In my Pimsleur study, a question is asked: (have you made the hotel reservations?) ホテルを予約しましたか。 They give as a reply: (no, I haven't made the reservations yet.) いいえ、まだ予約していません。
I thought the answer should be: いいえ、 まだ予約しませんでした。
I really don't understand their answer, so I hope that theirs is just a mistake and that I am right. If theirs is correct, can someone please explain why? Because I'd hate to be missing something so basic. Thanks!
Update:Sorry, I still don't get it. Rather than using present progressive negative, it sounds more like one would say: いいえまだです、でも予約するつもりです or more simply いいえ、でも[「すぐ」します。
I'm just drawing a blank on the purpose of answering a simple past question with a progressive present negative. It would be really awkward in English, so it is messing up my Japanese I guess, especially when there seems to be more intuitive alternatives (like simple past negative and/or positive future intent).
But if progressive is the more natural way to make that answer in Japanese, then I'll to do it by rote rather than through understand if I have to.
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
予約しませんでした isn't incorrect, but using it with まだ (still) isn't.
-I still have not made a reservation. (ongoing, non-past) まだ予約していません
-I still had not made a reservation (ongoing, past) まだ予約していませんでした
-I did not make a reservation. (past) 予約していません
-I still did not make a reservation. (incorrect, what you're trying to say.)
In Japanese, an ongoing state is made by adding the auxiliary verb いる to the て-form of another. The new verb conjugates like any other, so -ていない -not ongoing, and -ていた -was ongoing -ています -polite version.
It is often synonymous with the English "verb-ing", or "is currently verbed", so usually a straightforward translation.
Edit:
The original quesion was asking if a reservation had been made. If it used the progressive ホテルを予約していますか, that would be asking "Are you making a reserveration?"
A progressive answer is used to give the idea of, "I did not make the reservation, but I intend to", rather than the finalized "I did not make one".
Shimasen