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I'm still just learning Japanese,so forgive me if this is a silly question.
I'm confused... How can something be "zutto" and "datta" at the same time?

**(A)** ずっと好きだった (zutto suki datta) Which I translated as " **had always
liked.** " (making the "suki" past tense)

But I saw someone else translate:

**(B)** "ずっとあなたが好きだった" (zutto anata ga suki datta) as " _I’ve always loved
you._ "

Which is correct? Is the "like/suki" continuous or just past tense?
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2018-06-14T14:45:37.467
59445
2018-06-14T20:12:56.057
2018-06-14T18:44:16.223
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question
grammar tense aspect
Question regarding Zutto and Datta in the same clause
First of all, 「好{す}き」 is an **adjective** and not a verb, meaning there is no
such thing as present or past "tense" for the word. If you knew this, I would
apologize, but I had to mention it after reading your comment like "making the
'suki' past tense".

Thus, your question is actually about the tense of 「だった」 instead.

> 「ずっと好きだった。」

can mean both:

> 1) "I **have** always liked you."
>
> 2) "I **had** always liked you."

This "fact" always surprises English-speaking Japanese-learners because to
them, those two English sentences mean very different things. 1) says "I still
like you." and 2) can mean "I no longer like you."

Japanese is a highly contextual language. What the sentence 「ずっと好きだった」 means
**_in terms of tenses as defined in English_** depends entirely on the
context. In this particular case, it depends on whether the temporal reference
point (understood by both speaker and listener) is at the present moment or a
time in the past.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-14T20:12:56.057
59450
2018-06-14T20:12:56.057
59445
answer