Lesson 12
In this lesson, we will take a look at the endings -던데요 and -다던데요 as well as some of their variations. These two grammar structures are used to talk about something you experienced, observed, or heard about. You can still convey the same kind of meaning without using these endings, too, but they add more flavor and detail to your sentences.
Although -던데요 and -다던데요 look similar, they are used in very different circumstances. Typically, -던데요 is used to talk about past experiences or observations, and -다던데요 is used to relay information that you heard.
How to use -던데요
-던데요 can be used to talk about something you experienced or witnessed in the past. When using this sentence ending, the speaker is expecting the listener to show a reaction to what they have been told.
Conjugation
If the action happened as you were witnessing it
- Verb stem + -던데요
- Noun + -(이)던데요
If the action had already happened when you saw it
- Verb stem + -았/었/였- + -던데요
- Noun + -이었- or -였- + -던데요
Sample Sentences
(The sentences in parentheses are examples of possible interpretations. Other interpretations are possible as well, and depend on the context of the conversation.)
어제 갑자기 눈이 오던데요.
= It suddenly snowed yesterday. (I saw it myself! What do you say about that?)
어제 전화 안 하던데요.
= They did not call me yesterday. (You said they would. What happened?)
or
= They did not call me yesterday. (That is how it went. What do you think?)
봤는데, 너무 비싸던데요.
= I saw it, but it was too expensive.
그 사람 한국어 잘하던데요.
= He spoke Korean well! (Didn't you say he does not speak Korean?)
or
= He spoke Korean well! (Did you know that?)
오늘 잘하시던데요.
= I saw you doing a good job today.
손님이 오셨던데요.
= It seems like you have a guest. (Are you aware of it?)
그 게임 어제 처음 해 봤는데 생각보다 어렵던데요.
= I tried that game for the first time yesterday, and it was more difficult than I had thought.
그 책 현우 씨한테 이미 빌려줬던데요.
= He/she had already lent the book to Hyunwoo (when I checked).
Note that in all of the sample sentences above, because you are expecting some kind of reaction from the listener it usually sounds unnatural to just end your conversation there.
How to use -다던데요
You can use -다던데요 to relay to someone a fact or a piece of information that you heard from someone else. -다던데요 is short for -다고 하던데요. In this structure, -다고 하다 means to "say that..." and is combined with the ending -던데요 that was introduced above.
Conjugation
If the action had not happened when you heard about it or the state was true when you heard about it
- Descriptive verb stem + -다던데요
- Action verb stem ending with a vowel or the consonant ㄹ (in this case, ㄹ is dropped) + -ㄴ다던데요
- Action verb stem ending with a consonant (except for the consonant ㄹ) + -는다던데요
- Noun + -(이)라던데요
If the action had already happened by the time you heard about it or the state was true at one time, but it was not true by the time you heard about it
- Descriptive/Action verb stem + -았/었/였- + -다던데요
- Noun + -이었- or -였- + -다던데요
Sample Sentences
(The sentences in parenthesis are examples and are not the only possible interpretations.)
내일 회의 안 한다던데요.
= I heard that there is no meeting tomorrow. (Were you told otherwise?)
수요일에 다시 온다던데요.
= They said they would come back on Wednesday. (What do you think?)
지금은 안 판다던데요.
= I heard they do not sell it now. (What should I do now?)
여행 혼자 간다던데요.
= He told me he is going on the trip alone. (Did you think he was going with someone else?)
거기보다는 여기가 더 넓다던데요.
= I heard it is more spacious here than there. (Shall we choose this place then?)
아직 학생이라던데요.
= I heard she is still a student. (That is not what YOU heard, right?)
이렇게 하면 된다던데요.
= They said that you can just do it like this.
다혜 씨도 점심 사무실에서 먹는다던데요.
= I heard that Dahye also eats her lunch in the office.
미국에 있을 때는 선생님이었다던데요.
= I heard that he/she was a teacher when he/she was in the United States.
준배 씨가 청소했다던데요.
= I heard that Joonbae cleaned it up.