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condition+〜てしまいそうだった

zuotengdazuo

Sempai
8 Dec 2019
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Hi. As shown by the two examples above, are the two だったs (instead of just だ) used at the end of sentence because the clauses 〜てしまいそうだったs are preceded by conditions?
I mean, if there are no 〜たら/〜なら, we can use そうだ. But if there is a condition, we must use そうだった? I think so because I associate it with the counterfactual だった.
Thank you.
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There is no problem with そうだ as a common usage of the present form in narrative part of a novel, as you must be familiar with.
 
Thank you. So if they appear in a dialogue or conversation or other text than narrative part of a novel, does the existence of a condition necessitates そうだった? Or we we can also use そうだ and the そうだった is just usual past tense?
 
そうだ works well as the present tense also in conversations. I don't think the second one is "counterfactual" in the first place. She really asked him to do something, no?
 
Thank you again. I said the second one was counterfactual because he didn't really nod his head.
 
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