haru Korean › Grammar › Level 4B › V-곤 하다 · -고는 하다
V-곤 하다 · -고는 하다 — used to … again and again · would often … — a habit, then or now
Used to … again and again · would often … — a habit, then or now. Korean grammar for upper intermediate learners — Level 4B, lesson 7: 만남과 헤어짐 (Meeting and parting — what used to be, what I half think).
What it means
-곤 하다 says that something happened again and again — a habit. It is most at home in memories: 1급 때 우리는 카페 나무에서 만나곤 했어요 'in level 1 we would often meet at Café Namu'. Add 곤 하다 to the stem of any action verb, with or without 받침: 만나곤, 먹곤, 듣곤 (no ㄷ change — 곤 starts with a consonant). 곤 is a contraction of 고는, and you will also see the full -고는 하다 in writing. Put the tense on 하다: -곤 했어요 for a past habit, -곤 해요 for something you still do from time to time — 요즘도 힘들 때 그 노래를 듣곤 해요. Because it needs repetition, it doesn't fit one single event (어제 한 번 만나곤 했어요 ✗) or adjectives, and it sounds most natural with words like 자주, 가끔, 매일, …마다 or …(으)ㄹ 때. Compare it with Block 1: -았/었었- describes a past state that is over (기숙사에 살았었어요), -곤 하다 a repeated action (토요일마다 만나곤 했어요), and the two often meet: 그때는 자주 만나곤 했었는데 요즘은 잘 못 만나요. Before a noun, -던 (Lesson 3B-1) does a similar job: 우리가 자주 가던 카페. In the standard curriculum this is a level-5 item, so for now the goal is to recognise it and use it when you tell a memory.
Forms
| Pattern | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| V-곤 하다 (= -고는 하다) | 동사 — 받침이 있어도 없어도 곤 하다 · 지난 습관 -곤 했어요 · 지금도 -곤 해요 | 만나다 + 곤 했어요 → 만나곤 했어요 |
Key points
- V-곤 하다 = do something from time to time, again and again — most often in memories (-곤 했어요). Add 곤 하다 to any verb stem, 받침 or not: 만나곤 · 먹곤 · 듣곤. 곤 is short for 고는: 만나고는 했어요.
- Only for actions that repeat — not for one time (어제 한 번 만나곤 했어요 ✗) and not for adjectives. It loves words like 자주 · 가끔 · …마다 · …(으)ㄹ 때. Compare -았/었었- (Block 1 — a state that is over) and -던 (Lesson 3B-1). A level-5 item: here you mainly learn to recognise and use it in memories.
Examples
- 같은 일을 여러 번, 자주 했을 때 써요: 1급 때 우리는 카페 나무에서 만나곤 했어요.
- 받침이 있어도 없어도 -곤 하다: 만나곤 · 먹곤 · 듣곤. -곤은 -고는이 줄어든 말이에요(만나고는 했어요).
- 지난 일은 -곤 했어요, 지금도 가끔 하는 일은 -곤 해요: 요즘도 힘들 때 그 노래를 듣곤 해요.
- 한 번 한 일과 형용사에는 쓰지 않아요: 어제 한 번 만나곤 했어요 ✗ → 어제 만났어요.
Where university textbooks teach it
This point also appears in: Seoul National University Korean 4B, lesson 17; Yonsei University Korean 3-2, lesson 15; Ewha Womans University Korean 3-2, lesson 15; Hongik University Korean 4A, lesson 3; Hanyang University Korean 4-2, lesson 10.
Also in this lesson
- A/V-았었/었었- — used to … (but not any more) — a past that is cut off from now
- A-다 싶다 · V-ㄴ/는다 싶다 · -(으)ㄹ까 싶다 — it struck me that … · I half think … · I'm thinking I might … — judgements you make to yourself
- V-는 사이에 · N 사이에 — while … (in that short gap) · before you knew it — something happening unnoticed