HYEJU LANGUAGE LAB · INTERMEDIATE 34 · LESSON 119
V/A-던 Nthe … I used to / was in the middle of
-던 looks back at the past and describes a noun with an action that was repeated or not finished: 제가 먹던 빵 (the bread I was eating, not finished), 자주 가던 카페 (the café I used to go to often).
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A situation you already know
You stepped away for a minute, and now your snack is gone from the table.
Huh? Where did the snack I was eating go?
먹던 shows you hadn’t finished it. 먹은 과자 would sound like you already ate it all.
Build the form
- 먹다 → 먹 + 던 → 먹던 과자Complete expression
- 가다 → 가 + 던 → 자주 가던 카페Complete expression
- 살다 → 살 + 던 → 어릴 때 살던 동네Complete expression
- 읽다 → 읽 + 던 → 읽던 책Complete expression
- 조용하다 → 조용하 + 던 → 조용하던 거리Complete expression
- Attach -던 to any verb or adjective stem, with no change: 먹던, 가던, 살던, 쓰던.
- Unfinished action: 읽던 책 (a book I was reading and didn’t finish).
- Repeated past habit: 자주 가던 식당, 매일 듣던 노래.
- With adjectives, it recalls how something used to be: 조용하던 거리 (the street that used to be quiet).
- Nouns: N이던 / N이었던 → 학생이던 시절.
- For a clearly finished or no-longer-true past, -았/었던 is also common (Lesson 138).
Think in Korean · an English-speaker’s guide
- English has no single ending for this; it covers “used to”, “was …-ing”, and “half-finished”.
- Compare 먹은 빵 (eaten, done) with 먹던 빵 (being eaten, some left). This difference matters a lot.
- -던 carries a feeling of remembering, which is why it often appears with 어릴 때, 예전에, 자주.
Six examples in context
I went back to the neighborhood I lived in as a child.
This is the restaurant I often went to in college.
I left the book I was reading on the bus.
Have you seen the cup I was using?
The street that used to be so quiet is really noisy now.
This is the song I listened to every day in high school.
Compare with related patterns
V-(으)ㄴ N
어제 먹은 빵“The bread I ate yesterday.” Finished, done (Lesson 50).
-았/었던 N
어제 먹었던 빵“The bread I had eaten.” Finished, often with a feeling that it’s over or different now (Lesson 138).
-곤 했다
그 카페에 자주 가곤 했어요.“I used to go to that café often.” Habit as a full sentence, not a noun description (Lesson 127).
| Pattern | Choose it when… |
|---|---|
| -던 N | Unfinished or repeated in the past |
| V-(으)ㄴ N | Simply finished |
| -았/었던 N | Finished and over / now different |
| -곤 했다 | “used to” at the end of a sentence |
Common mistakes
If some is left, use -던.
-던 attaches directly: 살 + 던. Don’t mix in -(으)ㄴ.
Use only -던, not -는던.
Nouns need 이던 (or 이었던).
Mini practice · six questions
Try each one before opening the answer. Translation answers are models; other natural wording is possible.
- Fill in the blank어릴 때 ______ 집이 아직 그대로 있어요. (살다)
Check answer
어릴 때 살던 집이 아직 그대로 있어요.
Past state over time → 살던.
- Fill in the blank제가 ______ 커피 버리지 마세요. 아직 다 안 마셨어요. (마시다)
Check answer
제가 마시던 커피 버리지 마세요.
Not finished → -던.
- Choose the natural form어제 (본 / 보던) 영화가 정말 재미있었어요. 끝까지 다 봤어요.
Check answer
본
You watched it to the end → finished → -(으)ㄴ.
- Choose the natural form여기가 대학교 때 친구들하고 자주 (가던 / 간) 술집이에요.
Check answer
가던
Repeated past habit (자주) → -던.
- Fix the mistake이건 제가 쓰는던 노트북이에요.
Check answer
이건 제가 쓰던 노트북이에요.
Just -던.
- Say it in KoreanWhere is the book I was reading?
Check answer
제가 읽던 책 어디 있어요?
Unfinished reading → 읽던.
Today’s key point
Stem + -던 + N: something repeated or unfinished in the past (먹던 빵, 자주 가던 카페). Finished: -(으)ㄴ. Finished and over: -았/었던.
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