を教える人のための日本語文法ハンドブック, in Japanese, 名詞修飾 is mostly 相対テンス, and sometimes 絶対テンス if that is the only way where the context can make sense. However, it says it only discusses テンス, but not ...
vincentlin's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
36 views

onomatopoeia+した as modifiers [duplicate]

Examples like あっさりした味、ちょっとした風邪、きちんとした身なり have onomatopoeia+した as modifiers. There do not seem to be examples with した replaced with する. Is this observation correct? If so, is there a reason why した is ...
Cabbage's user avatar
  • 882
2 votes
1 answer
63 views

「そこで泳ぐことがありますか」or 「そこで泳いだことがありますか」

I'm asked to complete the following sentence with the appropriate inflected form of the verb: The book provided a translation: "Have you ever had a swim there?" This indicates experience as ...
Nameless's user avatar
  • 1,510
2 votes
0 answers
51 views

ことにする tenses nuances [duplicate]

What are the nuances related to tense change about these sentences : 早く起きることにしました。 早く起きることにします。 早く起きることにしています。 Do the intensity or moment of the decision is different for each form ?
Poulp's user avatar
  • 607
2 votes
0 answers
40 views

Use of the past for a request? [duplicate]

In One Punch Man, Genos says ちょっと待った instead of ちょっと待って when asking Saitama to wait. Why?
Simon's user avatar
  • 989
1 vote
0 answers
45 views

Point of view in Japanese writing, verb tenses and temporal location? [duplicate]

A little while ago, I asked this question about the Japanese point of view: How do you identify the point of view in Japanese (for novels)? The answer seemed to be that you need to watch for the ...
Simon's user avatar
  • 989
2 votes
3 answers
274 views

Is it not needed to use an adjective in the ta-form when paired with 時 as a temporal adverbial clause?

According to Essential Japanese Grammar by Masahiro Tanimori and Eriko Sato (page 352), we can pair adjectives in the ta-form with 時 to form a temporal adverbial clause. Strangely, the book doesn't ...
Nameless's user avatar
  • 1,510
3 votes
1 answer
101 views

Using だった for things that haven't changed

I'm a little confused by the tenses in the following monologue taken from the beginning of a manga chapter: 黒い服が好きだった 昏い闇の中に居ても 安心して溶け込んでいられるから    この年になっても私は    中二病を拗らせたままでいる Now, in my native ...
kuchitsu's user avatar
  • 2,715
2 votes
1 answer
441 views

になりました vs になっています

Can someone explain the difference between these two to me? 長い間日本語を勉強しなくて、下手になりました 長い間日本語を勉強しなくて、下手になっています The way I understand it currently is that the first one indicates that at some point in ...
Lint's user avatar
  • 25

1
2 3 4 5 6