In Japanese 形容動詞 can be used as part of a noun phrase in the past tense
(contrary to adjectives in English), e.g:

> 「綺麗だった花」 → "the beautifulpast flower" → "the flower that was beautiful"

We can combine the noun phrase with a verb phrase, with every combination of
past and present tense for either of the verb and the 形容動詞:

>   1. 綺麗な花を買う。  
>
>   2. 綺麗な花を買った。  
>
>   3. 綺麗だった花を買う。  
>
>   4. 綺麗だった花を買った。
>

I can see the following interpretation of the last three sentences:

  2. This can have two interpretations: 

    * The flower was beautiful at the time of buying, and may or may not be beautiful at the time of speaking.
    * The flower is beautiful at the time of speaking, and it may or may not have been beautiful at the time of buying.
  3. This can have two interpretations:

    * The flower has been beautiful in the past, but no longer is at the time of speaking.
    * The flower was beautiful in the past, and may still be beautiful at the time of speaking.
  4. This can have three interpretations:

    * The flower was beautiful at a time before buying, but no longer was at the time of buying, which is before the time of speaking. So to say: _"I bought the flower that **had been** beautiful once."_
    * The flower was beautiful at the time of buying, but no longer is at the time of speaking. 
    * The flower was beautiful at a time before buying, and may or may not be at the time of buying, and may or may not be at the time of speaking.

**Question 1** : Are these interpretations grammatical? Am I missing
interpretations?

**Question 2** : Are these interpretations natural (i.e. would a fluent
speaker interpret them this way)?

**Question 3** : Do 形容詞 work in an equivalent manner? (e.g. 美しかった花を買う, etc.)
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2020-01-28T16:51:28.100
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2020-01-28T16:51:28.100
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adjectives i-adjectives na-adjectives
Interpreting the past tense of 形容動詞 / 形容詞 / adjectives