What mistake do English speakers make with -(으)ㄴ/던?

-던 vs -았/었던: 먹던 = was eating (ongoing past). 먹었던 = had eaten (completed past). 내가 좋아하던 노래 (a song I used to like) vs 내가 좋아했던 노래 (a song I liked — more definitively past).

📝 Grammar B2 ✓ Native Reviewed

-(으)ㄴ/던

-(eu)n/deon

Used to / Past habitual / Reminiscent of

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What it means

-던 marks something that was habitual in the past, an incomplete past action, or something the speaker recalls nostalgically. Creates beautifully nostalgic or retrospective sentences.

Nuance & when to use

먹던 음식 = food I used to eat. 자주 가던 곳 = a place I used to go often. -던 implies incompleteness or recollection — you used to do it but no longer do (or it wasn't finished). Distinct from -았던 (a past action that was completed). Very poetic when used in songs/literature.

Example sentences

어렸을 때 살던 집이에요. Eoryeosseul ttae saldeon jibieyeo. It's the house I lived in when I was young.

자주 가던 카페가 없어졌어요. Jaju gadeon kapeaga eopseojyeosseoyo. The café I used to go to often is gone.

References Naver Korean Dictionary ↗ 국립국어원 표준국어대사전 ↗

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-(으)ㄴ/던

What it means

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