LEARN KOREAN (한국어) [GRAMMAR] #1

LAST/NEXT (지난/다음)

지난 and 다음 are two words that you can use in many situations, including in situations related to time. You learned about 마지막, which can be used to refer to the "last" or "final" thing in a sequence. Remember, Korean people use another word when referring to a "previous" (or last) thing, as in: "I saw a movie last (the previous) week."

In order to refer to a "previous" thing, the word "지난" can be used. I drew a picture to depict the image I have in my head distinguishing 마지막 and 지난. Imagine you are on a six week trip, and you are currently in your fourth week of the trip. You can use "지난" to refer to the previous week, and you can use "마지막" to refer to the final week. (You can refer to them both as "last week" in English). For example:

지난 can be added immediately before some words of time to refer to a "previous" thing. This often translates to "last," though. For example:

저는 지난 주에 영화를 봤어요 - I saw a movie last week
저는 지난 주에 캐나다에 갔어요 - I went to Canada last week.
저는 지난 수업을 안 들었어요 - I didn't go to/attend the last/previous class

In order to say "attend a class," Korean people say "수업을 듣다," which literally translates to "listen to/hear a class." As such, you can see that the particle ~을 is attached to "수업" because "the class" is the noun that is being listened to. Korean learners are sometimes confused as to why "~에" is not attached to "수업" because they are accustomed to the English way of saying "I didn't go to the last class".

Also, note that this sentence is also correct, but is referring to a different class than above:
저는 마지막 수업을 안 들었어요 = I didn't attend the last class

지난 can be added only before some words of time. For example, you couldn't say "지난 분/지난 초." These would mean "last minute/second" as in 'the last minute/second' that just passed – which doesn't make any sense. Notice that they do not have the meaning of "I handed in my paper at the last minute." This meaning refers to the last minute in a sequence of minutes; therefore, "마지막" must be used in this case.

시간, however, means "time" in addition to being a counter for "hours." So, "지난 시간" can be used to mean "last time" (but not "last hour").

저는 그것을 지난 시간에 배웠어요 - I learned that (thing) last time

You can also use the word 번 to refer to the last "time" something happened.

저는 그것을 지난 번에 배웠어요 - I learned that (thing) last time
우리가 지난 번에 계획이 없었어요 - We didn't have plans last time
우리는 지난 번에 돼지고기를 먹었어요 - We ate pork last time

다음 is used in the same way as 지난, but it means "next." For example:

저는 다음 주에 영화를 볼 거예요 - I will see a movie next week
저는 다음 주에 캐나다에 갈 거예요 - I will go to Canada next week

Like above, 다음 can be used with 시간 to mean "next time," but not "next hour."

우리는 다음 번에 학교에 갈 거예요 - We will go to school next time
우리는 다음 시간에 학교에 갈 거예요 - We will go to school next time
나는 너를 다음 번에 방문할 거야 - I will visit you next time