V/A-던 Korean Grammar (3 ways to use) Mastering Korean Grammar

In this lesson, we're going to learn 'Verb/Adjective-던  Noun' which can be used in 3 ways.

'여기가 제가 살던 집이에요.' (This is the house I used to live in.)

If you want to watch the lesson in Korean with English subtitles, please click the link below.

1. Usage of Korean Grammar 던

✔︎ '-던' attaches after an adjective/a verb stem.

✔︎ '-던' modifies the following noun.

✔︎ '-던' can be used in 3 ways.

Reminiscence (회상): '-던' can be used to recall things from the past.

② Past action incompleted / Aborted (미완/중단): '-던' can be used to talk about a situation in which you started something in the past and did not complete the action. 

③ Actions performed frequently in the past (과거 자주 한 행동): '-던' can be used when talking about frequent actions in the past.

Let's find out one by one.


2. Explanation with example sentences '-던 grammar'

①  -던: Reminiscence (회상)

✏︎ 미소: 여기가 어디예요?
✏︎ 나나: 여기가 제가 살던 집이에요. (살다 + 던)

(in English)
✏︎ Miso: Where are we?
✏︎ Nana: This is the house I used to live in.
  • Here, '살던' is a combination of the verb '살다' and '-던.'
  • '살던' modifies the following noun '집 (house).'

  • What kind of house is it? - 제가 살던 집이에요. (This is the house I lived in.)
  • Nana is talking about the past.
  • Nana lived in this house for some time in the past. She does not live now.
  • She talks while thinking about her past life. →  제가 살던 집 (the house I lived in)
  • She talks about it as she reminisces.
  • You can use '-던' to talk while thinking about the past like this.


 -던: Past action incomplete/aborted (미완/중단)

✏︎ 미소: 아까 제가 마시던 커피 어디에 있어요? (마시다 + 던)
✏︎ 나나: 미안해요. 다 마신 줄 알고 버렸어요.

(in English)
✏︎ Miso: Where is the coffee I was drinking earlier?
✏︎ Nana: I'm sorry. I thought you drank it all, so I threw it away.
  • Here, '마시던' is a combination of the verb '마시다' and '-던.'
  • '마시던' modifies the following noun '커피 (coffee).'

  • Nana drank coffee.
  • Did Nana drink all that coffee? - No. She didn't drink it all. She was going to drink more.
  • But, Miso thought Nana had finished drinking the coffee, so Miso threw it away.
  • When you start an action and don't complete it, you can use '-던' to talk about it.
  • Here you can talk about '마시던 커피.'


 -던: Action performed frequently in the past (repeated/continued) (과거 자주한 행동)

✏︎ 미소: 우리 어디에서 볼까요?
✏︎ 나나: 우리 대학교 때 자주 가던 카페에서 봐요. (가다 + 던)


(in English)
✏︎ Miso: Where should we meet?
✏︎ Nana: Let's see you at the cafe we used to go often to in college.

  • Here, 가던 is a combination of the verb 가다 and -던.
  • 가던 modifies the following noun '카페 (cafe).'

  • Miso and Nana used to go to this cafe often when They were in college.
  • They have repeated this behavior in the past.
  • So, you can talk about this situation using -던 after a verb. - 자주 가던 카페 (the cafe that they used to go to often)
  • You can use -던 to talk about things you did often in the past.


3. Combination information '-던'

✔︎ -던 attaches after an adjective/a verb stem.

✔︎ Final Consonant O & X: - 던

Whether a verb/an adjective stem has the final consonant or not, -던 is used.

① Final consonant O: 먹다 + 던 → 먹던

② Final consonat X: 가다 + 던 → 가던


4. Practice '-던'

1. 제가 (먹다) 아이스크림을 동생이 먹었어요. 
→ 제가 먹던 아이스크림을 동생이 먹었어요. (먹다 + 던)

2. 한국에서 (살다) 때가 그리워요. (살다 + 던)
→ 한국에서 살던 때가 그리워요. (살다 + 던)

3. 우리가 자주 (가다) 식당이 카페로 바꿔었어요.
→ 우리가 자주 가던 식당이 카페로 바뀌었어요. (가다 + 던)

(in English)
1. My younger sibling ate the ice cream I was eating.
2. I miss the time when I lived in Korea.
3. The restaurant we used to go often to has turned into a cafe.

5. Quiz (Pdf Download) '-던'

★  Quiz: Use '-던' to make the sentences.
(example) 여기가 제가 (살다) 집이에요. → 여기가 제가 살던 집이에요.

1. 고등학교 때 학교 앞에서 (먹다) 떡볶이가 먹고 싶어요.
2. 저 강아지를 보니까 어렸을 때 (키우다) 강아지가 생각나요. 
3. 아까 (하다) 얘기 좀 계속 해봐요.
4. 재미있게 (보다) 드라마가 끝났어요.
5. (귀엽다) 아이가 벌써 이렇게 컸어요.  
6. (따듯하다) 날씨가 갑자기 추워졌어요. 
7. 아까 (듣다) 노래 제목이 뭐예요?

(in English)
1. I want to eat 떡볶이 [ddeok-bbo-ggi] which I ate in front of my school in high school.
2. Looking at that dog reminds me of the dog I had when I was young.
3. Let's continue what we were talking about earlier.
4. The drama I enjoyed watching is over
5. The cute kid has already grown up like this.
6. The warm weather suddenly became cold.
7. What's the title of the song you were listening to earlier?

★ Answer

1. 고등학교 때 학교 앞에서 먹던 떡볶이가 먹고 싶어요. (먹다 + 던)
2. 저 강아지를 보니까 어렸을 때 키우던 강아지가 생각나요. (키우다 + 던)
3. 아까 하던 얘기 좀 계속 해봐요. (하다 + 던)
4. 재미있게 보던 드라마가 끝났어요. (보다 + 던)
5. 귀엽던 아이가 벌써 이렇게 컸어요. (귀엽다 + 던)
6. 따뜻하던 날씨가 갑자기 추워졌어요. (따뜻하다 + 던)
7. 아까 듣던 노래 제목이 뭐예요? (듣다 + 던)

✔︎ Quiz 'Korean Grammar -던' PDF download

















❣️Links

✧ Korean Grammar 173: V/A-던 N: https://youtu.be/4HdKGcAGzIA
✧ YouTube: 베이직 코리안 (BASIC KOREAN): https://www.youtube.com/@basickoreanBK
✧ Buy the book 'Korean Grammar with Basic Korean Level.1 (Korean Vers.)': 교보문고 / Amazon

감사합니다~!

#베이직코리안 #한국어문법 #Basickorean #Koreangrammar #던 #Korean grammar 던 #던 grammar



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