What is difference between 財布が落ちていた and 財布が落ちている? Both refer to the state of
財布, right? So, what is the difference?

(My main question is I want to know the difference between (が/は)～ていた and
(が/は)～ている when they refer to the state of something)
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2018-10-23T17:58:03.320
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aspect
Question about ている ていた for explaining state for something
The difference is the current state of the wallet.

If the wallet is currently falling or in a certain location (on the floor,
etc..) as a direct result of having fallen, you use 落ちている. If the wallet was
falling in the past **and** has already been picked up/removed from the state
that resulted from falling (or was removed from the state of falling by being
caught in midair), you use 落ちていた.

Note that if you just say 財布が落ちた you are simply specifying that the wallet
fell at some point, but either you don't know whether or not it is still in
the resulting state or it just doesn't matter enough to specify.
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2018-10-23T18:08:43.223
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財布が落ちている refers to the _current_ state of the wallet. The wallet fell in the
past, and you are seeing its result _now_.

財布が落ちていた is relatively more complicated because it involves two different time
points in the past. 財布が落ちていた refers to the state of the wallet _in the past_.
It describes what the wallet _was_ like at the time of a certain event in the
past. When you saw a wallet on the street yesterday, and want to report that
fact _now_ , you say 昨日道に財布が落ちていた. We are not interested in the current status
of the wallet.

Let me reintroduce the diagram I made for [another similar
question](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/57193/5010). This uses other
instant state-change verbs (帰る/割れる) as examples, but 落ちる is also an instant
state-change verb. "Point of change" refers to the time when someone dropped
the wallet, and the eye icon indicates the time you perceive(d) that fact.

[![past/present
perfective](https://i.stack.imgur.com/dY6BD.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/dY6BD.png)
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