Japanese Language Stack Exchange
Japanese Language Stack Exchange

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.

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ありがとうございます vs. ありがとうございました

When thanking someone, what is the rule for using ありがとうございます vs. ありがとうございました? My sensei taught us to use ありがとうございました when the action you're thanking someone for occurred in the past, but I've heard ありがとうございます used plenty of times right after the…
Amanda S
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"太ってる猫" vs "太った猫"

I saw this sentence and its translation in a textbook 彼女は太った猫が好きじゃない。 She doesn't like fat cats I was under the impression that 「太ってる猫」 means something like “cat that is in the state of becoming fat”, which basically means “fat”, so I was…
Pacerier
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How do I express sentences like: He is dying?

For instance, "He is eating" is "Kare wa tabete iru". However, "He is dying" is not "Kare wa shinde iru". Another example is "He is going to Japan" is not "Kare wa nihon ni itte iru". So if I can't use the "te iru" form to express an action…
dotnetN00b
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Why does the narrator switch tenses here? ～いました　～です

I'm currently reading The Tale of Peter Rabbit in Japanese, but the opening to the story is confusing me a bit. [昔々]{むかしむかし}あるところに、四[匹]{ひき}の小さなウサギがいました。彼らの[名前]{なまえ}はプロプシー、モプシー、コットンテールとピーターです。 As you can see, the first sentence is in the past…
Miguel
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Why is a verb in the past (た形) contradicted with ～ていない?

In the episode of the anime Sora no Otoshimono linked below, the following exchange occurs several times (beginning at 3:06): A: 呼んだ？ You called? B: 呼んでねええ No I didn't! Could someone please explain why B chose to contradict A with 呼んでいない rather…
G-Cam
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Would the plain form of a verb usually be translated as future tense?

In a recent question I asked, this example sentence was offered: 映画を見る。 (I will watch a movie.) What struck me about this was that the translated version was the future tense. However, I always thought the plain form of a verb was…
Questioner
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How do I say "before" or "used to" in Japanese?

朝、作文を書いた時、疑問に思いました。 How can I say something like: I didn't use to like this band. Before, I didn't like this band.
Myeongunder
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Difference between 行ったから and 行ってから　and 行くから

What is the difference in usage between 行ったから and 行ってから and 行くから? Is there a sense of sequence implied in one and not the other? In the following examples where would i be buying the book and where would i be saying this? Like in I bought the book…
Mark Hosang
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い-Adjective Conjugation: かったです vs でした

When we first studied adjective conjugation in my Japanese class, I kept making the same mistake habitually; I would conjugate the past tense of い-adjectives with でした at the end instead of dropping the い and adding かったです. My teacher would correct…
atlantiza
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Are Japanese "tenses" aspects in disguise?

I read a lot of posts here saying that Japanese has this thing called "aspects". e.g. Must I use past tense before 後? ありがとうございます vs. ありがとうございました I am confused with Japanese tense Since Japanese is heavily influenced by Chinese, which seems to only…
Sweeper
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Non conventional usage of the past tense

Why is the past tense used in this verbs (which doesn't make sense to me at least) 生きていた…？違うな…死ねなかったのだよ…！ 再生機能を持ったこのアーマーに押し込みおった and the translation uses present tense Survive? That's easy... Because I can't die! And switched my body for this…
Jon
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How do you say "I have been [...]"?

How would I say “I have been [...]” as in “I have been studying Japanese.” or “I have been working at an office”? If I remember correctly it is a particular verb conjugation and this would be considered past progressive tense. Correct? I would…
Unique Depiction
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How should we understand the plain form when used in novels set in the past?

I am trying to understand how the plain form is used in novels set in the past through the explanations in the paper referenced below. I wonder if someone could explain how we should understand the Japanese version of the following examples:…
Tim
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Present vs. past tense with certain verbs?

～ことにする　ｖｓ　～ことにした ～と思う　ｖｓ　～と思った What sort of context would you use either of these? Does the past tense imply that you've changed your decisions or thoughts?
bvblue
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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 these examples and now I'm confused: テレビはAl…
Jay Lean
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