-았/었던
Had Been, Used to
-았/었던 is a noun-modifying form that means 'used to be' or 'had been'. It describes a past state or a completed action that is now finished.
How It Works
-았/었던 is a retrospective adnominal ending, which means it modifies a noun that follows it. It's used to talk about a past event or state that is completely finished and has no continuation into the present.
Conjugation:
It attaches to verb and adjective stems following the same rules as the past tense:
- Stems with a final vowel of ㅏ or ㅗ + -았던
e.g., 가다 → 갔던 (the place I had gone to), 좋다 → 좋았던 (the thing that had been good) - Stems with other final vowels + -었던
e.g., 먹다 → 먹었던 (the food I had eaten), 예쁘다 → 예뻤던 (the person who used to be pretty) - 하다 verbs → -했던
e.g., 공부하다 → 공부했던 (the subject I had studied)
Key Nuance: -았/었던 vs. -던 vs. -ㄴ/은
Understanding the difference between these three noun modifiers is crucial.
1. -았/었던 (Completed Past)
Emphasizes that an action or state is completely finished and disconnected from the present. It often implies a single, specific past event.
• 작년에 갔었던 여행 (The trip I went on last year) - The trip is over.
• 어렸을 때 살았던 집 (The house I lived in when I was young) - I don't live there anymore.
2. -던 (Incomplete or Habitual Past)
Used for an action that was ongoing, repeated habitually, or a state that existed in the past but was interrupted or not necessarily completed. It carries a sense of recollection.
• 내가 읽던 책 (The book I was reading) - Implies I didn't finish it.
• 우리가 자주 가던 식당 (The restaurant we often used to go to) - Habitual action.
3. -ㄴ/은 (Simple Past Fact)
This is a more neutral past modifier. It simply states a past action as a fact without the extra nuance of completion or recollection.
• 어제 본 영화 (The movie I saw yesterday) - A simple fact.
In summary, use -았/었던 when you want to emphasize that something happened in the past and is now completely over.
Examples (4)
- 여기는 제가 어렸을 때 살았던 집이에요.
This is the house I lived in when I was young.
Word by Word: Here I when was young lived house is.
살았던 modifies 집 (house), indicating that the action of living there happened in the past and is now completely over.
- 작년에 갔었던 제주도 여행은 정말 좋았어요.
The trip to Jeju Island that I went on last year was really great.
Word by Word: Last year went to Jeju Island trip really was good.
갔었던 describes a specific, completed past event (the trip) that is being recalled.
- 우리가 자주 만났었던 카페가 문을 닫았어요.
The cafe where we used to meet often has closed.
Word by Word: We often met cafe closed.
만났었던 implies that the act of meeting at that cafe is a finished chapter, especially now that it's closed.
- 그가 입었던 옷은 파란색이었어요.
The clothes he had worn were blue.
Word by Word: He had worn clothes blue color were.
This describes the clothes he was wearing at a specific point in the past. The action of wearing them is complete.
Common Mistakes
Using -았/었던 for a past quality that still continues into the present.
Different Meaning어렸을 때 똑똑했었던 그는 지금도 똑똑해요.Better어렸을 때 똑똑하던 그는 지금도 똑똑해요.-았/었던 strongly implies that the state or action is completely finished. '똑똑했었던' suggests his intelligence was a thing of the past. When describing a quality someone had in the past and still has, -던 is more natural as it simply recalls the past state without implying it's over.
Confusing the nuance between a completed action (-았/었던) and an incomplete one (-던).
Different Meaning어제 읽었던 책을 마저 읽어야 해요. (Implies you finished it, which is contradictory)Better어제 읽던 책을 마저 읽어야 해요.If you need to continue reading the book, it means the action was incomplete. Therefore, '읽던 책' (the book I was reading) is correct. '읽었던 책' (the book I had read) implies you already finished it, making the sentence illogical.
Learn This First
To express 'had been/used to', you need past tense and modifier forms.
Related Patterns
- -던Had Been -ing
This is the most important pattern to compare with -았/었던. While -았/었던 emphasizes a completed past action or state, -던 refers to an incomplete, repeated, or simply recalled past action or state.
- -ㄴ/은Adjective Noun Modifier
Both are past-tense noun modifiers. However, -ㄴ/은 is a neutral, factual modifier ('the person who went'). -았/었던 adds the nuance that the action is completely finished and disconnected from the present ('the person who had gone').
- -더-Past Observation Marker
This is a retrospective marker, indicating the speaker is recalling or reporting something they personally observed or experienced. It's the core element of -던 and its retrospective meaning is carried into -았/었던.
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.