93859
There's [this song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpYy6wwqxoo) from LiSA
that I've been trying to understand the lyrics. However, there is something
that is bothering me right at the start.

The first verse of the song reads as

> 強くなれる理由を知った

and it gets translated as (watch the video with subtitles on, at 1:05)

> I've found a reason to become strong

Now, what's bothering me is that we normally use 知っている to say that we know
something. So I was expecting to see 知っていた for "I knew/I've found".

I think I understand the dilemma of 知る vs 知っている in the present, the latter
being a change of state (of not knowing to knowing) and hence the usage of
～ている. But what if the verb is in the past? What are the differences between
知った and 知っていた, and why is the former used in the lyrics?
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2022-03-23T12:27:38.070
93807
2022-03-26T22:07:46.257
32479
question
grammar word-choice usage nuances conjugations
Differences between 知った and 知っていた
verb-た is not a past tense per se, it's the accomplished form. (That's why you
can see it used for sentence speaking about the future.)

知った doesn't only mean "I knew", it means "before I didn't know, and after I
knew." The fact of my knowing has been accomplished.  
知っていた means I was in the knowing both before and after, there are no changes
happening here.
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2022-03-23T17:52:19.433
93814
2022-03-23T17:52:19.433
1065
93807
answer
As far as you are speaking in the affirmative, the verb 知る is like any other
verb that describes an instantaneous change of state. The dictionary form
refers to a change that either happens habitually or will happen in the
future. It can be translated as “get to know” or “learn” The simple past form
知った only describes a change that happened in the past. It corresponds to “got
to know” or “learned.” The English verb “know” is the one that is peculiar
here as its simple past form “knew” can describe both a past state and a past
change of state.

知っている refers to a current state where you “know” something. Technically
speaking, this is a state that resulted from a past change of state, although
you are not always conscious of what put you in that state or when that event
happened. Similarly, its past version 知っていた describes a past state that,
technically speaking, resulted from an earlier change of state. This
corresponds to “knew” in its stative sense.

The peculiarity of the Japanese verb comes into play when you start talking in
the negative. The simple negative form 知らない refers to a current state where
you don’t know something, not a change of state that doesn’t or won’t happen.
知らなかった is used for a similar state in the past, not a change of state that
didn’t happen. 知っていない and 知っていなかった are both ungrammatical and should never be
used.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-26T22:07:46.257
93859
2022-03-26T22:07:46.257
43676
93807
answer