V+ 는다고/ㄴ다고 V+ 었/았/였는데
It is used to indicate that the speaker tried to do something, but the results were unclear or not as satisfactory as intended. You should repeat the same verb twice.
For ‘-는다고/ㄴ다고’, if the stem of an action verb ends with a vowel or ‘ㄹ’, you use ‘-ㄴ다고’, with another consonant you use ‘-는다고’.
For ‘-었는데/았는데/였는데’, if the stem of an action verb ends with ‘ㅏ, ㅗ’, you should use ‘-았는데’, with another vowel(ㅏ,ㅜ,ㅡ,ㅣ) you use ‘-었는데’. If it ends with ‘하-‘, you should use ‘-였는데(했는데)’.
나는 엄마를 열심히 도와 드린다고 도와 드렸는데 도움이 됐을지 모르겠어요.
I helped my mom hard, but I don’t know if it was helpful.
저는 방 정리를 한다고 했는데 별로 깨끗해진 것 같지 않아요.
I did clean my room, but it doesn’t look very clean.
제가 틀린 곳을 고친다고 고쳤는데 못 본 것이 있을지도 모르니까 한번 더 확인해 보세요.
I fixed where it was wrong, but there might be something I missed, so please check it out again.
Conversation:
민수 씨, 안색이 너무 안 좋아요. 무슨 일 있어요?
Minsu, you don’t look so good. Did anything go wrong?
어제 여자 친구한테 차였거든요.
I was dumped by my girlfriend yesterday.
여자 친구에게 차였다고요? 왜요?
Did you get dumped by your girlfriend? Why?
여자 친구 말로는 제가 변했대요. 사랑이 식은 것 같대요.
My girlfriend said I’ve changed. She said she feels like my love has cooled off.
지난주에 여자 친구 생일이라고 회사로 장미꽃도 보내지 않았어요?
Didn’t you also send roses to her company last week saying it’s your girlfriend’s birthday?
네. 제 딴에는 신경을 쓴다고 썼는데 여자 친구는 부족하다고 느꼈나 봐요.
Yes, I did it believing I cared for her but seems like she felt insufficient.
기운 내세요, 민수 씨. 나중에 더 좋은 사람이 나타날 거예요.
Cheer up, Minsu. You will meet a better person later.
네, 시간이 약이라는 말을 믿어 보려고요.
Yes, I’d like to believe the saying, Time heals all wounds.
Related words
차이다 to be dumped
(사랑이) 식다 to cool off (love)
딴 conceit
시간이 약이다 Time heals all wounds.
Source: Yonsei University. Korean Language Institute