[Korean grammar] -(으)ㄹ테니까 Expressing Conjecture and Supposition

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가: 비빔밥에는 고추장을 넣어야 맛있지요?
Doesn’t bibimbap need red pepper paste to taste good?
나: 네, 하지만 고추장을 많이 넣으면 매울 테니까 조금만 넣으세요.
Yeah, but it will be spicy if you add a lot of red pepper paste, so only put in a little.

가: 마크 씨가 면접을 잘 봤는지 모르겠어요.
I wonder if Mark did well on his interview.
나: 잘 봤을 테니까 걱정하지 마세요.
I'm sure he did well, so don't worry.

This expression is a combination of -(으)ㄹ 터이다, which expresses the speaker's supposition or intention, and (으)니까, 'which expresses a reason. In a sentence with this construction, the second clause contains the speaker's suggestion or statement of advice to the listener while the first clause provides the speaker's reason for giving such a suggestion or advice.


가: 마리 씨가 과일을 좋아하니니까 사과를 좀 사 갈까요?
Shall we buy some apples since Mary likes fruit?
나: 요즘 딸기 철이라 딸기가 싸고 맛있을 테니까 떨기를 사 가요.
Because It's strawberry season now, they should be cheap and taste good, so let's buy some strawberries.

가: 선생님을 만나고 싶은데 어디에 계시는지 아세요?
I want to meet with the teacher, so do you know where she is?
나: 사무실에 계실 테니까 거기로 가 보세요.
She should be in her office, so go and check there.

가: 아침 희의 때 음료수만 준비하면 될까요?
Do we only need to prepare drinks for the morning meeting?
나: 대부분 아침을 안 먹었을 테니까 샌드위치도 같이 준비하는 게 좋겠어요.
Most people probably won't have eaten breakfast, so preparing some sandwiches too is probably a good idea.


1. This expression can also be used at the end of a sentence in the form of -(으)ㄹ 테니까요.
• 일찍 출발하세요, 월요일이라 길이 막힐 테니까요.
Leave early. There will be a traffic jam since it’s Monday.

2. Expressions such as 걱정이다, 고맙다 and 미안하다 cannot follow -(으)ㄹ 테니까
• 바쁘실 테니까 참석해 주셔서 감사합니다.（X）
->바쁘실 텐데 참석해 주셔서 감사합니다. (O)
• 피곤할 테니까 일찍 나오라고 해서 미안해요.（X）
->피곤할 텐데 일찍 나오라고 해서 미안해요. (O)

3. This expression is a combination of -(으)ㄹ 터이다, which states an intention, and (으)니까，and is also used to state the speaker's will or intention. As such, it can only be used when the subject is in the first person. The expression is then followed by the speaker's suggestion or request to the listener to do something. Additionally, only verbs can come before -(으)ㄹ 테니까 and they cannot be in the past tense. 

가: 재영 씨, 앞으로 어떻게 연락하면 될까요?
Jaeyeong, how should I contact you from now on?
나: 제 이메일 주소를 가르쳐 드릴 테니까 여기로 연락 주세요.
I'll give you my email address, so you can contact me that way.

가: 손님이 오시니까 빨리 집을 정리해야겠어요.
I've got to clean up the house fast because some guests are coming.
나: 제가 거실을 정리할 테니까 당신은 방 청소 좀 해 줄래요?
111 clean up the living room, so will you clean the other rooms?

Although (으)ㄹ 텐데 and -(으)ㄹ 테니까 are used to express supposition, they differ the following respects.

>> You can click on the title of each grammar below to learn the other grammars which also express 'Conjecture and Supposition':
01. -아/어 보이다
02. -(으)ㄴ/는 모양이다
03. -(으)ㄹ 텐데
04. -(으)ㄹ 테니까
05. -(으)ㄹ걸요
06. -(으)ㄴ/는/(으)ㄹ 줄 몰랐다[알았다]
07. -(으)ㄹ지도 모르다

>> Full of Intermediate grammars: Click here

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