Can I use そうです (inference) in past?


> "It seems to me that he did not have the intention of following my advice"

Is it possible to say this sentence in Japanese using そうです, and if so, how? I
was aiming to use (よ)うとする constructions, but I encountered the problem that I
don't know how to confer the temporal information.

> あの人は私のアドバイスに従おうとし...そうです。  
>  しなかった => doesn't work because it would be hears  
>  しなさ => lacks past tense

This is how I wanted to approach it, but I got the feeling that it doesn't
work that way at all, because inference with そうです was introduced as a
construction that is used for things I perceive through my 5 senses.

I think it's relatively easy to say it a bit differently with almost the same
meaning, like:

> "あの人は私のアドバイスに従おうとしなかったと思います。"

But I still wonder whether there is a way to express this with a construction
that bears the "It seems to me that..." semantics?

On a side note: Does そうだった work at all? To express "It seemed to me that..."?




> "It seems to me that he did not have the intention of following my advice."
>
> Is it possible to say this sentence in Japanese using そうです, and if so, how?

No, it is not possible. **Using 「そうです」 to talk about a past event will always
make it a hearsay statement, not an inference one**.

Let us use a simple example sentence to examine this.

「雨{あめ}が降{ふ} **る** そうです。」 is **hearsay**. "They say it is going to rain."

「雨が降っ **た** そうです。」 is **hearsay**. "They say it rained."

「雨が降 **り** そうです。」 is **inference**. "It looks like it is going to rain."

「雨が降 **り** そうだった。」 is **inference**. "It looked like it was going to rain."

This last sentence should give you a clue about constructing an inference
statement in the past tense, should it not? To form an inference statement
that fits your purpose this time, you could use:

> 従{したが}いそうになかった or 従いそうではなかった or 従わなさそうだった

All of the above are both grammatical and natural-sounding. If your "base"
phrase is 「そうです」 this time, then the last of the three 「なさそうだった」 would be the
closest.

> 「あの人は私のアドバイスに従わなさ **そうだった** 。」

There are multiple ways to say this as @s-k suggests, but let me repeat that
you could _**not**_ use 「そうです」 this time.

