Learn Hardcore Japanese: mukasi ha sugu okotte imasita ga, ima ha gamansurukoto wo oboete kimasita. - In the past I got angry right away, but now I’ve learned to hold back.

In this sentence, 昔は and 今は are being contrasted as two different time periods. Using は on time expressions like this is very common when you want to say:

“Back then, (I used to…) but now, (I …)”

So the pattern Xは … が、Yは … sets up a contrast between X and Y.

Why is it 怒っていました and not just 怒りました or 怒った?

怒っていました (past progressive / past continuous) here expresses a habitual state or repeated behavior in the past, not one single instance.

すぐ怒っていました = “I would get angry easily / I used to get angry right away.”
- This implies it was your usual tendency or habit in the past.
すぐ怒りました / すぐ怒った = “(I) got angry right away (on that occasion).”
- This sounds like a one-time event or specific situation.

So 〜ていました is often used in the past to talk about ongoing states or repeated habits at that time.

What does すぐ add to the meaning in すぐ怒っていました?

すぐ means “immediately,” “right away,” or “easily / at the slightest thing,” depending on context.

In すぐ怒っていました, it gives the nuance:

“I would get angry right away,”
“I was quick to anger,”
“I would easily get angry.”

So it emphasizes how quickly the anger would appear.

In this sentence, what does が mean after 怒っていました? Is it the subject marker?

Here, が is not the subject marker; it’s a conjunction meaning “but / however.”

昔はすぐ怒っていましたが、今は…
- “In the past, I used to get angry easily, but now…”

This use of が at the end of a clause to mean “but” is extremely common in spoken and written Japanese. It links the first statement to a contrasting second statement.

What is 我慢する and why do we have 我慢すること instead of just 我慢する?

我慢 is a noun meaning “patience,” “endurance,” “putting up with something,” “self-control.”
我慢する is the verb “to endure,” “to put up with,” “to be patient,” “to hold oneself back.”

In 我慢することを覚えてきました, the こと turns the verb phrase 我慢する into a noun phrase:

我慢すること = “the act of being patient,” “how to endure,” “the practice of self-restraint.”

Japanese often uses V + こと when that action is treated as a thing / concept / skill.
So the sentence is like:

“I have come to learn the act of being patient / how to be patient.”

You cannot directly say 我慢するを覚える; you need こと (or sometimes の) to nominalize the verb.

What does 覚えてきました mean here, and how is it different from just 覚えました?

覚える can mean “to memorize” or “to learn / to acquire / to develop (a habit, feeling, or skill).”

覚えました by itself: “I learned it / I memorized it.”
- Neutral about when or how that happened.
覚えてきました uses the 〜てくる pattern:
- It indicates a gradual change leading up to the present.
- Nuance: “I have come to learn it (over time),” “I have gradually learned it / acquired it.”

So in context:

我慢することを覚えてきました。
⇒ “I have (gradually) learned to be patient (up to now),”
⇒ “I’ve come to know how to control myself.”

The 〜てくる form adds a sense of process over time, not just a completed one-time learning event.

What is the nuance of 〜てくる in 覚えてきました? Why not just say 覚えるようになりました?

〜てくる often describes a change that has progressed toward the present:

覚えてきました: “(I) have come to learn / have gradually learned.”

〜ようになる also expresses a change in ability or habit:

我慢できるようになりました: “I have become able to endure it / I can now endure.”
我慢するようになりました: “I have started practicing patience / I now habitually endure.”

Difference in nuance:

覚えてきました focuses on acquiring the skill/knowledge of being patient over time.
〜ようになりました focuses on the resulting ability or habitual behavior (“Now I can / now I do”).

Both fit the general meaning, but 覚えてきました sounds more like, “Over time, I have learned how to be patient.”

Why is the overall tense mixed: 怒っていました (past) and 覚えてきました (past with てくる)? How do the time frames work?

There are three time layers implied:

昔はすぐ怒っていました
- Refers to a past period where your habit was “to get angry easily.”
今は
- Brings us to the present time frame.
我慢することを覚えてきました
- 覚えてきました describes a process that started in the past and continued up to now.
- So the “learning to be patient” began sometime after that “昔” period and has progressed until the present.

So:

Past habitual state: “Back then I would easily get angry.”
Ongoing development culminating in the present: “By now, I have come to learn to be patient.”

Why does 覚える take を (我慢することを覚えてきました) and not が?

Here, 覚える is a transitive verb, and を marks its direct object.

何を覚えるか = “What do you learn / memorize?”
Answer: 我慢すること.

So 我慢することを覚える literally means “to learn the act of enduring / to learn how to be patient.”

Using が would not be correct in this structure; you need を to mark what you are learning.

Could this sentence be rearranged as 今は我慢することを覚えてきましたが、昔はすぐ怒っていました? Would it sound natural?

Yes, grammatically it’s fine:

今は我慢することを覚えてきましたが、昔はすぐ怒っていました。

However, the nuance changes a bit:

Original: 昔はすぐ怒っていましたが、今は我慢することを覚えてきました。
- Starts from the old (negative) habit and then contrasts it with the current (positive) state. This is a typical way to show improvement.
Reversed: 今は…が、昔は…
- Starts from the current state and then looks back to how it used to be.
- It’s okay, but feels slightly less like “I’ve improved” and more like simple comparison.

Both are natural; the original flows more like a “then vs. now” improvement story.

What exactly does 我慢 cover? Is it only “patience,” or does it also mean “putting up with bad things”?

我慢 has a broad nuance:

“patience”
“endurance / perseverance”
“tolerance”
“putting up with something”
“suppressing one’s feelings / desires”

In this sentence, 我慢することを覚えてきました most naturally means:

“I’ve learned to be patient / to control my temper / to hold myself back.”

It suggests self-control, especially with respect to anger, but can also imply enduring uncomfortable situations without complaining.

The subject “I” is not written anywhere. How do we know it means “I used to get angry…” and not “he/she/people”?

Japanese often omits the subject when it’s clear from context.

In this sentence:

The description is about a personal emotional tendency (getting angry easily) and a personal skill acquired over time (learning to be patient).
In conversation or self-introduction, such statements are very commonly about oneself unless specified otherwise.

So:

昔はすぐ怒っていましたが、今は我慢することを覚えてきました。
- In most contexts, this is understood as:
  - “In the past, I used to get angry easily, but now I have learned to be patient.”

If you wanted to specify someone else, you’d usually add a clear subject like:

彼は昔はすぐ怒っていましたが、今は我慢することを覚えてきました。
(“He used to get angry easily, but now he has learned to be patient.”)

Is 怒っていました here describing a state (“was angry”) or repeated actions (“used to get angry”)?

In this context, it describes repeated / habitual actions, not one continuous, unbroken state of anger.

怒っていました can mean either:
- “was angry (at that time)” – a state
- “used to get angry / would get angry” – a repeated tendency

Because it is modified by すぐ (“right away”) and contrasted with “now I’ve learned to be patient,” the natural reading is:

“In the past, I would get angry easily / was quick to get angry.”

So 〜ていました is functioning as a past habitual form here.