Easy Korean - Level 6, Unit 24: I was just about to... (-(으)려던 참이다)

Have you ever experienced someone telling you to do something, exactly at the moment you were already going to do it? * Mom: "Clean your room!" * You: "I was just about to clean it!"

In Korean, we use the structure -(으)려던 참이다 (or polite: -(으)려던 참이에요) to say "I was just about to [do X]."

Structure Breakdown

• -(으)려고 하다 = to plan/intend to do something
• -던 = a past tense modifier (used to)
• 참 = a moment / a point in time

So, it means "I am at the exact moment where I was intending to do X."

How to Conjugate

Just like -(으)려고 하다:

1. Vowel stem: Add -려던 참이에요 * 가다 -> 가려던 참이에요 (I was just about to go) * 자다 -> 자려던 참이에요 (I was just about to sleep) * 전화하다 -> 전화하려던 참이에요 (I was just about to call)

2. Consonant stem: Add -으려던 참이에요 * 먹다 -> 먹으려던 참이에요 (I was just about to eat) * 씻다 -> 씻으려던 참이에요 (I was just about to wash)

3. ㄹ stem: Add -려던 참이에요 * 만들다 -> 만들려던 참이에요 (I was just about to make it)

Using "마침" (Just in time)

Koreans often use the adverb 마침 (ma-chim), meaning "just in time" or "coincidentally," at the beginning of the sentence to emphasize the timing.

• 안 그래도 마침 전화하려던 참이었어요. (Even if you hadn't, I was just about to call you.)

Past Tense Ending

You can end the sentence with 참이에요 (present) or 참이었어요 (past). In this specific grammar point, they are mostly interchangeable because you are explaining a past intention that carried into the present moment.

Example Sentences

1. 지금 막 나가려던 참이에요. (I was just about to go out right now.)
2. 마침 밥을 먹으려던 참이었어요. (I was just about to eat just in time.)
3. 안 그래도 물어보려던 참이었어요. (I was just about to ask anyway.)