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Grammar Intermediate TOPIK II · Level 3–4 Intermediate Korean 1 · Unit 9

-었었-

-었었-: The Past Before the Past — Not Any More

Pre-final past that contrasts with the present — discontinued or different from now.

Before this, make sure you know: -았-/-었- , -아요 / -어요 , 이다

How to form it

When Form Example
Stem with ㅏ/ㅗ -았었- 갔었어요 / 왔었어요
Other stems -었었- -었었어요 / 먹었었어요
하다 (hada) verbs -했었- 일했었어요

-았었- / -었었- is the past that doesn’t line up with now. 우리말샘: a past event that is different from or discontinuous with the present.

Classroom gloss: the past before the past — and why it often implies not any more.

Shape

예전에 부산에 살았었어요.     I used to live in Busan (I don’t now, in this framing).
학생 때는 정말 수줍었었어요.
예전에 안경을 썼었어요.
예전에는 매운 음식을 못 먹었었어요.

Personality / appearance unit:

중학생 때는 키가 작았었어요.
예전에는 머리가 길었었어요.
그때는 성격이 급했었어요.

Harmony: 가다 → 갔었어요, 먹다 → 먹었었어요, 하다 → 했었어요.

Versus plain -었-

FormJob
-었-ordinary past fact
-었었-past framed against now — discontinued / no longer
어제 김치 먹었어요.           simple past
예전에 고기를 안 먹었었어요.   used-to habit, contrasted with now

If there is no “now is different” story, plain -었어요 is enough. English had eaten does not automatically demand -었었-.

Learner traps

  1. Past-perfect calque on every flashback.
  2. 가었었어요 harmony errors.
  3. Using it when the state still holds (서울에 살았었어요 while you still live there — fights the discontinuity colour).

Ask: am I talking about a past that is cut off from now? If yes, -았었-/-었었-. If you only need yesterday’s fact, -았-/-었- is enough.

Do not confuse it with

-았-/-었-

past tense — built on the same stem rule as 해요체

-고 있다

be doing — the progressive

은/는 vs 이/가

topic vs subject particles — communicative focus vs discourse framing

Taught alongside this

On the jabi learning path, this appears in 제 친구는 성격이 활발해요 (My friend has a lively personality) — Intermediate Korean 1, Unit 9, on the theme of personality and appearance. These come with it:

-어 보이다 looks that way — judging by appearance alone -거든① because, you see — explaining something the listener did not know

Words used above

Tap the speaker to hear it read aloud by your browser.

-었었어요-eosseosseoyoused to… / had… (but not now)
예전yejeonformerly / in the past
단절danjeoldiscontinuity / break
성격seonggyeokpersonality
외모oemoappearance

Quick check

No sign-up, no score saved — just see if it stuck.

1. 예전에 서울에 살았었어요 implies…

2. When is plain -었어요 enough?

3. 가다 → discontinuous past polite?

Common questions

Is this English past perfect?

Sometimes it translates that way, but do not mark every had+V with -었었-. Use it when now is different or cut off from that past.

Can adjectives take it?

Yes — 예뻤었어요, 뚱뚱했었어요 in ‘used to be…’ personality/appearance talk.

Does past-eot already mention this?

past-eot may point here. This page is the hub for the double past.

하다 form?

했었어요 is the everyday compression.