離れてた

[Carabas]

Hello,

I'm a bit confused about the use of 離れてた in the second sentence of the following passage. It's from a story about a girl who has to deal with the death of her brother (he was killed in an accident):

２歳の時に死んじゃったお父さんの記憶はほとんどなく て

# I've almost completely forgotten my father who passed away when I was two years old.

１０歳も離れてたおにいちゃんがお父さんのようなもの だった

# "My brother, who was taken from me when I was ten, was like a father to me."?

My question is why the author uses the continuous tense for the "１０歳も離れてたおにいちゃん" part. And am I right with my translation?

 

[Elizabeth]

Hello,

I'm a bit confused about the use of 離れてた in the second sentence of the following passage. It's from a story about a girl who has to deal with the death of her brother (he was killed in an accident):

２歳の時に死んじゃったお父さんの記憶はほとんどなくて

# I've almost completely forgotten my father who passed away when I was two years old.

１０歳も離れてたおにいちゃんがお父さんのようなものだった

# "My brother, who was taken from me when I was ten, was like a father to me."?

My question is why the author uses the continuous tense for the "１０歳も離れてたおにいちゃん" part. And am I right with my translation?

Not quite.....I think he's saying his brother, who is ten years older (separated in years in other words) felt like a father to the speaker.

 

[Carabas]

Not quite.....I think he's saying his brother, who is ten years older (separated in years in other words) felt like a father to the speaker.

Oh, I see. So that sentence means "My ten years older brother was like a father to me"?