36270
In the following sentence, ”だったが" is used in an unfamiliar way to me.

>
> 12世紀後半、父への反発心から獅子心王リチャード率いる十字軍遠征に参加した英国貴族ロックスリー卿の息子のロビンだったが、ムスリム軍に捕らわれ、処刑を待つ身となっていた。

I've seen things like "今回の問題なんですが" used in the sense of "今回の問題は", in other
words to introduce a topic. Is だったが in the above sense used in the same way,
to introduce Robin? If so, why is past tense used?
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-28T15:38:24.853
36262
2016-06-29T02:10:24.630
11825
question
usage
Using だった to introduce a subject
I feel this topic-introductory use of 「 **だった** が」 is licensed by the relative
clause 「12世紀後半、父への反発心から獅子心王リチャード率いる十字軍遠征に参加した」 modifying the topic word(s)
「(英国貴族ロックスリー卿の息子の)ロビン」. Here, what is being introduced is not merely a person,
「ロビン」, which in itself lacks specific temporal reference, but a person and his
action in the past (or "the past of the past"), described by the relative
clause, namely that of having enlisted in the Crusade. (This piece of
information is very important in the sentence, and as much a part of its topic
as 「ロビン」, I think, since without having done so he wouldn't consequently have
been captured by the Muslims and been awaiting execution.) Hence the 「 **だった**
が」.

However, perhaps despite everything I have explained so far, a plain old 「だが」
can replace the 「だったが」 here, and the sentence remains perfectly fine (though
possibly with some very subtle differences in nuance.) To wit, the following
two sentences are grammatical (I stripped away the parts I deemed ~~hard to
come up with good translation for~~ irrelevant and cumbersome):

> (1) 十字軍遠征に参加したロビン **だが** 、ムスリム軍に捕らわれ、処刑を待つ身となっていた。
>
> (2) 十字軍遠征に参加したロビン **だったが** 、ムスリム軍に捕らわれ、処刑を待つ身となっていた。

And I see no problem in translating them both as:

> (1,2) Robin, who had enlisted in a/the crusade, had been captured by the
> Muslims and was now awaiting execution.

But without the relative clause 「十字軍遠征に参加した」:

> (3) ?ロビン **だが** 、ムスリム軍に捕らわれ、処刑を待つ身となっていた。
>
> (4) *ロビン **だったが** 、ムスリム軍に捕らわれ、処刑を待つ身となっていた。

(3) seems marginally okay (though I would prefer 「は」 to 「だが」 here, or
something like 「ロビンのことだが(×だったが)、彼は...」 but this sounds too colloquial, like
you are talking to someone in conversation), but (4) sounds plain wrong to me.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-28T21:27:56.400
36270
2016-06-29T02:10:24.630
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
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answer