haru Korean › Grammar › Level 3A › A/V-더니
A/V-더니 — (I saw that) …, and then / but now … — a change or a result you noticed
(I saw that) …, and then / but now … — a change or a result you noticed. Korean grammar for intermediate learners — Level 3A, lesson 7: 껐다가 다시 켜 보세요 (Turn it off and on again — breakdowns and repairs).
What it means
-더니 tells something you saw or heard yourself in the past, and then what changed or what came next: 어제까지 잘되더니 오늘 아침부터 안 돼요 'it was working fine until yesterday, but since this morning it hasn't been', 하늘이 흐리더니 비가 와요 'the sky was cloudy, and now it's raining', 리사 씨가 열심히 공부하더니 시험을 잘 봤어요 'Lisa studied hard, and she did well in the exam'. The form never changes: add 더니 to any verb or adjective stem, with or without 받침 — 잘되더니, 맑더니, 덥더니, 공부하더니; with a noun, 이더니. Two things to remember. First, it is about what you observed, so the subject is someone or something else — a person, a machine, the weather — not you; for your own actions Korean uses -았/었더니, which comes in Level 3B. Second, -았/었- does not go before -더니; the tense goes at the end: 잘되더니 고장이 났어요. Repair staff often ask 언제부터 그랬어요? — an answer with -더니 and a time describes the problem well.
Forms
| Pattern | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -더니 | 동사 · 형용사 — 받침 O · X 모두 같아요 | 잘되다 + 더니 → 잘되더니 |
Key points
- A/V-더니 = (I saw that) …, and then / but now …: add 더니 to any verb or adjective — 잘되더니 · 맑더니 · 공부하더니
- It is about something or someone you watched, not about yourself (for yourself: -았/었더니, Level 3B). The tense goes at the end: 잘되더니 고장이 났어요.
Examples
- -더니: 전에 보거나 들은 일을 말하고, 그다음에 달라진 일을 말해요.
- 어제까지 잘되더니 오늘 아침부터 안 돼요. (전 → 지금: 달라졌어요)
- 하늘이 흐리더니 비가 와요. (그다음에 생긴 일)
- 리사 씨가 열심히 공부하더니 시험을 잘 봤어요. (그래서 이렇게 됐어요)
- 주어는 다른 사람 · 물건 · 날씨예요. 저(나)는 ✗ — 3B의 -았/었더니.
Where university textbooks teach it
This point also appears in: Seoul National University Korean 3A, lesson 7; Sogang University Korean 4A, lesson 6; Yonsei University Korean 4-1, lesson 3; Sogang University Korean 5B, lesson 7; Ewha Womans University Korean 4, lesson 1; Hongik University Korean 3B, lesson 10; Hanyang University Korean 4-1, lesson 5.
Also in this lesson
- V-았/었다가 — did …, then undid it — finishing one thing, then the opposite or something else
- A-(으)ㄴ데도 · V-는데도 — even though … · … and it still didn't — when the result you expect does not come
- V-도록 (하다) — so that … · please make sure you … — purpose and polite advice