haru Korean › Grammar › Level 3B › A/V-던 N
A/V-던 N — the … I used to … · the … that used to be … — looking back at the past
The … I used to … · the … that used to be … — looking back at the past. Korean grammar for intermediate learners — Level 3B, lesson 1: 결혼하려면 아직 멀었어요 (Marriage is a long way off — love, plans and the future).
What it means
-던 turns a past action or state into a description of a noun, like -는 and -(으)ㄴ (Lesson 2A-2), but it looks back at the past as you remember it. 자주 가던 카페 is 'the café we used to go to' — many times, and not any more; 어릴 때 살던 집 is 'the house I lived in as a child'. It is also used for an action that was started and not finished: 제가 마시던 커피 'the coffee I was drinking' — there is still some left. With an adjective, -던 says how something used to be: 조용하던 동네 'the neighbourhood that used to be quiet' — it isn't now. The 받침 does not matter: just add 던 to the stem, and nothing changes — 살다 → 살던 (the ㄹ stays, unlike 사는), 듣다 → 듣던 (no ㄷ change, unlike 들은), 춥다 → 춥던. For someone you respect, add -시-: 할머니가 사시던 집. Compare 어제 본 영화 'the film I saw yesterday' (once, finished) with 자주 보던 영화 'the film I used to watch'. The tense of the whole sentence goes at the end: 자주 가던 식당이 없어졌어요. (-았/었던, with the past marker, is another form — Lesson 3B-5.)
Forms
| Pattern | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -던 | 동사 · 형용사 — 받침 O · X 모두 (ㄹ · ㄷ · ㅂ도 그대로) · 자주 가던 식당 · 어릴 때 살던 집 | 가다 + 던 → 가던 |
Key points
- V-던 N = the N that I used to … (again and again, in the past — not now): 자주 가던 카페 · 어릴 때 살던 집 · 받침 doesn't matter — just add 던 (살던 · 듣던 — nothing changes)
- Also for something you started and didn't finish (마시던 커피), and with adjectives for how it used to be (조용하던 동네). Honorific: -(으)시던 (할머니가 사시던 집). -았/었던 comes in Lesson 3B-5.
Examples
- 옛날에 자주 한 일을 다시 떠올릴 때 써요: 우리가 자주 가던 카페예요.
- 받침 O · X 모두 -던: 살던 집 · 먹던 음식 · 다니던 학교. 살다 · 듣다도 그대로 — 살던 · 듣던.
- 하다가 다 끝내지 않은 일에도 써요: 제가 마시던 커피가 어디 있어요?
- 형용사에도 써요. 옛날 모습이 지금과 달라요: 조용하던 동네가 시끄러워졌어요.
- 어른이 한 일에는 -(으)시던: 할머니가 사시던 집. 한 번 한 일은 -(으)ㄴ: 어제 본 영화 ↔ 자주 보던 영화.
Where university textbooks teach it
This point also appears in: Seoul National University Korean 3B, lesson 10; Yonsei University Korean 2-2, lesson 17; Sogang University Korean 3B, lesson 7; Ewha Womans University Korean 2-2, lesson 14; Hongik University Korean 3A, lesson 3; Hanyang University Korean 4-1, lesson 4.
Also in this lesson
- A/V-잖아(요) — you know … · as you know … — reminding someone of what they already know
- V-(으)ㄹ 생각 · 계획 · 예정이다 — I'm thinking of … · I plan to … · … is scheduled — talking about the future
- V-(으)려면 멀었다 — … is still a long way off — goals that are far away, and modest answers