Difference between -난 and -나는 on action verbs

Question

Recently I'd been watching a korean tv soap and I saw this line: "끝날때까지 끝난 게 아니다."

Is this a mistake? Since 끝나다 is a verb, I'd expected to see something like:

끝날때까지 끝나는 게 아니다.

Am I wrong?

Answer 1

-(으)ㄴ attached to a verb is one of two:

1. 앞말이 관형어 구실을 하게 하고, 사건이나 행위가 과거 또는 말하는 이가 상정한 기준 시점보다 과거에 일어남을 나타내는 어미. A verb ending which lets the verb act as a noun modifier, and indicates that the action or event happen in the past, or before a certain point the speaker has set.

   • 어제 떠난 사람

2. 앞말이 관형어 구실을 하게 하고 사건이나 행위가 완료되어 그 상태가 유지되고 있음을 나타내는 어미.A verb ending which lets the verb act as a noun modifier, and indicates that the action or event has completed and the completed state is maintained until now.

   • 모자를 쓴 사람

The first one is similar to the simple past tense in English. The second definition, which is the one we're interested, is roughly "has -ed and still is -ing", sort of like present complete plus present continuous in English combined.

For example, 모자를 쓴 사람(쓰다 is a verb) means "a person who has put on a hat, and is still wearing it", or simply, "a person who is wearing a hat". (The action of "putting on" a hat is complete.)

Similarly, 끝난 영화 would mean "a movie which has ended". In contrast, 끝나는 영화 would mean "a movie which ends".

끝날 때까지 끝나는 게 아니다 would also make sense. But the concept of "ending" is more emphasized with a completed sense, I think. An ending is not really the end when it's still in the process of ending, is it? It truly ends when the process of ending finishes. That's why they chose the perfect -(으)ㄴ verb ending here.

Answer 2

하는 것이

is that which is being done while

한 것이

is that which is already done...so in that vein

끝난 게 아니다 = it didn't end this

and

끝나는 게 아니다 = it isn't ending this