difference between 死んでいる and 死んでいた [Archive] - Japan Forum

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Simi
Feb 26, 2009, 14:58
What is the difference between 死んでいます and 死んでいました?
My 日本語の先生 explained resultative verbs once briefly, but I'm still a little confused about the difference tenses.

I'd really appreciate a straight-forward explanation.


ありがとうございます

ASHIKAGA
Feb 26, 2009, 17:38
死んでいます is in the present tense while 死んでいました is in the past.

手遅れです。この患者は死んでいます(亡くなっていま す)。
It's too late. This patient is dead (deceased).

15分前に私が診た時にはもうすでに死んでいました( 亡くなっていました)。
When I checked (the patient) 15 minutes ago, s/he was already dead (deceased).

nhk9
Mar 14, 2009, 11:27
"Resultative Verb" is just a fancy way of saying verbs that express a condition. In English, we tend to use the present perfect or past perfect.
Like how we say "Brad Pitt has had experience filming hollywood movies"