A/N/V-았/었던 grammar = (reminiscence) ~recall a past event that has not continued to present.

L2.74 A/N/V-았/었던 grammar = (reminiscence) ~recall a past event that has not continued to the present.

Usage:
- 았/었 = completion +  던 = recollection

- The expression is used to recall a past event that has not continued to the present = was, did
- In case of verbs with a certain degree of continued state such as 살다 , 근무하다, 다니다, and 사귀다, V-았/었던 can be replaced by V-던 with the same meaning. (example 6)
- In case of adjectives, A-았/었던 has 2 possible usages: (1) past and present are contrastive, (2) past continues to present. (example 7, 8)

Tense:

Adjective / Verb + -았/었던:

가다 -- 갔던
입다 -- 입었던
먹다 -- 먹었던
만나다 -- 만난던
얌전하다 -- 얌전했던 
살다 -- 살던 -- 살었던

Noun + 였던/이었던:
학생 -- 학생이었던
의사 -- 의사였던

Examples:

1. 어디에서 만날까요?
- 지난번에 만났던 커피숍에서 만나요.

Where shall we meet?

- Let's meet at the coffee shop where we met last time.

2. 이 옷 멋있네요. 새로 사셨어요?
- 안나 씨 생일 파티에 입었던 옷인데 기억 안 나세요?

These are nice clothes. Are they new?
- These clothes I wore them at the Anna birthday party, don’t you remember?

3. 어렸을 때 얌전했던 앤디가 지금은 적극적인 성격으로 바꿨어요.

Andy, who used to be a quiet person when was a child, now has an active personality.

4. 어제 점심 때 먹었던 음식 이름이 뭐지요?

What is the name of the food we had for lunch yesterday?

5. 작년 여름에 놀러 갔던 곳에 다시 가고 싶어요.

I want to go back to the place we went to last summer.

6. 이 집에 제가 어렸을 때 살았던/살던 집입니다.

This is the house I lived in when was child.

7. 초등학교 때는 키가 작았던 수지가 지금은 패션모델을 할 정도로 컸대요.

I heard that Suzy, who used to be short during elementary school, is now tall as a fashion model.

8. 어릴 때부터 똑똑했던 토니 씨는 대학교에 가서도 항상 1등을 한대요.

I heard that Tony has been smart since a kid and even now is always first in his college class.

9. 선생님, 이 문법을 잘 모르겠어요.
- 지난 학기에 배웠던 건데 기억이 안 나세요?

Teacher, I have no idea about this grammar.
- We studied it last year, don’t you remember?

10. 오늘 저녁에 어디에서 만날까요?
- 우리가 처음 만났던 공원에서 만나면 어때요?

Where will we meet this evening?
- How about meeting at the park that we first met.

Comparison between V-던  and V-았/었던 grammar

1. V-던 grammar

- Past action has not ended yet or was repeated often

어렸을 때 먹던 음식이 먹고 싶어요.

I want to eat the food I used eat when was child.

아까 보던 신문을 여기에 두었는데 혹시 못 보셨어요?

I put the newspapers I was reading earlier here, did you see it?

2. V-았/었던 grammar

- Past action was ended and not continue now.

어제 먹었던 음식을 오늘도 먹고 싶어요.

I want to eat the food I ate yesterday again today.

이 신문은 제가 아까 봤던 건데 다른 신문 없어요?

This is the newspapers I read earlier, do you have another one?