# そうになっていた vs そうになった



## thetazuo

しかし、士道は荒れ*そうになっていた*呼吸をどうにか整えると、どこにいるとも知れない狂三に言葉を投げた。

Hi. I sometimes see (連用形+)*そうになっていた. *So what would be the difference between (連用形+)そうになっていた and  (連用形+)そうになった? Both can mean “almost”.

Thank you.


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## Flaminius

Both mean "almost X" but they differ in how long the subject stays in the neighbourhood of X.  I also note that it's the nature of the subject that selects either of the constructions, not vice versa.

Generally 呼吸 takes some time to change from heavy breath to smooth, and from smooth to heavy.  It is natural that it took some time for 士道 to catch his breath.  In contrast, one can hardly stay on the verge of falling for a long time.  E.g., 山田は石につまづいて転びそうになった体勢をあわてて立て直した.  I don't think you can use 転びそうになっていた in this example.


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## thetazuo

Thank you. I got it.


Flaminius said:


> Both mean "almost X" but they differ in how long X stays in the neighbourhood.


By the way, what do you mean by “neighborhood”?


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## Flaminius

Vicinity.  I edited my first post but you seem to have quoted me before my edit.

The two constructions differ in how long the subject stays in the neighbourhood of X
, where X is e.g., 荒れる, or 転ぶ.


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## thetazuo

Thank you again. I see.


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## thetazuo

そして何よりもーー今、<ファントム>を逃がしてしまうわけにはいかない。士道は、油断すると見失ってしまい*そうになる*ノイズの塊を目で追いながら、さらに足に力を入れた。

Hi. 士道 was chasing the <ファントム>, which is the same as ノイズの塊.

Is the difference between 「動词(ます)+そうになっている」and「動词(ます)+そうになる」the same as that which was explained post#2?

And can I also think this way?
「動词(ます)+そうになっている」refers to a state of “almost doing something”, which has continued for some time, while  「動词(ます)+そうになる」refers to an instant change.

Thank you.


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## Flaminius

Oh, this is interesting.  Grammatically, I think nothing stops one from saying 見失ってしまいそうになっている, but it doesn't sound right.  The narrative would feel quite incongruous.  As it is now, the text conveys Shidō's anxiety and apprehension over losing sight of the "lump of noise."  A giveaway is the use of しまう.  Against the background, a natural diction is not so much about describing the process of losing the sight of the noise as the prospect of missing it once and for all.  The version なる is preferred because the perfective form denotes a whole action.


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## thetazuo

Thank you. I see.
So can I generalize as follows?


thetazuo said:


> 「動词(ます)+そうになっている」refers to a state of “almost doing something”, which has continued for some time, while 「動词(ます)+そうになる」refers to an instant change.


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## Flaminius

Yes.You have a clever distinction there, i.e., process and instant change.  FYI, language people specialising in Japanese often talk about durative ans punctual verbs.


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## thetazuo

Thank you.


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