안녕하세요! 토미입니다.
Let’s study Korean with a positive mindset!
Today’s grammatical rules are
① double past tense -았/었었다 “did/had (in the past)”
② -는 걸 보니까 “seeing that _____”
③ -는 김에 “while”
I am thrilled and excited that I can teach you the past perfect tense -았/었었다.
It’s like, “Yay, finally! I can finally teach this!”
Have you caught the phrase 사랑했었다 in your favorite songs?
That’s the one I am talking about! Today, let’s dig into this deep meaning.
I am sure you can get a good score on TOPIK and become a master of intermediate Korean!
그럼 시작할게요!
-았/었었다
Verbs • Adjectives + 았/었었다
Noun(without a final consonant) + 였었다
Noun(with a final consonant) + 이었었다
To begin with, the first grammatical rule -았/었었다 has -었- after-았/었- which expresses the past.
Therefore, this has a double expression of the past tense. You can probably guess by hearing the double-past tense.
This indicates that a particular event had occurred in the past.
Therefore, this event is not continuing currently.
Thus, this grammatical rule is called “past perfect tense.”
Now, to make it easier for you to understand, let’s look at the nuance difference between the past tense and the past perfect tense.
First, let’s look at the regular use of the past tense.
Past tense
오빠는 일요일에 부산에 갔다.
My brother went to Busan on Sunday.
In this sentence, when you use only the past tense 갔다 “went,” you can tell me that your brother’s action occurred in the past.
However, it is not clear if his action is completed or not.
Therefore, this sentence has a nuance, which expresses that your brother went to Busan and might still be in Busan.
On the other hand, if you use the past perfect tense, -았/었었다, it will be -갔었다, and therefore, the sentence will be
Past perfect tense
오빠는 일요일에 부산에 갔었다.
My brother has gone to Busan on Sunday.
In this way, the sentence conveys that your brother “went” in the past and had completed his action.
Therefore, there is no ambiguity about the time in his action.
In other words, it clarifies that he is not in Busan now.
Let’s use the past perfect tense for verbs, adjectives, and nouns.
First, in the case of verbs and adjectives, you can only add 었 after the stem of the past tense.
It’s as easy as ABC.
For example, 가다 is “to go.” Its past tense is 갔다.
You add 었 to its stem to make 갔었다 “have gone.”
먹다 is “to eat.” Since its past tense is 먹었다, you can attach 었 to its stem to make 먹었었다 “have eaten.”
Next, in the case of nouns, you use -였었다 for nouns that do not have a final consonant.
And -이었었다 to nouns, which have a final consonant.
For example, 교사 is a “teacher” which does not have a final consonant.
You attach -였었다 to say 교사였었다 “have been a teacher.”
Since 학생 “student” has a final consonant, you will attach -이었었다 to say, 학생이었었다 “have been a student.”
OK, now let’s read a sample sentence.
Verbs: Example 1
좀 전에 부장님한테 전화 왔었어요.
There has been a phone call from the manager just a moment ago.
Here, the past tense of 오다 “to come” is 왔다.
었 is attached to its stem to make 왔었다 “there has been.” In other words, “there has been (a phone call).”
This sentence indicates that there has been a phone call just a moment ago, but now the phone is disconnected.
If you use the past tense, 전화 왔어요, the sentence could mean that there was a phone call and it has not been completed.
In other words, the caller might still be on the line, or the phone just rang.
Thus, 왔어요 is technically past tense, but it has some connection between past and present.
Do you get it? However, if you say 왔었어요, then the listener understands that the action itself is completed, and got it?
Okay, let’s read the following sentence.
Nouns: Example 2
우리가 처음 만났을 때 난 대학생이었었지.
When we met for the first time, I was a college student.
Alright, it sounds like they are immersing themselves in their memory.
Let’s go back to the lesson. Here, since 대학생 has a final consonant, -이었었다 is attached to it and becomes 대학생이었었다.
It means that “(I) was a college student.” Using the past perfect tense, you can express that you are no longer a college student.
It’s a piece of cake?
Quiz
Now, let’s deepen your understanding by taking a simple quiz. Which one is the correct answer?
1. 그 친구가 이사 가기 전에는 거의 주말마다 그 친구랑 ( )….
Before my friend moved away, I had seen her almost every weekend ….
(1)만났었는데 (2)만날 거야
Okay, the correct answer is (1). 만나다 is “to see.” Its past tense is 만났다. You will attach 었 to the stem to say, 만났었다 (had seen).
The last thing is to add a nuance of regret. To do this, you can use -는데 and say 만났었는데.
This sentence means they often saw each other before she moved away, but now they don’t see each other anymore.
The second option 만날 거야, is a future tense, isn’t it?
If you choose this, the sentence will mean, “I hope I can see her,” which differs from what we wanted to say.
Therefore, this is incorrect.
Now, let’s read the sentence together!
그 친구가 이사 가기 전에는 거의 주말마다 그 친구랑 (만났었는데 )….
Please read this sentence at least three times, imagining you miss your friend.
Now, let’s see the following quiz!
2. 그 사람은 예전에는 정말 인기가 ( ).
That person used to be very popular in the old days.
(1) 많겠구나 (2)많았었어
The correct answer is (2). 인기가 많다 means “to be popular.”
To make it into the past tense, it will be 많았다.
You attach 었 to its stem to say 많았었다, which means “used to be popular.”
After this, you have to make it 반말.
So, it will be 많았었어. This sentence means that this person was very popular in the old days but is no longer popular. It’s a little sad.
The first option 많겠구나 is used when you make a guess.
Therefore, it means “(this person) appears to be popular.” So it doesn’t fit into the content. Now, let’s read the sentence together!
그 사람은 예전에는 정말 인기가 (많았었어).
Please read this sentence at least three times, imagining you are talking to your friends about popular singers.
-는 걸 보니까
Verbs + 는 걸 보니까
Adjective(without a final consonant + ㄴ 걸 보니까
Adjective(with a final consonant) + 은 걸 보니까
Nouns + 인 걸 보니까
Now, let’s look at the second grammar! You can use -는 걸 보니까 (seeing that) by attaching the noun modifier before -걸 보니까. In addition, -걸 보니까 is a shortened form of -것을 보니까, and this grammar is a colloquial expression.
Let’s see the usage of the noun modifier.
As you can see, the present tense for the verb is 는, and the past tense is -(으)ㄴ, -던, -았/었던.
The present tense for an adjective is -ㄴ/은, and the past tense is -던, -았/었던.
The present tense for a noun is 인, and the past tense is -(이)던, -였던/이었던.
I didn’t teach -던, -였던, -이었던 yet, so today, I will mainly focus on the present tense.
Now, let’s read sample sentences.
Verbs: Example 1
웃는 걸 보니까 무슨 기분 좋은 일이 있었구나?
Seeing that you are smiling, there was something good, wasn’t there?
Here, since 웃다 “to laugh” is a verb, you will attach the present tense, -는 걸 보니까, and say, 웃는 걸 보니까 “seeing that you are smiling.”
Let’s see the following sample sentence.
Verbs: Example 2
너는 이 따뜻한 날씨에 몸을 부들부들 떠는 걸 보니까, 감기 걸린 것 같은데.
Seeing that you are shivering in this warm weather, you might have caught a cold.
Here, 떨다 “to shiver” has ㄹ final consonant.
In this case, ㄹ will drop off “oh, no…! Goodbye ㄹ,” and you will attach -는 걸 보니까 to say, 떠는 걸 보니까 “seeing that (you are) shivering.”
Do you remember the rule of removing ㄹ? Don’t forget!!
Adjectives: Example 3
밖이 밝은 걸 보니까 비가 그쳤나 봐요.
I guess the rain has stopped because it’s bright outside.
밝다 “bright” is an adjective, so you add 은 걸 보니까 to make 밝은 걸 보니까 “because it’s bright.”
Nouns: Example 2
아직 월요일인 걸 보니까 힘이 빠지네…
I feel exhausted because it’s still Monday…
월요일 “Monday” is a noun, so you add 인 걸 보니까 to make 월요일인 걸 보니까 “because it’s still Monday.”
Quiz
Now, let’s deepen our understanding by taking a simple quiz.
Which one is the correct answer?
1. 그 사람이 ( ) 마음이 놓여요.
I feel at ease seeing that he is in business.
(1)사업하는 걸 보니까 (2)사업할 거니까
The correct answer is (1). Since 사업하다 “to do business” is a verb, you will attach -는 걸 보니까 to say, 사업하는 걸 보니까.
Also, 마음이 놓이다 “to feel at ease, to feel calm” is a valuable expression. I recommend you remember this!
The second option, 사업할 거니까, means “because (he) is planning to do business.”
This is a future tense, meaning he is not in business yet.
Since this is not what that translation means, (2) is incorrect. Now, let’s read the sentence together!
그 사람이 (사업하는 걸 보니까 ) 마음이 놓여요.
Please practice several times to imagine that you’re finally relieved.
Now, let’s look at the following quiz!
2. 사람들이 줄을 ( ) 유명한 식당인 것 같애.
Seeing that there are people in line, that restaurant is famous.
(1)서는 (2)서는 걸 보니까
The correct answer is (2). 줄을 서다 is “to stand in line.” This is a verb. So, you attach 는 걸 보니까 to its stem to make 줄을 서는 걸 보니까.
If you choose (1), it means “it seems like that’s where the restaurant people stand in line.”
It does not match the translation, so (1) is incorrect.
Now, let’s read the sentence together!
사람들이 줄을 (서는 걸 보니까) 유명한 식당인 것 같애.
Please practice with this sentence, imagining that you are guessing something.
-는 김에, -(으)ㄴ 김에
Verbs + 는 김에
[Past tense] Verb(without a final consonant) + ㄴ 김에
[Past tense] Verb(with a final consonant) + 은 김에
Last but not least, let’s learn -는 김에 “while, as I do something.”
You can use this grammar for the main verbs.
Using this grammar, you can express that you take an opportunity to do one action while another is happening.
To use this grammar, you attach -는 김에 to its verb stem for the present tense and -(으)ㄴ 김에 for the past tense.
Additionally, you might have noticed that 김 of 는 김에 is softer in sound.
It is not [kim] but rather [gim]. Now, let’s read an example sentence.
Verbs: Example 1
빨래를 하는 김에 이것도 같이 빨까?
Would you like me to wash this while I do the laundry?
Here, 하다 is “to do.” You attach -는 김에 to its stem to make 하는 김에 “as I do.” Let’s read the following sample sentence.
Verbs: Example 2
우리 부산까지 온 김에 맛있는 해산물도 먹고 가요.
Let’s have some good seafood as we have come to Busan.
This person mentions that they have accomplished one action, like “as we have come to Busan.”
Therefore, you use -ㄴ 김에, the past tense. 오다 “to come” does not have a final consonant, so you add -ㄴ 김에 to make 온 김에 “as we have come.”
Quiz
Now, let’s deepen your understanding by taking a simple quiz. Which one is the correct answer?
1. 내 옷을 ( ) 언니 옷도 하나 살까?
Should I buy clothes for my sister while I buy my clothes?
(1)사는 김에 (2)살 김에
The correct answer is (1). Here, 사다 is “to buy.”
Since I want to say what I am doing at the present moment, I will attach -는 김에 and say 사는 김에 “while I buy.”
For the second option, 살 김에 is the wrong answer.
Because Korean people do not attach 김에 to a future noun modifier.
Please be careful about this. Now, let’s read the sentence together cheerfully!
내 옷을 (사는 김에) 언니 옷도 하나 살까?
Please read this part at least three times, imagining your thoughts about your sister.
Now, let’s look at the next question!
2. 서울에 ( ) 친구 좀 만나려고요.
I am considering seeing a friend while I’ve come up to Seoul.
(1)올라온 김에 (2)올라왔으니까
The correct answer is (1). Here, 올라오다 means “to come into town.”
You want to use the past tense “as I have come.” Since 올라오다 does not have a final consonant, you attach the past tense -ㄴ 김에 to say 올라온 김에 “as I have come up to.”
The second option 올라왔으니까 will mean “since I came up,” which indicates the reason.
That’s not what we want to say here. OK? Now, let’s read the sentence together!
서울에 올라온 김에 친구 좀 만나려고요.
Please practice this sentence several times, imagining you are meeting your best friend.
Homework
Now, I will give the wonderful gift of homework.
Now, let’s write down three sentences in the comment section using the grammatical rules we learned today.
① Please write a sentence using -았/었었다 “did/had (in the past).”
You can write something you did before but are no longer doing,
For example,
- 나는 너를 사랑했었다.
I used to love you.
Yes, this sentence has the nuance that “I don’t love you now.”
It’s a little heartbreaking.
② Please make a sentence by using -는 걸 보니까 “seeing that”
like “I came to think this way by seeing such and such,”
For example,
- 먹구름이 많이 있는 걸 보니까 비가 올 것 같아.
It looks like it’s going to rain, seeing that there are a lot of dark clouds.
Don’t forget that this grammar is often used in conversation.
③ Please make a sentence of what you did while you did something else, using -는 -김에 “while, as.”
For example,
- 시내에 나온 김에 친구를 만나고 왔어요.
I saw my friend as I came to the city.
The second assignment is to memorize words.
Please memorize the 40 words from #241 to #280 on page 4 of the Intermediate Vocabulary List.
Please take a quiz I have made available on my website after memorizing these 40 words.
That’s it for today!! Good job, guys!! High five!!!
I am thrilled to teach you Korean. I sincerely wish you happiness.
그럼 오늘도 행복 가득, 웃음 가득한 하루 되세요！
한국어 화이팅, 화이팅, 화이팅！！
Vocabulary Test : 40 Questions
