haru Korean › Grammar › Level 3B › A/V-았던/었던 N —여기는 제가 어렸을 때 살았던 동네예요
A/V-았던/었던 N —여기는 제가 어렸을 때 살았던 동네예요 — the … I once … · the … that was — memories of what is over
The … I once … · the … that was — memories of what is over. Korean grammar for intermediate learners — Level 3B, lesson 5: 나이가 들수록 고향이 그리워져요 (The older I get, the more I miss home — city, country, nostalgia).
What it means
-았/었던 N describes a noun with something from a time that is over: 제가 어렸을 때 살았던 동네 'the neighbourhood I lived in when I was little' — I don't live there now. It is the past -았/었- plus the -던 of Lesson 3B-1. After ㅏ or ㅗ use 았던 (살았던, 갔던, 좋았던), after other vowels 었던 (먹었던, 다녔던, 추웠던), and 하다 becomes 했던 (일했던, 조용했던); a noun takes 이었던 after a 받침 and 였던 after a vowel (학생이었던, 친구였던). How is it different from -던? -던 looks back at something that went on or was repeated — 자주 가던 식당 'the restaurant I used to go to' — or that was left unfinished: 먹던 빵 'the bread I was eating'. -았/었던 looks back at something completed, often only once, and often with the feeling that it is over: 작년에 갔던 식당 'the restaurant I went to last year', 먹었던 빵 'bread I have eaten before'. For places you lived or schools you went to, both are heard (살던 집 · 살았던 집); -았/었던 stresses that it belongs to the past. With adjectives, -았/었던 says something was so then but is not now: 어렸을 때 작았던 나무가 지금은 커요. The plain V-(으)ㄴ N of Lesson 2A-2 is a neutral past: 어제 간 식당. For someone older, add -(으)시-: 할아버지께서 다니셨던 학교.
Forms
| Pattern | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -았던 | ㅏ · ㅗ | 살다 + 았던 → 살았던 |
| -었던 | 그 외 | 먹다 + 었던 → 먹었던 |
| 했던 · 이었던 · 였던 | 하다 · 명사(받침 O 이었던 / X 였던) | 일하다 → 일했던 |
Key points
- -았/었던 N = the N that I once … · that was … (and it is over now): ㅏ · ㅗ → 았던 (살았던 · 갔던) · others → 었던 (먹었던 · 다녔던) · 하다 → 했던 (일했던) · nouns → 이었던 / 였던
- -던 (Lesson 3B-1) looks back at a habit or something not finished: 자주 가던 식당 · 먹던 빵. -았/었던 looks back at something finished, often once: 작년에 갔던 식당 · 처음 만났던 날.
Examples
- 지난 일을 떠올리면서 말할 때 써요. 그 일은 이제 끝났어요: 여기는 제가 어렸을 때 살았던 동네예요.
- ㅏ · ㅗ → -았던: 살았던 · 갔던 · 좋았던. 그 외 → -었던: 먹었던 · 다녔던 · 추웠던(ㅂ).
- 하다 → 했던: 일했던 · 조용했던. 명사 → 이었던 / 였던: 학생이었던 · 친구였던.
- 3B 1과 -던은 자주 · 계속 하던 일: 자주 가던 빵집. -았/었던은 끝난 일 · 한 번 한 일: 작년에 갔던 시장.
- 형용사도 돼요: 어렸을 때 작았던 나무가 지금은 아주 커요. (그때는 작았어요. 지금은 아니에요.)
Where university textbooks teach it
This point also appears in: Seoul National University Korean 3B, lesson 14; Sogang University Korean 3B, lesson 7; Hongik University Korean 3A, lesson 3; Hanyang University Korean 4-1, lesson 6; Yonsei University Korean 2-2, lesson 15; Ewha Womans University Korean 2-2, lesson 15.
Also in this lesson
- A/V-(으)면 A/V-(으)ㄹ수록 —오래 살면 살수록 고향이 그리워져요 — the more …, the more … — two things that grow together
- 하도 A/V-아서/어서 —항공료가 하도 비싸서 깜짝 놀랐어요 — so very … that … — a strong, spoken reason
- N만큼 · A/V-(으)ㄴ/는 만큼 —요즘은 시골도 도시만큼 편리해요 — as … as N · as much as … — comparing and matching