haru Korean › Grammar › Level 3B › V-았/었더니
V-았/었더니 — I did …, and so … · and then I found … — what came after something I did
I did …, and so … · and then I found … — what came after something I did. Korean grammar for intermediate learners — Level 3B, lesson 3: 운동을 했더니 몸이 좋아졌어요 (I exercised and now I feel better — body and results).
What it means
V-았/었더니 joins something you did to what came after it: 매일 걸었더니 몸이 가벼워졌어요 'I walked every day, and (as a result) I feel lighter'. Take the past form of the verb and add 더니: after ㅏ or ㅗ use 았더니 (가다 → 갔더니, 보다 → 봤더니), after any other vowel 었더니 (먹다 → 먹었더니, 걷다 → 걸었더니, 마시다 → 마셨더니), and 하다 becomes 했더니 (운동했더니). The second half can be a result (몸이 좋아졌어요), something you discovered when you did it (헬스클럽에 갔더니 문이 닫혀 있었어요 'I went to the gym and found it closed'), or how someone reacted to what you did or said (제가 웃었더니 유나 씨도 웃었어요). The first half is normally your own action — the subject is 'I' even when it is left out. When you describe someone else you watched, use -더니 without -았/었- (Lesson 3A-7): 유나 씨가 매일 연습하더니 마라톤을 끝까지 뛰었어요. Because the second half reports what already happened or the state you are in now, it ends in the past or the present — never in a request, a suggestion or a plan (-(으)세요, -(으)ㅂ시다, -(으)ㄹ 거예요 ✗).
Forms
| Pattern | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -았더니 | ㅏ · ㅗ | 가다 + 았더니 → 갔더니 |
| -었더니 | 그 외 (ㄷ · ㅂ 불규칙도) | 먹다 + 었더니 → 먹었더니 |
| 했더니 | 하다 | 운동하다 → 운동했더니 |
Key points
- V-았/었더니 = I did …, and so · and then …: ㅏ · ㅗ → 았더니 (갔더니 · 봤더니) · other vowels → 었더니 (먹었더니 · 걸었더니) · 하다 → 했더니 (운동했더니)
- First half: what I did. Second half: the result, what I found, or how someone reacted — past or now. Watching someone else? That's -더니 (Lesson 3A-7).
Examples
- 내가 한 일, 그리고 그 뒤에 생긴 일을 같이 말할 때 써요: 매일 걸었더니 몸이 가벼워졌어요.
- ㅏ · ㅗ → -았더니: 갔더니 · 봤더니 · 받았더니. 그 외 → -었더니: 먹었더니 · 걸었더니(ㄷ). 하다 → 했더니.
- 한 뒤에 새로 알게 된 것도 말해요: 헬스클럽에 갔더니 문이 닫혀 있었어요.
- 앞은 보통 「나」가 한 일이에요. 다른 사람을 보고 말할 때는 3A 7과 -더니: 유나 씨가 연습하더니 ….
- 뒤에는 지난 일이나 지금의 상태가 와요. -(으)세요 · -(으)ㄹ 거예요 ✗
Where university textbooks teach it
This point also appears in: Seoul National University Korean 3B, lesson 12; Yonsei University Korean 3-1, lesson 5; Sogang University Korean 3B, lesson 3; Ewha Womans University Korean 4, lesson 2; Hongik University Korean 3A, lesson 5; Hanyang University Korean 4-2, lesson 7.
Also in this lesson
- 얼마나 A-(으)ㄴ지 · V-는지 모르다 — you can't imagine how … — saying 'so very …!' with feeling
- A-(으)ㄴ · V-는 · V-(으)ㄹ 모양이다 —많이 피곤한 모양이에요 — it looks like … · it seems … — a careful guess from what you see or hear