TOPIK II · LEVEL 3

-던

-던 describes a noun with an action that was ongoing, repeated or left unfinished in the past: 'that I used to / was doing'.

시제·상Tense & aspect

Han: Meeting someone for the first time happened once and finished, so use -(으)ㄴ, not -던.

Examples

자주 가던 식당이 문을 닫았어요.The restaurant I used to go to often has closed.
제가 마시던 커피 어디 있어요?Where's the coffee I was drinking?
여기가 제가 어릴 때 살던 집이에요.This is the house I used to live in as a child.

Don’t mix up

-던vs-(으)ㄴ-(으)ㄴ (past) = finished; -던 = unfinished or habitual: 읽은 책 'a book I've read' vs 읽던 책 'a book I was reading'.

How to build it

V/A+던+N

먹다 → 먹던 빵, 살다 → 살던 집

  1. -던 = repeated or interrupted; -(으)ㄴ = completed once: 먹던 빵 'bread I was eating (some left)' vs 먹은 빵 'bread I ate'.
  2. -았/었던 stresses that something happened in the past and no longer continues: 갔던 곳.

Classic mistake

Wrong: 어제 처음 만나던 사람이에요.

Right: 어제 처음 만난 사람이에요.

Meeting someone for the first time happened once and finished, so use -(으)ㄴ, not -던.

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More level 3 grammar

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