[Korean grammar] -(으)ㄴ/는 척하다 Expressing Habits and Attitudes

가: 아까 넘어졌을 때 아프지 않았어요?
Didn’t it hurt when you fell earlier?
나: 정말 아팠어요. 하지만 사람들이 보고 있어서 아프지 않은 척했어요.
It really hurt. But with everyone watching, I acted like it didn't hurt.

가: 얘기하다가 왜 갑자기 자는 척해요?
Why are you acting like you're asleep in the middle of having a conversation.
나: 쉿, 저기 앞에 할아버지가 걸어오시잖아요. 오늘은 좀 피곤해서 자리를 양보 못 하겠거든요.
Shh! See that old man over there walking this way? I'm tired and today don't feel like giving my seat up to him.

This expression is used to indicate the subject's acting in a way that goes contrary to reality or to describe such a state of affair. The description of what is contrary to reality appears in the clause preceding -(으)ㄴ/는 척하다.

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[Korean grammar] -기는요 Expressing Habits and Attitudes

가: 한국말을 정말 잘하시네요!
Your Korean is really good!
나: 잘하기는요. 아직도 더 많이 배워야 해요.
No, it's not really that good. I've still got so much more to learn.

가: 어제영화 재미있었어요?
Was the movie interesting yesterday?
나: 재미있기는요. 보다가 졸았어요.
Not really that interesting, I fell asleep watching it.

This expression is used to politely refute or disagree with the other person’s statement. When used in response to a compliment, it expresses the speaker’s modesty. This expression can also be shortened to -긴요.

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[Korean grammar] -곤 하다 Expressing Habits and Attitudes

가: 점심인데 김밥 드세요?
It’s lunchtime, and (all) you’re having (is) gimbap?
나: 네, 시간이 없어서요. 시간이 없을 때는 일하면서 김밥을 먹곤 해요.
Yeah, I don’t have any time. When I’m pressed for time, I’ll often have gimbap while I work.

가: 인터넷이 참 좋아졌지요?
Did your Internet get fixed?
나: 네, 예전에는 인터넷이 갑자기 끊기곤 했는데 이젠 그런 일이 거의 없어요.
Yes. It used to cut off suddenly, but now it rarely, if ever, does.

This expression is used to describe something which occurs repeatedly or a person who performs some action repeatedly or regularly. It is often used together with ‘곧잘’. 차주’, ‘가곰’. The form ‘-고는 하다’ is a variant of this form.

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[Korean grammar] -았/었어야 했는데 Expressing Regret

가: 마크 씨, 책의 내용을 요약해 보세요.
Mark, please summarize the contents of the book.
나: 잘 모르겠습니다, 교수님. 책을 미리 읽어 왔어야 했는데 죄송합니다.
Professor, I don’t know it (the content). I should have read the book in advance, and I’m sorry (that I didn’t).

가: 자야 씨가 왜 그렇게 화가 났어요?
Why is Jaya so angry?
나: 제가 자야 씨한테 뚱뚱해 보인다고 했거든요. 그런 말을 하지 말았어야 했는데 후회가 돼요.
I told her she looked fat. I shouldn't have said such a thing, and now I regret it.

This expression is used to indicate regret or lament about the fact that a necessary action was not completed or that some necessary state was not achieved.

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[Korean grammar] -(으)ㄹ걸 그랬다 Expressing Regret

가: 아키라 씨, 오셨어요?
Akira, have you arrived?
나: 아, 모두들 정장을 입고 왔네요. 저도 정장을 입고 올걸 그랬어요.
(Yes,) but everyone is dressed formally. I should have worn my dress clothes.

가: 컴퓨터가 30%나 세일을 하네요,
Computers are a surprising 30% off.
나: 진짜요? 이렇게 세일할 줄 알았으면 조금만 기다릴걸 그랬어요. 지난주에 샀거든요.
Really? If I had known they were having such a big sale, I would have waited a bit longer. I bought one last week.

This expression is used when the speaker wants to express regret or a feeling of lament about something he or she should have done, or did but should not have done. When referring to something that should have been done but was not, -(으)ㄹ걸 그랬다 is used, and when referring to something that was done, but in hindsight should not have been done, either -지 말걸 그랬다 or 안 -(으)ㄹ걸 그랬다 is used.

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[Korean grammar] -(으)ㄹ 뻔하다 Expressing Hypothetical Situations

가: 오늘 길이 너무 미끄럽지 않아요?
Aren't the roads really slippery today?
나: 네, 맞아요. 저도 길이 너무 미끄러워서 학교에 오다가 넘어질 뻔했어요.
Yes, you’re right. They’re so slippery I almost fell on the way to school.

가: 하마터면 기차를 놓칠 뻔했어요.
We almost missed the train,
나: 다음부터는 더 일찍 출발해야겠어요.
Then we should leave earlier next time.

This expression is used to indicate that some event or action almost happened but did not. In most cases, it is used to express the speaker's relief that the event or action did not happen. Because it refers to a past event, the form -(으)ㄹ 뻔했다 is always used. It is often used together with the adverb 하마터면 and it only attaches to verbs.

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[Korean grammar] -았/었더라면 Expressing Hypothetical Situations

가: 어쩌지요?표가 모두 매진되었네요.
What should we do? The tickets are all sold out.
나: 그러니까 제가 예매하자고 했잖아요. 미리 예매 했더라면 공연을 볼 수 있었을 거 예요.
That’s why I said we should buy them in advance. If we had purchased them in advance, we could have seen the show.

가: 아키라 씨, 생일 축하해요!
Akira, happy birthday!
나: 아키라 씨 생일이에요? 생일인 줄 알았더라면 선물을 준비했을 텐데요.
It's Akira’s birthday? If I had known that, I would have prepared a gift.

This expression is used to hypothesize a past situation that is the opposite of what actually occurred. It can express the speaker's feeling of regret or lament with respect to an event in the past as well as relief about not doing something. The expressions -았/었을 거예요, -았/었을 텐데 and -(으)ㄹ 뻔했다 often follow -았/었더라면. 

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[Korean grammar] -(느)ㄴ다면 Expressing Hypothetical Situations

가: 복권 사셨네요. 복권에 당첨되면 뭐 하고 싶어요?
(I see) you bought a lottery ticket. What do you want to do if you win the lottery?
나: 복권에 당첨된다면 멋진 자동차를 사고 싶어요.
If I were to win the lottery, I'd (want to) buy a fancy car.

가: 두 분은 한국에서 만나셨다면서요?
I hear you two met in Korea?
나: 네, 제가 한국에 오지 않았다면 아키라 씨를 만나지 못했을 거예요.
Yes, if I hadn’t come to Korea, I would not have met Akira.

This expression is used to refer to hypothetical situations either contrary to what actually happened in the past or what is happening in the present, or to situations that have not yet occurred. The following clause usually includes an expression such as -겠어요, -(으)ㄹ 거예요 or -(으)ㄹ 텐데 to denote the hypothetical or suppositional situation being described.

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[Korean grammar] -아/어 봤자 Expressing Futility

가: 지금 가면 막차를 탈 수 있을지 몰라요. 빨리 지하철역으로 가 봅시다.
You might be able to catch the last train if you leave now. Please hurry to the train station.
나: 지금 12시가 훨씬 넘어서 지하철역에 가 봤자 막차는 이미 출발했을 거예요.
It’s already way past midnight, so it’s no use going to the train station since the last train has probably already left.

가: 부모님께 용돈을 받는데 왜 아르바이트를 해요?
You get an allowance from your parents, so why do you have a part-time job?
나: 용돈을 받아 봤자 지하철 타고 다니고 밥 몇 번 사 먹으면 남는 게 없거든요,
Even with my allowance, I hardly have anything left after paying for my subway commute and a few meals.

This expression is used to indicate that there’s no use even trying what is stated in the preceding clause or that doing so would not live up to expectations. It is used to refer to something that has not occurred yet as a form of supposition.

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[Korean grammar] -(으)나 마나 Expressing Futility

가: 집에 가는 길에 세차를 좀 하려고 해요.
I intend to wash my car on the way home.
나: 저녁에 비가 올 거래요. 비가 오면 세차를 하나 마나니까 나중에 하세요.
They say it might rain this evening. It’s no use washing your car if it’s going to rain, so do it later.

가: 식사하고 30분 후에 약을 먹어야 하는데 잊어버리고 안 먹었네요.
I’m supposed to take my medicine 30 minutes after eating, but I forgot about it.
나: 약은 시간에 맞춰서 먹지 않으면 먹으나 마나예요. 그러니까 꼭 시간을 지켜서 드세요.
Medicine must be taken at the right time, or else there’s no point in taking it. So you really need to take it at the appropriate time.

This expression is used when doing the preceding action is of no value of use. In other words, the result would be the same regardless of whether the action is performed. When stated, the result is expressed as a strong, almost definite supposition. The strong supposition is usually based on general common sense knowledge or on the consideration of someone's usual or habitual actions. This expression is used with verbs only. 

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[Korean grammar] -고 말다 Expressing Completion

가: 마크 씨, 시험공부 많이 했어요?
Mark, have you studied hard for the test?
나: 아니요. 10분만 잔다는 게 그만 아침까지 자고 말았어요.
No, my idea of sleeping for just 10 minutes turned into sleeping until the morning.

가: 자야 씨, 이 과자를 다 먹었어요? 다이어트한다고 하지 않았어요?
Jaya, did you eat all this snack? Didn’t you say you were on a diet?
나: 한 개만 먹으려고 했는데 먹다 보니까 과자를 다 먹고 말았네요.
I was just going to eat one, but after having one I ended up eating them all.

This expression refers to an unplanned event or action that continued until it was completed or thoroughly finished in a way undesired by the speaker. Thus it includes the speaker's feeling of regret or sorrow with regard to the resulting state of affairs. Only verbs can come before this expression.

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[Korean grammar] -아/어 버리다 Expressing Completion

가: 자야 씨, 왜 그렇게 화가 났어요?
Jaya, why are you so angry?
나: 제가 사다 놓은 케이크를 동생이 다 먹어 버렸거든요.
My little brother ate all of the cake that I had bought.

가: 작년에 나온 제품들을 어떻게 하지요?
What should we do with last year's products?
나: 다음 주부터 신상품을 팔아야 하니까 작년 제품들은 싸게 팔아 버립시다.
We’ve got to sell the new products from next week, so let’s sell off last year's products at cheap prices.

This expression refers to the complete and thorough finishing of an action or event. It can refer to the fact that nothing remains after the completion of the event or action, and it can also express a variety of feelings and attitudes toward the completed event or action. For example, it can express the speaker’s feeling of regret, sorrow, and lament at an unfortunate result, the speaker’s feeling of relief about a positive change of events, or the speaker’s feeling of anger or surprise about how a situation turned out. Only verbs can be attached to this expression.

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[Korean grammar] -았/었던 Expressing Completion

가: 어디에서 만날까요?
Where shall we meet?
나: 지난번에 만났던 커피숍에서 만나요.
Let’s meet at that coffee shop where we met last time.

가: 이 옷 멋있네요. 새로 사셨어요?
Those are nice clothes. Are they new?
나: 아키라 씨 생일 파티 때 입었던 옷인데 기억 안 나세요?
These are the clothes I wore to Akira’s birthday party. You don't remember them?

This expression is used when recalling a past event or state of affairs that has not continued to the present, it consists of -았/었- indicating completion, and 던, indicating recollection, and is used before nouns.

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[Korean grammar] -았/었다가 Expressing Completion

가: 더운데 창문을 좀 열까요?
It's hot, shall I open the window?
나: 밖이너무 시끄럽더라고요. 그래서 창문을 열었다가 다시 닫았어요.
It was really noisy outside. So (earlier) I had opened the window, but then I closed it again.

가: 주말에 특별한 계획 있으세요?
Do you have any special plans for the weekend?
나: 네, 친구랑 부산에 갔다가 오려고요.
Yes, I’m planning to go to Busan (and then come back) with a friend.

This expression indicates that the subject performs the action in the following clause after the action in the first clause is completed. Note that in this case the -았/었- part of ‘-았/었다가’ does not indicate the past tense but rather the completion of the action. As for the following clause, all tenses can be used, including the past, present, and future. The phrase -았/었다가 can also be shortened to -았/었다. Finally, this expression can only be attached to verbs.

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[Korean grammar] -도록 Expressing Aims and Intentions

가: 음식을 얼마나 준비해야 할까요?
How much food should I prepare?
나: 음식이 모자라지 않도록 충분히 준비하세요.
Prepare enough so that we don’t run out.

가: 양강 씨, 서류가 정리가 안 돼서 무엇이 어디에 있는지 찾을 수가 없네요.
Yang Gang, these papers aren’t organized well, and I can’t figure out where anything is.
나: 서류를 쉽게 찾을 수 있도록 가나다 순으로 정리를 하겠습니다.
I’ll put them in alphabetical order so you can find things easily.

When using this expression, the action stated In the preceding clause is the speaker’s goal or reason for doing the action stated in the following clause. it is interchangeable with -게.

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[Korean grammar] -게 Expressing Aims and Intentions

가: 오늘 외국에서 특별한 손님이 오는 거 아시죠?
You are aware that today a special guest is visiting us from abroad, right?
나: 네, 그분이 불편하지 않게 신경을 쓰겠습니다.
Yes, I’ll make sure they them feel comfortable (not uncomfortable).

가: 선생님, 뒤에서는 잘 안 들려요.
Teacher, (we) can’t hear you well in the back.
나: 그럼, 뒷사람들도 잘 들을 수 있게 마이크를 사용할게요.
Then I’ll use a microphone so that the people in the back can hear, too.

This expression is used to indicate the expected result, goal, criterion, or standard of the following action. Thus, it means the following action Is necessary to realize the preceding action or state.

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[Korean grammar] (이)야말로 Expressing Emphasis

가: 한국의 전통 모습을 보고 싶은데 어디로 가면 좋을까요?
I want to see the traditional side of Korea, so where should I go?
나: 다른 곳도 많지만 한국민속촌이야말로 전통 모습을 보기에 가장 좋은 곳이에요. 민속촌에 가 보세요.
While there are a number of places you could go, the Korean Folk Village is just the place to see traditional Korea. So you should check it out.

가: 손님, 다른 게 마음에 안 들면 이 디자인은 어떠세요?
Miss, If there is nothing else that you like, how about this design?
나: 그 디자인이야말로 제가 찾던 거 예요. 한번 신어 볼게요.
That’s exactly the design I was looking for. I’ll try them on.

This expression is used to strongly emphasize the meaning of the preceding noun. That is, it emphasizes the noun as the prime example among a number of other possible choices.

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[Korean grammar] -(으)ㄹ 뿐이다 Expressing Emphasis

가: 자야 씨, 호영 씨를 좋아하고 있지요?
Jaya, you like Hoyeong, right?
나: 네, 하지만 고백할 용기가 없어서 지금은 바라보기만 할 뿐이에요.
Yes, but I don’t have the courage to declare my love, so for now I can only watch (him) from afar.

가: 오늘 회의를 8시간이나 했는데 결정된 것은 없고 시간만 보냈을 뿐이네요.
Today’s meeting lasted a whole eight hours with nothing getting decided. We did nothing but waste time.
나: 그러게요. 그럼 내일 또 회의를 해야 하는 건가요?
You’re right. So do we have to hold another meeting tomorrow?

This expression is used when there is only one available course of action or state of being, In such cases, 뿐 has the same meaning as 오직 (solely, merely, only).

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[Korean grammar] -(으)ㄹ 수밖에 없다 Expressing Emphasis

가: 여보, 옷을 또 사려고?
Dear, are you planning to buy any more clothes?
나: 유행에 뒤떨어지지 않으려면 옷을 자주 살 수밖에 없어요.
If I am to keep up with fashion trends, then I have no choice but to buy clothes often.

가: 환경오염 문제가 점점 더 심각해지고 있어서 큰일이에요.
Environmental pollution is getting worse, and it's a big problem.
나: 맞아요. 환경을 보호하지 않으면 앞으로 인류는 멸망할 수밖에 없을 거예요.
Right, If we don’t protect the environment, mankind will be unable to avoid extinction,

This expression is used in situations in which there is no other choice for the subject but to do the preceding action (in the case of a verb) or to be in the preceding state (in the case of an adjective).

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[Korean grammar] 얼마나 -(으)ㄴ/는지 모르다 Expressing Emphasis

가: 도쿄 여행은 어땠어요? 재미 있었어요?
How was your trip to Tokyo? Was it interesting?
나: 네, 그렇지만 도쿄의 물가가 얼마나 비싼지 몰라요. 물가가 비싸니까 쇼핑을 마음대로 못 해서 아쉬워요.
Yes, but I can't tell you how expensive things were there. The prices were so high that unfortunately I couldn't shop like I had wanted to.

가: 왜 그렇게 놀란 표정이에요?
Why do you look so surprised?
나: 책을 읽고 있는데 갑자기 문이 열려서 얼마나 놀랐는지 몰라요.
I was reading a book, and the door opened suddenly and really surprised me.

This expression is used to emphasize the degree of a particular situation or state of affairs, it can only be used m declarative sentences and can be used with both verbs and adjectives.

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