Middle School - Grade 7
Lesson 8: "Since..."
"It has been... since..." (-(으)ㄴ 지)
Marking the Passage of Time
This grammar point, **-(으)ㄴ 지**, is almost always used with a time expression to state how much time has passed *since* an action occurred.
The full pattern looks like this:
**[Verb]-(으)ㄴ 지 [Time Period] (이/가) 되다/넘다**
... (It has been / It has passed) [Time Period] since [Verb].
The Conjugation Rules
This attaches to action verb stems and follows the same rule as past-tense noun modifiers (Lesson M8-3).
Stem ends in Vowel or ㄹ
... + ㄴ 지
오다 오ㄴ 지
"Since coming..."
살다 사ㄴ 지 (ㄹ drops)
"Since living..."
Stem ends in Consonant (except ㄹ)
... + 은 지
먹다 먹은 지
"Since eating..."
읽다 읽은 지
"Since reading..."
Examples in Action
CLASSIC EXAMPLE
한국에 온 지 1년이 되었어요.
It has been 1 year since I came to Korea.
COMMON QUESTION
한국어를 공부한 지 얼마나 됐어요?
How long has it been since you started studying Korean?
SHORT TIME
밥 먹은 지 10분밖에 안 됐어요.
It has only been 10 minutes since I ate.
Coming Up Next...
You've learned to talk about what's *happening* (actions). Next, you'll learn to talk about what's *in progress* (a state), using "in the middle of..."