Japanese Grammar – He was my friend, but he did something rude. 🇯🇵

かれ は ともだち____けど, しつれい な こと を した。

1. Explanation of the Answer:
The word "だった" is the past tense form of "だ," which is the informal form of the copula "です." In the sentence “かれ は ともだち____けど, しつれい な こと を した。” (He was my friend, but he did something rude.), you need to express that "he was my friend" in the past tense. Therefore, "だった" correctly fills in the blank to indicate that they were friends in the past.

2. More Information Needed to Understand This Japanese Grammar Rule:

a. Copula in Japanese:
– The word "だ" is used to link a subject with a predicate and is the informal form of "です."
– In the present tense:
– Affirmative: だ
– Negative: ではない (also seen as じゃない in casual speech)
– In the past tense:
– Affirmative: だった
– Negative: ではなかった (or じゃなかった in casual speech)

b. Conjunction "けど" (but):
– "けど" is used to indicate contrast and works similarly to "but" in English.
– It connects two contrasting clauses, with the first clause often providing a context that contrasts with the second.

c. Sentence Breakdown:
– Full Sentence: かれ は ともだち だった けど, しつれい な こと を した。
– Romanized: Kare wa tomodachi datta kedo, surei na koto o a.
– "かれ" (kare): He
– "は" (wa): Topic marker
– "ともだち" (tomodachi): Friend
– "だった" (datta): Was (past tense of だ)
– "けど" (kedo): But
– "しつれい な こと" (surei na koto): Something rude/rude thing
– "を した" (o a): Did (past tense of する "suru" – to do)

Given this, "だった" is used because it appropriately indicates that "he" was a friend in the past tense, making the sentence grammatically correct and coherent.

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