1

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 know the former is 過去完了 and the latter is 現在完了.

Thank you.

chino alpha
  • 4,071
  • 1
  • 6
  • 12

1 Answers1

3

I assume you understand Japanese relative tense. This 持て余していた is in the past-progressive form simply because 持て余す is something that was happening before the action of 走る happened. In other words, the sentence is saying he had a lot of energy and he has not known how to unleash it for some time.

naruto
  • 285,549
  • 12
  • 305
  • 582
  • Thank you. I see. I read that thread before I post my question. So if 持て余している is used in the sentence, what nuance it would convey? – chino alpha Mar 31 '20 at 03:54
  • 1
    @chinoalpha Then the sentence only means he somehow had excess energy when he ran. But he is saying 今こそ, so I suppose this guy has been frustrated for quite some time. If that's the case 持て余していた力 refers to that situation in the past. – naruto Mar 31 '20 at 04:09
  • Thank you again. I see. By the way, does the original sentence (持て余していた) tell us when his excessive strength/energy will expire? – chino alpha Mar 31 '20 at 07:12