73899
I found this sentence in this link: <http://watanoc.com/post-1608-gozira> So
there's a part where it says:アメリカの映画だと思っていました but why to use the て-form
instead of the ます-form? The meaning wouldn't be the same if I use the ます-form?
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2020-01-15T23:46:17.033
73898
2020-01-16T16:20:07.513
2020-01-16T16:20:07.513
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question
grammar english-to-japanese
Why to use 思っていました instead of 思いました?
There is a clear difference in meaning.

> 「思いました」

means **"(I) thought"**. You thought (or felt) something momentarily in the
past (including the immediate past "just now").

> 「思っていました」

means **"(I) have/had been thinking/feeling"**. The thinking lasted for some
time. That time period could be quite short or it could be very long such as
multiple years or even your whole life so far.

In very informal conversations, however, some native speakers might use
「思いました」 instead of 「思っていました」, but not the other way around.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-16T00:44:29.317
73899
2020-01-16T00:44:29.317
73898
answer