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しかし、士道は荒れそうになっていた呼吸をどうにか整えると、どこにいるとも知れない狂三に言葉を投げた。

Hi. Can we change the bold part into そうになった? If we can, what would be the difference between そうになっていた and そうになった?

Thank you.

chino alpha
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1 Answers1

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荒れそうになっていた describes the continuation of state; the state of 荒れそう has continued for some time. For example, if 士道 was saying something before this sentence, perhaps he was already in the 呼吸が荒れそう state while he was talking.

荒れそうになった refers to an instant change. His way of breathing almost changed (maybe because he suddenly lost his temper), but he regained the control on his breath soon after that.

There is a difference in meaning, and which is correct depends on the context (I don't even know what made his breath ragged).

naruto
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  • Thank you. So what do you mean by “荒れそう”? Does 荒れそうになっていた mean 士道’s breath was in the state of “being almost ragged”? Or does it mean 士道’s breath was in the state of “appearing to be ragged”? – chino alpha Dec 05 '20 at 09:17