-(으)려던 참이다
Was Just About to
'-려던 참이다' means 'was just about to do something'. It's used when your intended action coincides with another event.
How It Works
'-려던 참이다' is a useful expression to convey that you were on the verge of doing an action right at the moment something else happened or was mentioned. It emphasizes the perfect timing or coincidence of the situation.
Structure:
It's formed by combining:
1. The intention form -(으)려고 하 +
2. The retrospective noun modifier -던 +
3. The noun '참' (moment, point in time) +
4. The copula '이다' (to be).
Conjugation:
The conjugation follows the same rules as -(으)려고 하다.
- Verb stems ending in a vowel or 'ㄹ': -려던 참이다
- 가다 (to go) → 가려던 참이다
- 만들다 (to make) → 만들려던 참이다 - Verb stems ending in a consonant (except 'ㄹ'): -으려던 참이다
- 먹다 (to eat) → 먹으려던 참이다
- 찾다 (to find) → 찾으려던 참이다
Usage in Context:
This pattern is frequently used with words like '마침' (just in time, coincidentally) or '막' (just now) to further emphasize the timing. It often appears in conversations as a response.
Past Tense: -려던 참이었다
You can also use this pattern in the past tense by changing '이다' to '이었다'.
- '-려던 참이다' means 'I am just about to... (referring to a past intention)'.
- '-려던 참이었다' means 'I was just about to... (at that specific moment in the past)'.
In many contexts, they are interchangeable, but '-려던 참이었다' more clearly places the entire situation in the past.
Examples (4)
- A: 저녁 먹었어요?
B: 아니요, 마침 지금 먹으려던 참이었어요.
A: Did you eat dinner? B: No, I was just about to eat right now.
Word by Word: A: Dinner ate? B: No, coincidentally now was about to eat.
Speaker B uses '먹으려던 참이었어요' to express that A's question came at the exact moment they were about to eat.
- 막 집에서 나가려던 참인데 전화가 왔어요.
I was just about to leave the house when the phone rang.
Word by Word: Just from home was about to leave but the phone came.
- A: 그 서류 복사 좀 해줄래요?
B: 네, 저도 막 복사하려던 참이었어요.
A: Could you copy those documents for me? B: Yes, I was just about to copy them myself.
Word by Word: A: That document copy please can you do? B: Yes, I also just was about to copy.
This shows a coincidence where B's intended action was the same as A's request.
- 샤워하려던 참인데 누가 초인종을 눌렀어요.
I was just about to take a shower, but someone rang the doorbell.
Word by Word: Was about to shower but someone the doorbell pressed.
This shows an intended action being interrupted by an external event.
Common Mistakes
Using '-려던 참이다' for a general past intention that was not immediate.
Different Meaning작년에 한국에 가려던 참이었는데 못 갔어요.Better작년에 한국에 가려고 했는데 못 갔어요.'-려던 참이다' implies an action that was about to happen at a specific, immediate moment. For a general plan or intention in the more distant past, -려고 했다 or '-려고 했는데' is more appropriate.
Confusing the intended action '-려던' with an action in progress '-던'.
Different Meaning전화하던 참이었어요.Better전화하려던 참이었어요.'전화하던 참이었어요' means 'It was the moment I was making a call' (the action was in progress). '전화하려던 참이었어요' means 'I was just about to make a call' (the action had not started yet). These have different meanings.
Learn This First
To express 'was just about to', you need intention patterns and 이다.
Related Patterns
- -(으)려고 하다Intend to, Plan to
'-려던 참이다' is built upon -려고 하다 (to intend to). It takes the intention from '-려고 하다' and places it in a specific, immediate past context using '-던'.
- -던Had Been -ing
-던 is a retrospective modifier used for actions or states in the past. In '-려던 참이다', it modifies the intended action ('-려고 하-') to mean 'the action I was intending to do'.
- -(으)려다가Was Going to, But
Both express an unfulfilled intention. However, -려다가 focuses on an interruption that leads to a different action (e.g., '자려다가 배고파서 라면을 먹었어요' - I was going to sleep, but I was hungry so I ate ramen). '-려던 참이다' focuses on the coincidence of timing.
- -던 참에Just When/as I Was -ing
Very similar in meaning. '-려던 참에' means 'just as I was about to...' and is used to connect to another clause (e.g., '나가려던 참에 비가 오기 시작했다'). '-려던 참이다' is a sentence-ending form that makes a complete statement.
- -자마자As Soon as
Both relate to immediacy. -자마자 means 'as soon as' and connects two actions that happen in immediate succession. '-려던 참이다' is about an intended action that coincides with another event, not one that follows it.