-던 modifies nouns to describe something from the past that you personally remember or experienced. It conveys:
Past habits - Things you used to do regularly
Interrupted actions - Something that was happening but stopped
Personal memory - Recollections with emotional nuance
The cafe I used to go to often closed down.
Compare: -은/는 (general past) vs -던 (personal recollection/habit).
-던 = used to / was doing (recall)
- 먹던 음식 (the food I was eating)
- 살던 집 (the house I used to live in)
-던 vs -(으)ㄴ
- 던 = incomplete/habitual past
- (으)ㄴ = completed past
Implies personal memory
The cafe I used to go to often closed down.
Where is the book I was reading?
It is a song I used to like before.
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