していません vs しませんでした

[dwcarless]

Hi! I'm new here, and pretty much a newbie, and I hope newbie questions won't get flamed :)

I've been using Pimsleur in addition with book study, but every so often they throw something at me which I can't find a reference for and that is totally incomprehensible.

In lesson 3-7 they ask: "have you made an hotel reservation?" and translate it as 「ホテルを予約しましたか。」 And then they reply: "no, I haven't made a reservation yet." and translate it as 「いいえ、まだ予約していません。」

I totally do not understand that. I hope Pimsleur just screwed this one up, because if they didn't then I am missing something really basic I'm afraid. But they keep repeating that format, so now I am worried.

First, that seems that the translation is really "I am not making a reservation yet" which is awkward to me and doesn't seem to answer the question. I would have said　いいえ、まだ予約しませんでした。　or just　予約しませんでした。 answering the simple past tense with a simple past negative.

Or, if the idea was to say "not yet, but I intend to" or "not yet, but I will", wouldn't it be いいえまだです、でも予約するつもりです。　or more simply いいえ、でも　「すぐ」　します。 ?

So I guess my question is, why are they using non-past progressive negative to answer simple past, especially when there are several alternatives that seem more intuitive? Is using progressive the more natural way to make that answer in Japanese?

Thanks for any help that you can provide!

[Elizabeth]

Hi! I'm new here, and pretty much a newbie, and I hope newbie questions won't get flamed :)

I've been using Pimsleur in addition with book study, but every so often they throw something at me which I can't find a reference for and that is totally incomprehensible.

In lesson 3-7 they ask: "have you made an hotel reservation?" and translate it as 「ホテルを予約しましたか。」 And then they reply: "no, I haven't made a reservation yet." and translate it as 「いいえ、まだ予約していません。」

I totally do not understand that. I hope Pimsleur just screwed this one up, because if they didn't then I am missing something really basic I'm afraid. But they keep repeating that format, so now I am worried.

First, that seems that the translation is really "I am not making a reservation yet" which is awkward to me and doesn't seem to answer the question. I would have said　いいえ、まだ予約しませんでした。　or just　予約しませんでした。 answering the simple past tense with a simple past negative.

Or, if the idea was to say "not yet, but I intend to" or "not yet, but I will", wouldn't it be いいえまだです、でも予約するつもりです。　or more simply いいえ、でも　「すぐ」　します。 ?

So I guess my question is, why are they using non-past progressive negative to answer simple past, especially when there are several alternatives that seem more intuitive? Is using progressive the more natural way to make that answer in Japanese?

Thanks for any help that you can provide!
していません can be either the negative present perfect or present progressive. The present perfect tense is also indicated by the te form. It is made by combining the te form with iru/imasu.　


For a slightly more formal sentence, there is "まだ～していない" when it follows a noun. As you can figure out, it translates as "I haven't done something yet.".

The basic form is "（まだ）～てない".
e.g.
まだ見てない=I haven't seen/watched yet.
まだ見つけてない=I haven't found yet.
まだ食べてない=I haven't had/eaten yet.
まだ覚えてない=I haven't learned/memorized yet.


Just as in English 'Haven't done it yet" まだしていない。is much more common and natural in everyday situations than "Didn't do it yet" まだしませんでした。

[dwcarless]

Ah ok -- I see it now.

まだ、しませんでした = I didn't do it yet
まだ、していません = I haven't done it yet

And present perfect vs present progressive then must be determined through context.

Ha, I can't say I am a big fan of perfect tenses in English, and I can see that I won't be a big fan of them in Japanese either. But practice makes "perfect", so I'll keep at it ;) Thank you for the comprehensive answer!

[Elizabeth]

Ah ok -- I see it now.

まだ、しませんでした = I didn't do it yet
まだ、していません = I haven't done it yet
まだ、しませんでした Whether technically grammatical or not, I would say まだ here is considered "hen," odd or not normal, in Japanese. Stick with the perfect for now. :relief: