-고 있었다
was doing — past progressive
The past form of -고 있다. Says something was under way at a particular past moment, usually when something else interrupted it.
Build it
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When to use it
Attach -고 있었다 to any action verb stem. Nothing changes, ㄹ stays, and the tense sits on 있다.
It needs a reference point — a moment in the past at which the action was in progress. Most often another clause supplies it: 전화했을 때 자고 있었어요.
Without that anchor, the plain past is what Korean uses. “I studied yesterday” is 어제 공부했어요, not 공부하고 있었어요 — and this is where English speakers over-apply the progressive.
Repeated past habits also take the plain past: 작년에 매일 운동했어요, not 운동하고 있었어요.
With an honoured subject, 있다 becomes 계시다: 주무시고 계셨어요.
How to attach it
| Situation | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Any action verb | -고 있었다 | 자다 → 자고 있었어요 |
| ㄹ stems keep the ㄹ | -고 있었다 | 만들다 → 만들고 있었어요 |
| Needs a reference point | -았/었을 때 etc. | 전화했을 때 자고 있었어요 |
| Honorific | -고 계셨다 | 주무시고 계셨어요 |
| Simple past instead | -았/었- | 어제 공부했어요 |
| Resulting state instead | -아/어 있었다 | 앉아 있었어요 |
In use
전화했을 때 자고 있었어요.
I was asleep when you called.
제가 도착했을 때 다들 기다리고 있었어요.
Everyone was waiting when I arrived.
그때 저는 저녁을 만들고 있었어요.
I was making dinner at the time.
비가 올 때 밖에서 놀고 있었어요.
We were playing outside when it started raining.
할아버지는 신문을 읽고 계셨어요.
Grandfather was reading the newspaper.
한참 찾고 있었는데 가방 안에 있었어요.
I’d been looking for ages, and it was in my bag.
Compared with
-았/었-
The plain past reports that something happened; -고 있었다 reports it as unfinished at a given moment. Without a reference point, the plain past is correct.
어제 공부했어요. (I studied) / 전화했을 때 공부하고 있었어요. (I was studying when you called)
-아/어 있었다
-고 있었다 is the action running; -아/어 있었다 is the state it left. Verbs of position take the second.
앉고 있었어요. (was sitting down) / 앉아 있었어요. (was seated)
-던
-던 also describes an unfinished past action, but as a modifier before a noun rather than as a predicate.
읽고 있었어요. (I was reading it) / 읽던 책 (the book I was reading)
Watch out
어제 세 시간 동안 공부하고 있었어요.
어제 세 시간 동안 공부했어요.
A completed stretch of study is a plain past event. -고 있었다 needs a moment at which the action was interrupted or observed.
제가 도착했을 때 다들 앉고 있었어요.
제가 도착했을 때 다들 앉아 있었어요.
앉고 있었어요 means they were in the act of lowering themselves into chairs. For people already seated, use -아/어 있었다.
할아버지는 신문을 읽고 있었어요.
할아버지는 신문을 읽고 계셨어요.
With an honoured subject, 있다 rises to 계시다 so the sentence matches throughout.
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