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I know that んだった and んじゃなかった can be used to say "Should have done" and
"Shouldn't have done". I am wondering, however, if they can be used as a past
version of んだ Take for example this conversation:

> **A friend** : You never spend time with me
>
> **You** : 忙しいんだ (The thing is, I'm busy)

Now I try with んだった

> **A friend** : You never _spent_ time with me
>
> **You** : 忙しいんだった (I was busy, that was why)

Is this incorrect or correct?

Much appreciated

Daniel Safari
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2013-02-06T17:29:04.770
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2013-02-06T22:57:13.013
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
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grammar usage meaning particle-の
Can んだった and んじゃなかった be used like the past version of んだ and んじゃない?
> 忙しいんだった

I could imagine saying this (to myself) if I accidentally bothered someone,
after being told to leave them alone because they were busy.

"it was the case that [he?] **is** busy"

"(oh, I forgot,) [you] were busy" (and still are)

You can't say something like `あ、忙しかった` for this purpose -- that implies
they're no longer busy.

> 忙しかったんです

This fits the situation you're describing.
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2013-02-06T18:30:53.803
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2013-02-06T18:30:53.803
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answer
I'm going to offer a different answer.

I think it does not work the way you think.

んだ is a statement, which works as emphasis of what is being said/thought
_now_. It can not be used the same way in the past.

> 忙しいんだ。  
>  It's just that I'm busy.

has as past tense

> 忙しかったんだ。  
>  It's just that I was busy.

whereas

> It **was** just that I was busy.

cannot be expressed in Japanese the same way. 忙しかったんだった is certainly most
cumbersome. In English, "It's just that" can be conjugated to "It was just
that" to make an explanation about something in the past, which is not how it
works in Japanese.
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2013-02-06T22:57:13.013
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2013-02-06T22:57:13.013
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