Essential Korean grammar a comprehensive reference for learners at every level

what that person said. All tenses
남자 남자에 따라 namjae ttara 남자에 따르면
Nouns ending in a vowel
Nouns ending in a consonant namjae ttareumyeon

신문 신문에 따라 sinmune ttara 신문에 따르
면 sinmune ttareumyeon

TAKE NOTE

If you’re using the expression to quote someone (other than
the person giving you an order), then you should use 따르면
rather than 따라. 따라 and 따르면 can be used interchangeably
when the meaning is “according to A” and A is a rule or an
order.

엄마에 따르면 야채를 많이 먹어야 돼요.

Eommae ttareumyeon yachaereul mani meogeoya dwaeyo.

According to my mother, you have to eat a lot of
vegetables.

엄마의 말에 따라 야채를 많이 먹었어요.

Eommaui mare ttara yachaereul mani meogeosseoyo.

Because my mother ordered me (according to my
mother’s orders), I ate a lot of vegetables.

법에 따라 처리하세요.

Beobe ttara cheorihaseyo.

Please deal with it lawfully (according to the law).

따르면 can normally be traded for 의하면 uihamyeon (see the
next page), also interchangeably, except that 의하면 is
normally not used if the person you’re quoting is just

anyone. If you’re talking about a newspaper, an expert, a
book, or something that carries some authority, you can use
의하면; however, if you’re quoting your father or the
aforementioned drunk guy at the bar, better go with 따르면.

일기 예보에 따르면 내일 비가 올 거예요.

Ilgi yeboe ttareumyeon naeil biga ol geoyeyo.

According to the weather forecast, it’s going to rain
tomorrow.

일기 예보에 의하면 내일 비가 올 거예요.

Ilgi yeboe uihamyeon naeil biga ol geoyeyo.

According to the weather forecast, it’s going to rain
tomorrow.

B will normally include an indirect speech particle (see
page 304) if you’re quoting a person.

따라 (and its parent 따르다) have a number of uses aside
from “according to.” For instance, you can talk about doing
something “according to or depending on” A such as
deciding whether or not to travel depending on your
finances.

When 따르다 is used to mean “follow”; it normally follows
an object with 을/를. When it means “according to,” it
follows 에.

엄마를 따랐어요.

Eommareul ttarasseoyo.

I followed my mother.

엄마에 따르면 야채를 많이 먹어야 돼요.

Eommae ttareumyeon yachaereul mani meogeoya dwaeyo.

According to my mother, you have to eat a lot of
vegetables.

이 길을 따라가면 학교가 곧 보일 거예요.

I gireul ttaragamyeon hakgyoga got boil geoyeyo.

If you follow this street, you’ll soon see the school.

이 길에 따르면 학교가 곧 보일 거예요.

I gire ttareumyeon hakgyoga got boil geoyeyo.

According to this street, you’ll soon see the school.
(nonsensical; applies only to a kind of fairy tale)

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

일기 예보에 따르면 내일 비가 올 거예요.

Ilgi yeboe ttareumyeon naeil biga ol geoyeyo.

According to the weather forecast, it’s going to rain
tomorrow.

대답은 상황에 따라 달라요.

Daedabeun sanghwange ttara dallayo.

The answer is different, depending on the situation.

뉴스에 의하면 금년 장마가 늦게 올 거예요.

Nyuseue uihamyeon geumnyeon jangmaga neutge ol geoyeyo.

According to the news, the rainy season will be late
this year.

Here’s another way to say “according to.”

HOW IT’S FORMED

의하다 means “according to” and is combined with 면 to get
의하면.

HOW IT’S CONJUGATED

A is your source: a newspaper, an expert, the weather
report, and the like. B is what that source said.

Nouns ending in a vowel 전문가 All tenses
Nouns ending in a consonant jeonmunga 전문가에 의하면 jeonmungae uihamyeon
신문 sinmun
신문에 의하면 sinmune uihamyeon

TAKE NOTE

If you’re talking about a newspaper, an expert, a book, or
something that carries some authority, you can use 의하면;
however, if you’re quoting your father or some drunk guy at
the bar, better go with 따라 or 따르면 (see page 322). For
authoritative sources, 의하면, 따라 and 따르면 are all
acceptable.

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

일기 예보에 의하면 내일 비가 올 거예요.

Ilgi yeboe uihamyeon naeil biga ol geoyeyo.

According to the weather forecast, it’s going to rain
tomorrow.

경제 전문가에 의하면 경제가 좋아질 거예요.

Gyeongje jeonmungae uihamyeon gyeongjega joajil geoyeyo.

According to an economist, the economy is going to
improve.

뉴스에 나온 바에 의하면 금년 장마가 늦게 올 거예요.

Nyuseue naon bae uihamyeon geumnyeon jangmaga neutge ol geoyeyo.

According to the news, the rainy season will be late
this year.

바 is somewhat different. It’s what’s called a dependent
noun, which means it never appears on its own but only in
the company of some friends, usually a statement that was
said or shown earlier. 바 is mostly interchangeable with “것”
and it normally follows (으)ㄴ (in the past) or 는 (in the
present), and after that you can take it two ways. If you
follow 바 with 에따르면 or 에 의하면, it means “according to A,
B.” You can also talk about 바가 있다/없다, and in this case it
refers to an experience: something you did or didn’t do. In
this case it’s interchangeable with (으)ㄴ 적 있다 (see page
187).

HOW IT’S CONJUGATED

Action verbs ending in a vowel 하다 Past Present
먹다 한 바 han ba 하는 바 haneun ba
Action verbs ending in a 먹은 바 meogeun ba 먹는 바 meokneun ba
consonant

TAKE NOTE

Although 바 can be changed to 것, the reverse isn’t always
true. When it’s used to mean “according to,” 바 is used only
in cases where something was discovered in some way.
You’ll see it used quite often to discuss survey results (조사한
바에 따르면 josahan bae ttareumyeon…) EXAMPLE SENTENCES

일기 예보한 바에 의하면 내일 비가 올 거예요.

Ilgi yebohan bae uihamyeon naeil biga ol geoyeyo.

According to the weather forecast, it’s going to rain
tomorrow.

경제 전문가가 말한 바에 의하면 경제가 좋아질 거예요.

Gyeongje jeonmungaga malhan bae uihamyeon gyeongjega joajil geoyeyo.

According to an economist, the economy is going to
improve.

김치를 먹은 바가 있어요.

Kimchireul meogeun baga isseoyo.

I’ve eaten kimchi.

스키를 탄 바가 없어요.

Seukireul ta baga eopseoyo.

I’ve never been skiing.

가영이 듣기에 어제 민수가 또 늦었대요.

Kayoungi deutgie eoje Minsuga tto neujeotdaeyo.

From what Kayoung heard, yesterday Minsu was
late again.

기에 is most commonly used to mean “since”; see page 73.
However, it also has this slightly less useful function, which
is to talk about something based on what you or someone
else can see, hear, etc.

HOW IT’S CONJUGATED

A has to be a verb that’s about gaining knowledge. 보다 boda,
생각하다 saenggakada, 알다 alda, and 듣다 deutda are common, but
there are others as well. B is what is known from A.

All tenses

Knowledge verbs ending in a vowel 보다 보기에 bogie
Knowledge verbs ending in a consonant 알다 알기에 algie

TAKE NOTE

Check the context carefully in order not to get this 기에
confused with the one that means “since.” If in doubt, it’s
probably the other one.

You can also use 기에 gie, 기에는 gieneun, or 기로는 gironeun; the
latter two just add emphasis.

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

제가 보기에 그 실수는 민수의 잘못이에요.

Jega bogie geu silsuneun Minsuui jalmosieyo.

From what I can see, this mistake was Minsu’s
fault.

제가 알기에는 그 실수를 민수의 잘못이에요.

Jega algieneun geu silsureul Minsuui jalmosieyo.

As far as I know, this mistake was Minsu’s fault.

민수의 표정으로 봐서는 화가 많이 난 것 같아요. 다시 늦는가
봐요.

Minsuui pyojeongeuro bwaseoneun hwaga mani nan geot gatayo. Dasi

neunneunga bwayo.

Looking at Minsu’s expression, he seems to be very
angry. It looks like he’s late again.

This one is good for people who have to do research,
presentations, and especially presentations based on their
research. You can use it to explain the basis for a
judgement, something that you can see through something
else – like a fact that’s obvious from a graph, or something
you can guess from looking at a person’s face.

HOW IT’S FORMED

(으)로 means “through” (see page 31). 보다 means “to look
at” and it’s conjugated here with 아서, which means “so”
(see page 66). 는 emphasizes what you’re saying.

HOW IT’S CONJUGATED

A should be a noun on its own or an action verb conjugated
with 는 것. A is your source and B is what you’ve determined
or are guessing based on A.

Past Present Future

Action verbs 하다 한 것으로 봐서는 han 하는 것으로 봐서는 할 것으로 봐서는 hal
geoseuro
ending in a geoseuro haneun geoseuro bwaseoneun

vowel bwaseoneun bwaseoneun

Action verbs 먹다 먹은 것으로 봐서는 먹는 것으로 봐서는 먹을 것으로 봐서는
ending in a meogeun geoseuro
consonant bwaseoneun meokneun geoseuro meogeul geoseuro

bwaseoneun bwaseoneun

Nouns ending in 외모 외모로 봐서는 외모로 봐서는 외모로 봐서는
a vowel
oemoro bwaseoneun

Nouns ending in 모양 모양으로 봐서는 모양으로 봐서는 모양으로 봐서는
moyangeuro
a consonant bwaseoneun

TAKE NOTE

B is very often a guess, so it sounds natural to end it with
one of the expressions for guessing: (으)ㄹ 것 같다 is a good
one, or you can look through pages 136 to 156 to find more.

A is normally not something too specific. Rather than
saying “I can see from his surprised expression that…” it
would be more normal to simply say “I can see from his
expression that…” Likewise, you wouldn’t say “I can see
from the 95% you got on this test that…” but rather “I can
see from your test score that…”

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

시험 결과로 봐서는 듣기 실력이 많이 좋아졌어요.

Siheom gyeolgwaro bwaseoneun deutgi sillyeogi mani joajyeosseoyo.

Looking at your test results, I can see that your
listening skills have really improved.

외모로 봐서는 미국인인 것 같아요.

Oemoro bwaseoneun miguginin geot gatayo.

From that person’s appearance I’d guess he’s an
American.

Giving Explanations

경제 문제에 대해서 알고 싶어요.

Gyeongje munjee daehaeseo algo sipeoyo.

I want to know more about the economic problem.

All of the above are ways to express talking about
something.

HOW IT’S FORMED

대하다 daehada means “to be about or related to” and all the
expressions above are variations of that. You can add ㄴ, 여,
여서, or 여서는. They all mean the same thing and can be
used interchangeably except for 대한; see the “Take note”
section for more information.

HOW IT’S CONJUGATED

Past Present Future

Action verbs 하다 한 것에 대해 han geose 하는 것에 대해 haneun 할 것에 대해 hal geose
ending in a
vowel daehae 한 것에 대하여 geose daehae 하는 것 daehae 할 것에 대하여

han geose daehayeo 에 대하여 haneun hal geose daehayeo 할

한 것에 대해서 han geose daehayeo 하는 것에 대해서 hal geose

geose daehaeseo 한 것에 대해서 haneun daehaeseo 할 것에 대

것에 대한 han geose geose daehaeseo 하는 한 hal geose daehan

daehan

것에 대한 haneun
geose daehan

Action verbs 먹다 먹은 것에 대해 먹는 것에 대해 먹을 것에 대해
ending in a
consonant meogeun geose meokneun geose meogeul geose

daehae 먹은 것에 대하 daehae 먹는 것에 대하 daehae 먹을 것에 대하

여 meogeun geose 여 meokneun geose 여 meogeul geose

daehayeo 먹은 것에 대 daehayeo 먹는 것에 대 daehayeo 먹을 것에 대

해서 meogeun geose 해서 meokneun geose 해서 meogeul geose

daehaeseo 먹은 것에 daehaeseo 먹는 것에 daehaeseo 먹을 것에

대한 meogeun geose 대한 meokneun geose 대한 meogeul geose

daehan daehan daehan

Nouns 남자 남자에 대해 namjae 남자에 대해 남자에 대해
남자에 대하여
ending in a daehae 남자에 대하여 남자에 대하여 남자에 대해서
vowel namjae daehayeo 남자 남자에 대해서 남자에 대한
에 대해서 namjae
daehaeseo 남자에 대한 남자에 대한

namjae daehan

Nouns 물 물에 대해 mure daehae 물에 대해 물에 대해
ending in a 물에 대하여
consonant 물에 대하여 mure 물에 대하여 물에 대해서
daehayeo 물에 대해서 물에 대해서 물에 대한
mure daehaeseo 물에 물에 대한
대한 mure daehan

TAKE NOTE

에 대한 is an exception. It turns your first clause into an
adjective clause, which should then modify a noun. To put
this in simpler terms: 대한 must be followed by a noun. “A
story about Cinderella” becomes “신데렐라에 대한 이야기
sinderellae daehan iyagi.” “A discussion about politics” becomes “정
치에 대한 토론 jeongchie daehan toron.”

All the other 대하다 expressions don’t work like this and
can simply be followed by whatever you need to add to
them. Keep in mind that since 는 emphasizes the meaning,
it sounds far more natural to use it while explaining a
contrast; otherwise the emphasis isn’t really necessary. See
the examples below.

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

정치에 대한 토론을 들었어요.

Jeongchie daehan toroneul deureosseoyo.

정치에 대하여 토론을 들었어요.

Jeongchie daehayeo toroneul deureosseoyo.

정치에 대해 토론을 들었어요.

Jeongchie daehae toroneul deureosseoyo.

정치에 대해서 토론을 들었어요.

Jeongchie daehaeseo toroneul deureosseoyo.

I listened to a discussion about politics.

정치에 대한 토론을 못 들었어요. 그렇지만 경제에 대해서는
토론을 들었어요.

Jeongchie daehan toroneul mot deureosseoyo. Geureochiman gyeongjee
daehaeseoneun toroneul deureosseoyo.

I couldn’t understand the discussion about politics,
but I understood the discussion about economics.

경제 문제에 대하여 알고 싶어요.

Gyeongje munjee daehayeo algo sipeoyo.

경제 문제에 대해 알고 싶어요.

Gyeongje munjee daehae algo sipeoyo.

경제 문제에 대해서 알고 싶어요.

Gyeongje munjee daehaeseo algo sipeoyo.

I want to know more about the economic problem.
(This can’t be written with 에 대한 because there’s
no noun following 대한).

정치에 대해서 관심이 없어요. 그렇지만 경제 문제에 대해서
는 알고 싶어요.

Jeongchie daehaeseo gwansimi eopseoyo. geureochiman gyeongje munjee
daehaeseoneun algo sipeoyo.

I don’t care about politics, but I want to know
more about the economic problem.

옛날 옛날에는 백설공주라는 여자가 살았답니다.

Yennal yennareneun baek-seol-gong-juraneun yeojaga saratdamnida.

A long time ago, there lived a girl named Snow
White.

This is a relatively formal and somewhat poetic ending
that’s used in three situations: 1) Introductions—of people
or of facts you don’t think your listener knows 2) Telling
stories, as in in the example above 3) Talking about
someone you’re proud of It’s used to tell someone things
that you know but don’t think they do, and so it is often
used by tour guides, storytellers, and proud moms. It’s not
often used toward someone you’re close to unless that
someone is a group of children to whom you’re telling a
story.

HOW IT’S FORMED

It’s a contraction of the indirect speech forms (이)라고 합니다
(i)rago hamnida and (ㄴ/는)다고 합니다 (n/neun)dago hamnida.

HOW IT’S CONJUGATED

This ending is always used at the end of a sentence.

Action verbs 하다 Past Present Future
했답니다 한답니다 할 거랍니다 hal
ending in a haetdamnida handamnida georamnida

vowel 먹었답니다
meogeotdamnida
Action verbs 먹다 먹는답니다 먹을 거랍니다
ending in a 예뻤답니다
consonant yeppeotdamnida meokneundamnida meogeul georamnida

Descriptive 예쁘다 작았답니다 예쁘답니다 예쁠 거랍니다
verbs jagatdamnida yeppeudamnida yeppeul georamnida
(adjectives)
ending in a 남자랍니다
vowel namjaramnida
물이랍니다
Descriptive 작다 muriramnida 작답니다 작을 거랍니다

verbs

(adjectives)

ending in a

consonant

Nouns ending in 남자 남자랍니다 남자랍니다
a vowel 물이랍니다 물이랍니다

Nouns ending in 물
a consonant

TAKE NOTE

I found it somewhat challenging to learn when to use this
ending and sound natural with it. With enough exposure to
the Korean language, it becomes much easier and being

able to use it well in the right situations will make you
sound quite fluent.

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

요즘 맞벌이 하는 부부들이 많답니다.

Yojeum matbeori haneun bubudeuri mantamnida.

These days there are many dual-income couples,
you know.

우리 첫손자가 민수랍니다.

Uri cheotsonjaga Minsuramnida.

My first grandchild is named Minsu.

우리 딸 가영이 다음 달에 대학교를 졸업한답니다.

Uri ttal Kayoungi daeum dare daehakgyoreul joreopandamnida.

My daughter Kayoung is going to graduate
university next month, you know.

지각이란 늦게 오는 것인데요.

Jigagiran neutge oneun geosindeyo.

Tardiness means “coming late.”

한국에서 일찍 퇴근하기란 하늘의 별 따기이에요.

Hangugeseo iljjik toegeunhagiran haneurui byeol ttagiieyo.

In Korea, leaving work early is as difficult as
picking a star from the sky.

These two expressions have similar forms and similar
meanings, but they are used in totally different ways.
However, they’re not that difficult to understand. (이)란 is
used to define words just like in a dictionary. If you want to
talk about what love is or what it is to be a leader, use (이)
란. 기란 is used to talk about things that are difficult?).

HOW IT’S FORMED

기 turns verbs into nouns. (이)란/기란 are contractions of (이)
라는 것/기라는 것.

HOW IT’S CONJUGATED

(이)란 follows only nouns. 기란 follows only action verbs.

Action verbs ending in a vowel All tenses
Action verbs ending in a consonant 하다 하기란 hagiran
먹다 먹기란 meokgiran

Nouns ending in a vowel All tenses
Nouns ending in a consonant 남자 남자란 namjaran
물 물이란 muriran

TAKE NOTE

When using 기란, B must be a sentence which explains that
A is difficult. Here are some examples: 쉬운 일이 아니다

swiun iri anida

isn’t easy

힘든 일이다

himdeun irida

is difficult

여간 어렵지 않다

yeogan eoryeopji anta

is difficult

하늘의 별 따기이다

haneurui byeol ttagiida

is like picking a star from the sky (a Korean
proverb) EXAMPLE SENTENCES

■ 기란 giran 새로운 언어를 배우기란 쉬운 일이 아니에요.

Saeroun eoneoreul baeugiran swiun iri anieyo.

Learning a new language isn’t easy.

아침에 일찍 일어나기란 여간 어렵지 않아요.

Achime iljjik ireonagiran yeogan eoryeopji anayo.

Waking up early is really difficult.

■ 이란 iran 사랑이란 희생인데요.

Sarangiran huisaengindeyo.

Love is sacrifice.

희생이란 무엇인가요?

Huisaengiran mueosingayo?

What is sacrifice?

그 콘서트에 밴드가 다 좋아서 정시에 맞춰 갈 만해요.

Geu konseoteue baendeuga da joaseo jeongsie matchwo gal manhaeyo.

All the bands at that concert are good, so it’s worth
arriving on time.

This is a way to say that something is worth doing (or
seeing or eating or reading or listening to, etc.). If you use
this expression, you’re recommending ~ to a listener but
are probably not wildly excited about it. It’s worth the time,
but not more than that.

HOW IT’S FORMED

만하다 in this case means “to be worth.”

HOW IT’S CONJUGATED All tenses
하다 할 만하다 hal manhada
Action verbs ending in a vowel 먹다 먹을 만하다 meogeul manhada
Action verbs ending in a consonant

TAKE NOTE

만하다 by itself without the (으)ㄹ in front is used to compare
the size of two things, mostly in idiomatic expressions. 만하
다 will always follow nouns, never verbs.

기만 하다 giman hada means to do one thing and one thing
only. It will always follow 기, never (으)ㄹ.

There are also a number of expressions with 만 man: 만에
mane, 만 못하다 man motada, 만 해도 man haedo, and just plain 만. You
can look them up in their appropriate sections on pages
276, 134, 99 and 31 respectively if you like. They mostly
involve 만, which means “only” and aren’t followed by 하다.

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

그 새로 나온 책은 읽을 만해요.

Geu saero naon chaegeun ilgeul manhaeyo.

That new book is worth reading.

여행을 하고 싶다니 제주도가 가 볼 만해요.

Yeohaengeul hago sipdani jejudoga ga bol manhaeyo.

Since you said you wanted to travel, I think Jeju do
is worth seeing.

Location

점심을 먹은 데에서 만날래요?

Jeomsimeul meogeun deeseo mannallaeyo?

Let’s meet at the place we had lunch.

데 means place and is used in conjunction with A, which
explains what exactly that place is and (maybe) why the
listener should care. This expression sets up A as “the
place where B happens.”

HOW IT’S FORMED

The tense markers (으)ㄴ/는/(으)ㄹ are there to help you
explain A, while 데, as stated above, is simply a noun that
means “place.”

HOW IT’S CONJUGATED

Past Present Future
할 데 hal de
Action verbs ending in a vowel 하다 한 데 han de 하는 데
haneun de 먹을 데
meogeul de
Action verbs ending in a consonant 먹다 먹은 데 먹는 데 예쁠 데
meogeun de meokneun de yeppeul de
작을 데 jageul
Descriptive verbs (adjectives) ending in 예쁘다 예쁜 데 예쁜 데
a vowel yeppeun de
Descriptive verbs (adjectives) ending in 작다
작은 데 jageun 작은 데

a consonant de de

TAKE NOTE

A can’t be 이, 그, or 저. In this case you can use 곳 got instead
of 데.

Don’t confuse 데 and 때. 때 ttae means “time” and is
commonly used in the expression “(으)ㄹ 때,” which means
“while.” 데 means “place.”

A(으)ㄴ/는 데 B is another expression which is used to talk
about effectiveness (see page 170). It’s never used with (으)
ㄹ. Otherwise, you can tell the two apart by context: the
other 는 데 will always be followed by a sentence indicating
effectiveness (효과적이다 hyogwajeogida, 필수적이에요 pilsujeonieyo,
etc.) or lack thereof, while this one will always have to do
with places.

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

큰 TV를 놓을 데가 없어요.

Keun tibireul noeul dega eopseoyo.

I have no place to put a big TV.

운동하는 데가 아주 시끄러워요.

Undonghaneun dega aju sikkeureowoyo.

The place I exercise in is very noisy.

Limits and Excess

어제 숙취가 심했어요. 하루 종일 누워있기만 했어요.

Eoje sukchwiga simhaesseoyo. Haru jongil nuwoitgiman haesseoyo.

I had a bad hangover yesterday. I did nothing but
lie down.

This expression is for addicts and people who have to
talk about them. It means to do a certain thing, and only
that thing, repeatedly.

HOW IT’S FORMED

기 turns a verb into a noun. 만 means “only” and is added to
nouns.

HOW IT’S CONJUGATED

It works with action verbs plus 기. If you want to use a noun
which has been turned into a verb by the addition of 하다
(examples are 운동하다 undonghada, 야구하다 yaguhada, 운전하다
unjeonhada), then you can drop the 하다 and follow the noun by
itself with 만하다. It’s not necessary to say 운동하기만 했다
undonghagiman haetda, for example.

Past Present Future

Action verbs 하다 하기만 했다 hagiman 하기만 하다 hagiman 하기만 할 것이다

ending in a vowel haetda hada hagiman hal geosida

Action verbs 먹다 먹기만 했다 먹기만 하다 먹기만 할 것이다
ending in a meokgiman hal
consonant meokgiman haetda meokgiman hada geosida

Nouns ending in a 야구 야구만 했다 yaguman 야구만 하다 yaguman 야구만 할 것이다

vowel haetda hada yaguman hal geosida

Nouns ending in a 게임 게임만 했다 geimman 게임만 하다 geimman 게임만 할 것이다

consonant haetda hada geimman hal geosida

TAKE NOTE

기만 하다 and (으)ㄹ 뿐이다 (eu)l ppunida (on next page) are
similar, but 기만 하다 specifically means to do one thing
repeatedly while (으)ㄹ 뿐이다 can be used in a much greater
variety of situations.

만 하다 has two other uses. One is to talk about
something “worth doing.” That’s covered on page 333 and
can be differentiated because it always follows a verb
conjugated with (으)ㄹ. The 만 하다 we’re talking about here
follows only either verbs with 기 or nouns. The other use of
만 하다 is to compare sizes (see page 135). That one’s a bit
trickier to distinguish, but one key is that it’s normally used
to talk about objects, while this 만 하다 is used to talk mostly
about people and what they’re (only) doing. Other than
that, check the context.

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

민수가 게임만 해요.

Minsuga geimman haeyo.

Minsu does nothing but play games.

아주 피곤해서 내일 자기만 할 거예요.

Aju pigonhaeseo naeil jagiman hal geoyeyo.

I’m very tired, so tomorrow I’m only going to
sleep.

민수가 또 늦어요. 짜증나서 죽겠어요.

Minsuga tto neujeoyo. Jjajeungnaseo jukgesseoyo.

Minsu’s late again. I’m so annoyed I could just die.

Drama queens, rejoice! Here’s the perfect Korean
expression if you’re prone to exaggerate. It literally
translates as “I’m so ~ I could die” and means that ~ is
really bad: the cold, the boredom, the hunger, or whatever
minor inconvenience is bothering you that day.

HOW IT’S FORMED

아/어/여서 means “so” (see page 66). 죽겠다 is 죽다 (to die)
conjugated in the future tense to suggest that while you’re
not dead yet, you might be soon.

HOW IT’S CONJUGATED.

Action or descriptive verbs with 아 or 오 잡다 All tenses
잡아서 죽겠다 jabaseo jukgetda
Action or descriptive verbs with 어, 우, 으 or 먹다 먹어서 죽겠다 meogeoseo jukgetda

이

하다 피곤하다 피곤해서 죽겠다 pigonhaeseo jukgetda

TAKE NOTE

While 아/어/여서 죽겠다 is normally used only with bad
things, you can use it for good things as well: “That baby is

so cute I could just die!” can be translated almost exactly
into Korean.

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

오늘 추워서 죽겠어요.

Oneul chuwoseo jukgesseoyo.

It’s cold today!

배가 고파서 죽겠어요.

Baega gopaseo jukgesseoyo.

I’m hungry!

너무 많이 먹어서 죽겠어요.

Neomu mani meogeoseo jukgesseoyo.

I ate too much!

제가 벌써 회의에 늦어서 걱정할 뿐이에요.

Jega beolsseo hoeuie neujeoseo geokjeonghal ppunieyo.

I’m already late for the meeting, so all I’m doing is
worrying.

This expression, useful for very modest people or those
who like to downplay a fact, means that the situation is or
was limited to “~ and only ~.” It be used for sentences
such as “We’re just friends,” “All I did was sleep,” or
“Nonsense, I was only doing what any other person would
have done.”

HOW IT’S FORMED

뿐 is a noun which means “only.” And yes, that’s an adverb
in English.

HOW IT’S CONJUGATED

Past Present

Action verbs ending in a vowel 하다 했을 뿐이다 haeseul 할 뿐이다 hal ppunida
먹다
Action verbs ending in a 예쁘다 ppunida
consonant 작다
Descriptive verbs (adjectives) 남자 먹었을 뿐이다 먹을 뿐이다 meogeul
ending in a vowel meogeosseul ppunida ppunida
Descriptive verbs (adjectives)
ending in a consonant 예뻤을 뿐이다 yeppeoseul 예쁠 뿐이다 yeppeul
Nouns ending in a vowel
ppunida ppunida

작았을 뿐이다 jagasseul 작을 뿐이다 jageul

ppunida ppunida

남자였을 뿐이다 남자일 뿐이다 namjail
namjayeosseul ppunida ppunida 남자 뿐이다
남자 뿐이다 namja
ppunida

Nouns ending in a consonant 물 물이었을 뿐이다 물일 뿐이다 muril ppunida
murieosseul ppunida 물 물 뿐이다
뿐이다 mul ppunida

TAKE NOTE

A commonly used expression based on 뿐 is A([으]ㄹ) 뿐만 아
니라 B ([eu]l) ppunman anira B, which means “not just A, but also
B” (see page 55).

(으)ㄹ 뿐이다 and 기만 하다 (see page 335) are quite similar,
but 기만 하다 can be used when only one action was done
repeatedly. (으)ㄹ 뿐이다 can be used much more widely.

You can add 만 or 기만 to A if you want to make your
expression even more emphatic.

나는 잠 잤을 뿐이에요.

Naneun jam jasseul ppunieyo.

I did nothing but sleep.

나는 잠만 잤을 뿐이에요.

Naneun jamman jasseul ppunieyo.

No, really, ALL I did was sleep.

뿐이다 and 따름이다 ttareumida (see page 346) are
interchangeable except that you can use 뿐이다 directly
after nouns, while 따름이다 follows only verbs (or nouns with
이).

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

그녀는 개성이 없어요. 예쁠 뿐이에요.

Geunyeoneun gaeseongi eopseoyo. Yeppeul ppunieyo.

She doesn’t have any personality. She’s just
beautiful (and there’s nothing more to her than
that).

저 사람은 제 남자친구 아닌데요. 친구일 뿐이에요.

Jeo sarameun je namjachingu anindeyo. Chinguil ppunieyo.

That person isn’t my boyfriend. We’re just friends.

확실하지 않아요. 소문으로 들었을 뿐이에요.

Hwaksilhaji anayo. Somuneuro deureosseul ppunieyo.

I’m not sure. I just heard a rumor.

늦게 퇴근하지 않는 한 비행기를 놓치지 않을 거예요.

Neutge toegeunhaji anneun han bihaenggireul nochiji aneul geoyeyo.

As long as you don’t leave work late, you won’t
miss your flight.

You can use this expression to say that as long as A
happens, B will happen.

HOW IT’S FORMED

한 is a noun which literally means “limit,” and it can be
used on its own as that noun. In this expression 는 is added
to an action verb to turn A into an adjective clause
modifying the noun 한.

HOW IT’S CONJUGATED

Past Present Future

Action verbs ending in a 하다 한 한 han han 하는 한 haneun han 할 한 hal han

vowel

Action verbs ending in a 먹다 먹은 한 meogeun han 먹는 한 meokneun 먹을 한 meogeul
han
consonant han

Descriptive verbs 예쁘 예쁜 한 yeppeun han 예쁜 한 예쁜 한

(adjectives) ending in a 다

vowel

Descriptive verbs 작다 작은 한 jageun han 작은 한 작은 한

(adjectives) ending in a

consonant

Nouns ending in a vowel 남자 남자인 한 namjain 남자인 한 남자인 한
han

Nouns ending in a 물 물인 한 murin han 물인 한 물인 한
consonant

TAKE NOTE

아/어/여야, as covered on page 202, is another expression
where A is required for B. In this case A must happen in
order for B to happen; with 한, A is not always a necessity,
but B will happen as long as A is going on.

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

건강하게 먹는 한 다이어트에 성공할 수 있어요.

Geonganghage meokneun han daieoteue seonggonghal su isseoyo.

As long as you eat healthy, you can succeed in
your diet.

다른 수트 케이스가 작은 한 비행기 안으로 가지고 들어갈 수
있을 거예요.

Dareun suteu keiseuga jageun han bihaenggi aneuro gajigo deureogal su
isseul geoyeyo.

You will be able to bring a suitcase into an
airplane as long as it’s a small one.

무료 입장이 12시 이후에 한해서 가능해요.

Muryo ipjangi yeoldusi ihue hanhaeseo ganeunghaeyo.

Free entry is available only after twelve.

Here’s a good one for tour guides or amusement park
owners. It’s a way to say that B is limited or only available
to A: For example, free entry is limited to senior citizens
only or an offer is limited to today.

HOW IT’S FORMED

한 is a noun that means “limit.” Here it’s made into a verb
using 하다 and then conjugated using 여서 (see page 66) to
mean “something is limited to A, so B.”

HOW IT’S CONJUGATED All tenses
남자 남자에 한해서 namjae hanhaeseo
Nouns ending in a vowel 물 물에 한해서 mure hanhaeseo
Nouns ending in a consonant

TAKE NOTE

This is similar to 는 한 in some ways, but 는 한 follows verbs
while 한하다 follows nouns.

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

이 표는 한 사람 한 표에 한해요.

I pyoneun han saram han pyoe hanhaeyo.

This ticket is good only for one person.

이 제공은 한국 시민에 한해서 외국인들은 받을 수 없어요.

I jegongeun hanguk simine hanhaeseo oegugindeureun badeul su
eopseoyo.

This offer is limited to Korean citizens, so
foreigners can’t take advantage of it.

민수가 어찌나 늦었는지 청소부조차 퇴근했어요.

Minsuga eojjina neujeonneunji cheongsobujocha toegeunhaesseoyo.

민수가 어찌나 늦었는지 청소부까지 퇴근했어요.

Minsuga eojjina neujeonneunji cheongsobukkaji toegeunhaesseoyo.

민수가 어찌나 늦었는지 청소부마저 퇴근했어요.

Minsuga eojjina neujeonneunji cheongsobumajeo toegeunhaesseoyo.

민수가 어찌나 늦었는지 청소부도 퇴근했어요.

Minsuga eojjina neujeonneunji cheongsobudo toegeunhaesseoyo.

Minsu was so late that even the cleaning lady had
gone home.

These expressions are good to use if you should find
yourself in an extreme situation such as final exams.

도 is absolutely essential and Koreans use it all the time,
so be sure to learn it well.

조차 is a very negative word which can’t be translated
exactly, but which appears in sentences like “not even a
genius could pass this test,” “not even his own mother
could love him,” or “it’s freezing cold, the heater is broken
and I even forgot to wear a sweater today.”

까지 should be one of the first particles you need to learn
in Korean; it means “to,” as you probably know well by now.
That meaning carries over to this use of 까지, which
expresses that something goes really far: as far as ~, which
is a little extreme for the situation.

마저 is an expression that only the TOPIK makers seem
to care about. If you’ve found yourself in this section
because you are taking the TOPIK, don’t worry. 마저 is easy
to learn.

HOW IT’S CONJUGATED All tenses
하다 할 수조차 없다 hal sujocha eopda
Action verbs ending in a vowel 먹다 먹을 수조차 없다 meogeul sujocha eopda
Action verbs ending in a consonant 남자 남자조차 namjajocha 남자까지 namjakkaji
Nouns ending in a vowel

Nouns ending in a consonant 남자마저 namjamajeo 남자도 namjado

물 물조차 muljocha 물까지 mulkkaji 물마저
mulmajeo 물도 muldo

TAKE NOTE

조차 is choosy and cannot just be used anywhere. First of
all, it’s always used in negative sentences: B will normally
(but not always) include a word like 못, 아, or 지 않다. If your
sentence is already about something bad happening, you
may not need these expressions. You can use 조차 with a
verb by putting the verb into an expression with (으)ㄹ 수조
차 없다 (see page 294). Descriptive verbs, however, can’t be
used with any of the particles; either rearrange your
sentence or rearrange your descriptive verb by adding 어/아
지다 to it (see page 25 shows you how to do that).

Secondly, 조차, 마저, 까지 (only in negative uses of 까지)
and 도 are normally interchangeable, though 조차 makes
things out to be slightly worse than any of the other three.
If you’re using 조차, the situation is really bad, at least in
your own eyes, if no one else’s. 까지 can be used for positive
as well as negative situations, while 마저 and 조차 can’t.

Finally, a couple of expressions that go well with these
are 얼마나/어찌나 A(으)ㄴ/는지 B eolmana/eojjina A(eu)n/ neunji B (see
page 343) and ~은/는 커녕 ~eun/neun keonyeong (see page 41).
Look at the examples to learn how to use these together
with 조차, 까지, and 마저.

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

어제 얼마나 더운지 에어컨조차 소용이 없었어요.

Eoje eolmana deounji eeokeonjocha soyongi eopseosseoyo.

어제 어찌나 더운지 에어컨조차 소용이 없었어요.

Eoje eojjina deounji eeokeonjocha soyongi eopseosseoyo.

어제 얼마나 더운지 에어컨까지 소용이 없었어요.

Eoje eolmana deounji eeokeonkkaji soyongi eopseosseoyo.

어제 어찌나 더운지 에어컨까지 소용이 없었어요.

Eoje eojjina deounji eeokeonkkaji soyongi eopseosseoyo.

어제 얼마나 더운지 에어컨마저 소용이 없었어요.

Eoje eolmana deounji eeokeonmajeo soyongi eopseosseoyo.

어제 어찌나 더운지 에어컨마저 소용이 없었어요.

Eoje eojjina deounji eeokeonmajeo soyongi eopseosseoyo.

어제 얼마나 더운지 에어컨도 소용이 없었어요.

Eoje eolmana deounji eeokeondo soyongi eopseosseoyo.

어제 어찌나 더운지 에어컨도 소용이 없었어요.

Eoje eojjina deounji eeokeondo soyongi eopseosseoyo.

Yesterday it was so hot not even the air
conditioning could help.
__________

피자 한판은 커녕 한 조각조차 먹을 수 없어요.

Pija hanpaneun keonyeong han jogakjocha meogeul su eopseoyo.

피자 한판은 커녕 한 조각까지 먹을 수 없어요.

Pija hanpaneun keonyeong han jogakkkaji meogeul su eopseoyo.

피자 한판은 커녕 한 조각마저 먹을 수 없어요.

Pija hanpaneun keonyeong han jogangmajeo meogeul su eopseoyo.

피자 한판은 커녕 한 조각도 먹을 수 없어요.

Pija hanpaneun keonyeong han jogakdo meogeul su eopseoyo.

I can’t even eat one slice, let alone an entire pizza.
__________

가영이 테니스뿐만 아니라 수영까지 잘 해요.

Kayoungi teniseuppunman anira suyeongkkaji jal haeyo.

가영이 테니스뿐만 아니라 수영도 잘 해요.

Kayoungi teniseuppunman anira suyeongdo jal haeyo.

Kayoung is not only good at tennis, but swimming
as well.
(Can’t be used with 마저 or 조차 since they can’t be
used for positive expressions.)

Here’s another expression you can use to talk about
extremes. This one means that something was “so A that
B.”

HOW IT’S FORMED

어찌나 means “so.” 얼마나 means “how much” or “how
many.” (으)ㄴ/는지 is an expression which turns a phrase
into a into a noun clause.

HOW IT’S CONJUGATED

Nouns are a little complicated; you can use them with these
expressions, but only if you add an adjective before them
and an 이 after them. So 어찌나 남자인지 doesn’t work, but 어
찌나 좋은 남자인지 does.

Past Present Future

Action verbs 하다 어찌나 했는지 eojjina 어찌나 하는지 eojjina 어찌나 할지 eojjina
ending in a
vowel haenneunji 얼마나 했 haneunji 얼마나 하는 halji 얼마나 할지

는지 eolmana 지 eolmana haneunji eolmana halji

haenneunji

Action verbs 먹다 어찌나 먹었는지 어찌나 먹는지 eojjina 어찌나 먹을지 eojjina
ending in a
consonant eojjina meokneunji 얼마나 meogeulji 얼마나 먹

meogeonneunji 얼마 먹는지 eolmana 을지 eolmana

나 먹었는지 eolmana meokneunji meogeulji

meogeonneunji

Descriptive 예쁘다 어찌나 예뻤는지 어찌나 예쁜지 eojjina 어찌나 예쁠지 eojjina
verbs
(adjectives) eojjina yeppeunji 얼마나 예 yeppeulji 얼마나 예쁠
ending in a
vowel yeppeonneunji 얼마 쁜지 eolmana 지 eolmana yeppeulji

나 예뻤는지 eolmana yeppeunji

yeppeonneunji

Descriptive 작다 어찌나 작았는지 어찌나 작은지 eojjina 어찌나 작을지 eojjina
verbs
(adjectives) eojjina jaganneunji jageunji 얼마나 작은 jageulji 얼마나 작을지
ending in a
consonant 얼마나 작았는지 지 eolmana jageunji eolmana jageulji

eolmana jaganneunji

Nouns ending in 남자 어찌나 좋은 남자였는 어찌나 좋은 남자인지 어찌나 좋은 남자일지
a vowel
지 eojjina joeun eojjina joeun eojjina joeun

namjayeonneunji 얼 namjainji 얼마나 좋은 namjailji 얼마나 좋은

마나 좋은 남자였는지 남자인지 eolmana 남자일지 eolmana

eolmana joeun joeun namjainji joeun namjailji

namjayeonneunji

Nouns ending in 물 어찌나 좋은 물이었는 어찌나 좋은 물인지 어찌나 좋은 물일지
a consonant
지 eojjina joeun eojjina joeun murinji eojjina joeun murilji

murieonneunji 얼마 얼마나 좋은 물인지 얼마나 좋은 물일지

나 좋은 물이었는지 eolmana joeun eolmana joeun

murinji murilji

eolmana joeun
murieonneunji

TAKE NOTE

얼마나 and 어찌나 are interchangeable in the expressions
above.

Action verbs are often used together with adverbs. So
rather than 얼마나 먹었는지, you’d say: 얼마나 많이 먹었는지

eolmana mani meogeonneunji

I ate so much that…

얼마나 자주 먹었는지

eolmana jaju meogeonneunji

I ate so often that…

얼마나 잘 먹었는지

eolmana jal meogeonneunji

I ate so well that…
or something similar.

얼마나 A(으)ㄴ/는지 is featured in another rather common
expression: 얼마나 A(으)ㄴ/는지 모르다/모르겠다. Eolmana A
(eu)n/neunji moreuda/moreugetda. It means “I don’t even know how A
it is/was,” which implies that something was A.

오늘 날씨가 얼마나 추운지 모르겠어요.

Oneul nalssiga eolmana chuunji moreugesseoyo.

오늘 날씨가 얼마나 추운지 몰라요.

Oneul nalssiga eolmana chuunji mollayo.

It’s freezing cold out today.

내일 날씨가 얼마나 추울지 모르겠어요.

Naeil nalssiga eolmana chuulji moreugesseoyo.

I don’t know how cold it will be tomorrow.

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

어제 어찌나 많이 먹었는지 나중에 배가 아팠어요.

Eoje eojjina mani meogeonneunji najunge baega apasseoyo.

어제 얼마나 많이 먹었는지 나중에 배가 아팠어요.

Eoje eolmana mani meogeonneunji najunge baega apasseoyo.

Yesterday I ate so much that I got a stomachache.

민수가 어찌나 늦었는지 연극이 벌써 끝났어요.

Minsuga eojjina neujeonneunji yeongeugi beolsseo kkeunnasseoyo.

민수가 얼마나 늦었는지 연극이 벌써 끝났어요.

Minsuga eolmana neujeonneunji yeongeugi beolsseo kkeunnasseoyo.

Minsu was so late that the show had already
finished.

가영이 어찌나 좋은 학생인지 항상 시험에서 만점을 받아요.

Kayoungi eojjina joeun haksaenginji hangsang siheomeseo manjeomeul
badayo.

가영이 얼마나 좋은 학생인지 항상 시험에서 만점을 받아요.

Kayoungi eolmana joeun haksaenginji hangsang siheomeseo manjeomeul
badayo.

Kayoung is such a good student that she always
gets a 100% on tests.

늦으면 이번에야말로 전화할 거예요.

Neujeumyeon ibeoneyamallo jeonhwahal geoyeyo.

This time I’ll definitely call you if I’m late.

(이)야말로 is used to say that one particular thing, among
many, is just right. For instance, if your friend has only a
day in New York and wants to know that one thing that
cannot be missed, you could use (이)야말로 to recommend
the Statue of Liberty. You could also use (이)야말로 if you’ve
finally met the man or woman of your dreams, are adopting
a pet from an animal shelter, are buying shoes, or are in
any situation where one thing is definitely much better than
all the rest. You can also use it to say “definitely” or
“without fail,” as in “This time I’ll definitely do it” or
“That’s definitely the right one.”

HOW IT’S CONJUGATED All tenses
남자 남자야말로 namjayamallo
Nouns ending in a vowel 물 물이야말로 muriyamallo
Nouns ending in a consonant

TAKE NOTE

This is often used together with 뭐니 뭐니 해도 mwoni mwoni haedo
(“above all else” or “regardless of anything else”).

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

한국 음식 중에 김치야말로 대표적인 한국 음식이에요.

Hanguk eumsik junge kimchiyamallo daepyojeogin hanguk eumsigieyo.

뭐니 뭐니 해도 한국 음식 중에 김치야말로 대표적인 한국 음
식이에요.

Mwoni mwoni haedo hanguk eumsik junge kimchiyamallo daepyojeogin
hanguk eumsigieyo.

Kimchi is the representative food of Korea.
(Among Korean food, kimchi is representative of

Korean food.) 이 역할은 가영이야말로 잘 할 거예요.

I yeokareun Kayoungiyamallo jal hal geoyeyo.

Kayoung is perfect for this role.

제가 벌써 회의에 늦어서 걱정할 따름이에요.

Jega beolsseo hoeuie neujeoseo geokjeonghal ttareumieyo.

I’m already late for the meeting, so all I’m doing is
worrying.

Here’s another useful expression for either putting
people down or minimizing your own accomplishments. It
means “nothing but ~.”

HOW IT’S CONJUGATED

Past Present Future

Action verbs ending 하다 했을 따름이다 할 따름이다 hal 할 따름이다
in a vowel
haesseul ttareumida ttareumida
Action verbs ending 먹다
in a consonant 먹었을 따름이다 먹을 따름이다 먹을 따름이다

meogeosseul meogeul ttareumida
ttareumida

Descriptive verbs 예쁘다 예뻤을 따름이다 예쁠 따름이다 예쁠 따름이다
(adjectives) ending in
a vowel yeppeosseul yeppeul ttareumida

ttareumida

Descriptive verbs 작다 작았을 따름이다 작을 따름이다 jageul 작을 따름이다
(adjectives) ending in
a consonant jagasseul ttareumida ttareumida

Nouns ending in a 남자 남자였을 따름이다 남자일 따름이다 남자일 따름이다
vowel namjayeosseul
ttareumida namjail ttareumida

Nouns ending in a 물 물이었을 따름이다 물일 따름이다 muril 물일 따름이다
consonant murieosseul ttareumida
ttareumida

TAKE NOTE

따름이다 and 뿐이다 (see page 337) are interchangeable
except that you can use 뿐이다 directly after nouns, while 따
름이다 follows only nouns with 이 added to turn them into
verbs.

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

그녀는 개성이 없어요. 예쁠 따름이에요.

Geunyeoneun gaeseongi eopseoyo. Yeppeul ttareumieyo.

She doesn’t have any personality. She’s just
beautiful (and there’s nothing more to her than
that).

저 사람은 제 남자친구 아닌데요. 친구일 따름이에요.

Jeo sarameun je namjachingu anindeyo. Chinguil ttareumieyo.

That person isn’t my boyfriend. We’re just friends.

확실하지 않아요. 소문으로 들었을 따름이에요.

Hwaksilhaji anayo. Somuneuro deureosseul ttareumieyo.

I’m not sure. I just heard a rumor.

생각만으로는 정시에 올 수 없어요. 서둘러야겠죠.

Saenggangmaneuroneun jeongsie ol su eopseoyo. Seodulleoyagetjyo.

You won’t get there on time just by thinking about
it. You have to hurry.

Here’s an expression for all you managers. This is a way
to say that something on its own just isn’t enough for
whatever you’re trying to accomplish.

HOW IT’S FORMED

만 means “only” (see page 31). 으로 means “through” (see
page 31), and 는 is optional: it simply adds emphasis:
“through only A.”

HOW IT’S CONJUGATED

Action verbs can be changed to nouns using 는 것.

Action verbs 하다 Past Present Future
ending in a 한 것만으로는 han 하는 것만으로는 할 것만으로는 hal
vowel geonmaneuroneun haneun geonmaneuroneun
geonmaneuroneun 먹을 것만으로는
Action verbs 먹다 먹은 것만으로는 먹는 것만으로는 meogeul
meogeun meokneun geonmaneuroneun
ending in a geonmaneuroneun geonmaneuroneun 예쁜 것만으로는
예쁜 것만으로는 예쁜 것만으로는
consonant yeppeun 작은 것만으로는
geonmaneuroneun
Descriptive 예쁘다 남자만으로는
verbs
(adjectives)
ending in a
vowel

Descriptive 작다 작은 것만으로는 작은 것만으로는
verbs jageun
(adjectives) geonmaneuroneun
ending in a
consonant

Nouns ending in 남자 남자만으로는 남자만으로는

a vowel namjamaneuroneun

Nouns ending in 물 물만으로는 물만으로는 물만으로는
a consonant mulmaneuroneun

TAKE NOTE

B should be an expression like 부족하다 bujokada or 하기가 힘들
다 hagiga himdeulda which indicates that A isn’t enough by itself.

만으로는 and 만 by itself are quite similar, but 만으로는 is
used a little more specifically to say that something isn’t
enough by itself.

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

한국어 잘 배우기 위해서 문법 공부만으로 부족해요. 한국 사
람과 대화를 해야 돼요.

Hangugeo jal baeugi wihaeseo munbeop gongbumaneuro bujokaeyo.
Hanguk saramgwa daehwareul hae ya dwaeyo.

Studying grammar alone isn’t enough to learn
Korean well. You also need to have conversations
with Koreans.

노력만으로는 그 일을 끝내기가 힘들어요. 도움이 필요해요.

Noryeongmaneuroneun geu ireul kkeunnaegiga himdeureoyo. Doumi
piryohaeyo.

It’ll be difficult to finish that job just by trying. You
need help.

A: 저는 살을 빼고 싶으니까 운동을 해야겠어요.

Jeoneun sareul ppaego sipeunikka undongeul haeyagesseoyo.

I want to lose weight, so I’ll have to exercise.

B: 운동도 운동이지만 패스트 푸드부터 먹지 마세요.

Undongdo undongijiman paeseuteu pudeubuteo meokji maseyo.

Exercise is all fine and well, but you should start
by not eating fast food.

This is for people who need to give advice to friends who
are headed off in the wrong direction. Let’s say your friend
wants to lose weight and says they’re going to start
exercising. This is a good plan, but you think they’d be
better off if they’d just stop eating fast food three meals a
day. That’s the kind of situation in which you’d use this
expression.

HOW IT’S FORMED

기 turns verbs into nouns. 도 means “too.” 이 turns nouns
into verbs, while 지만 means “but.”

HOW IT’S CONJUGATED

Add 기 to verbs to turn them into nouns before putting
them before 도.

Past Present Future

Action verbs 하다 하기도 했지만 hagido 하기도 하지만 hagido 하기도 할 거지만
ending in a
vowel haetjiman hajiman hagido hal geojiman

Action verbs 먹다 먹기도 먹었지만 먹기도 먹지만 먹기도 먹을 거지만
ending in a 예쁘다 meokgido meokgido meokgido meogeul
consonant meogeotjiman meokjiman geojiman

Descriptive 예쁘기도 예쁘지만 예쁘기도 예쁘지만 예쁘기도 예쁘지만
verbs yeppeugido
(adjectives) yeppeujiman
ending in a
vowel 작다 작기도 작지만 jakgido 작기도 작지만 작기도 작지만

Descriptive

verbs jakjiman 남자도 남자이지만
(adjectives) 물도 물이지만
ending in a 남자도 남자이지만 남자도 남자이지만
consonant namjado namjaijiman
물도 물이지만 muldo 물도 물이지만
Nouns ending in 남자 murijiman
a vowel

Nouns ending in 물
a consonant

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

A: 가영이 정말 예쁘지요?

Kayoungi jeongmal yeppeujiyo?

Kayoung is really pretty, isn’t she?
B: 예쁘기도 예쁘지만 성격이 나빠서 가영을 싫어요.

Yeppeugido yeppeujiman seonggyeogi nappaseo Kayoungi sireoyo.

Beauty is all fine and well, but she has a bad
personality so I don’t like her.
__________

A: 한국어를 잘 하고 싶어서 요즘 문법을 열심히 배워요.

Hangugeoreul jal hago sipeoseo yojeum munbeobeul yeolsimhi baewoyo.

I want to speak Korean well, so these days I’m
learning grammar.
B: 문법도 문법이지만 한국 사람과 대화를 했으면 좋겠어요.

Munbeopdo munbeobijiman hanguk saramgwa daehwareul haesseumyeon

jokesseoyo.

Learning grammar is all fine and well, but you also
have to talk to Koreans.

Habits

민수가 대학교 때 자주 수업에 늦게 오곤 했어요.

Minsuga daehakgyo ttae jaju sueobe neutge ogon haesseoyo.

During university, Minsu was habitually late for
class.

곤 하다, a good grammatical pattern for those who like to
live their lives according to a consistent schedule, means
“to do something repeatedly or as a habit.” It’s used in
sentences such as “I always have toast and jam for
breakfast” or “I often go to that bar after work.”

HOW IT’S CONJUGATED Past Present
Action verbs ending in a vowel 하다
하곤 했다 hagon haetda 하곤 하다 hagon hada 하
하고는 했다 hagoneun 고는 하다 hagoneun hada
haetda

Action verbs ending in a 먹다 먹곤 했다 meokgon 먹곤 하다 meokgon hada
consonant haetda 먹고는 했다 먹고는 하다 meokgoneun
meokgoneun haetda hada

TAKE NOTE

곤 하다 and 고는 하다 are interchangeable, but 곤 하다 is
somewhat more common.

곤/고는 하다 is used to describe a habit rather than
something that always happens without fail. So if you want
to talk about eating toast and jam for breakfast most
mornings, you could use 곤 하다, but it would be strange to
use it to describe your alarm clock going off every single
day at 7:00.

곤 하다 and 기 일쑤이다 gi ilssuida (see page 356) are
interchangeable when the sentence is negative. 기 일쑤이다
isn’t usually used with positive sentences.

아/어/여 대다 a/eo/yeo daeda (see page 357) means to do
something repeatedly, but not necessarily as a habit. If your
ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend calls you all day long the day
after you’ve broken up with him or her, you can use 아/어/여
대다 to describe the action, but not 곤 하다 because the
calling is done repeatedly but is not habitual. If that same
ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend calls you every day for months
on end, then you could use 곤 하다.

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

남자친구와 헤어진 후에 그는 몇일 동안 계속 저에게 전화하
곤 했어요.

Namjachinguwa he-eo-jin hue geuneun myeochil dongan gyesok jeoege

jeonhwahagon haesseoyo.

After I broke up with my boyfriend, he kept on
calling me for several days.

퇴근한 후에 맥주 두세잔 마시곤 해요.

Toegeunhan hue maekju dusejan masigon haeyo.

After work I usually drink a few glasses (two or
three glasses) of beer.

민수가 또 늦었어요. 그는 자주 늦는 편이지요?

Minsuga tto neujeosseoyo. Geuneun jaju neunneun pyeonijiyo?

Minsu’s late again. He often tends to be late,
doesn’t he?

This can be used to talk about someone or something
which tends to be a certain way.

HOW IT’S FORMED

편 means “side,” so this expression literally means “on the
side of ~.”

HOW IT’S CONJUGATED

Past Present

Action verbs ending in a vowel 하다 하는 편이었다 haneun 하는 편이다 haneun
먹다
Action verbs ending in a 예쁘다 pyeonieotda pyeonida
consonant 작다
Descriptive verbs (adjectives) 먹는 편이었다 meokneun 먹는 편이다 meokneun
ending in a vowel
Descriptive verbs (adjectives) pyeonieotda pyeonida
ending in a consonant
예쁜 편이었다 yeppeun 예쁜 편이다 yeppeun
pyeonieotda pyeonida

작은 편이었다 jageun 작은 편이다 jageun

pyeonieotda pyeonida

TAKE NOTE

편이다 can never be used in the future tense.

It’s not used to talk about objectively verifiable facts: for
example, “He tends to be a man.” You could, however, say
that “He tends to be manly.”

그는 남자인 편이에요.

Geuneun namjain pyeonieyo.

He tends to be a man. (ungrammatical) 그는 남자다
운 편이에요.

Geuneun namjadaun pyeonieyo.

He tends to be manly. (just fine) Action verbs are
normally used in conjunction with adverbs like 자주
jaju, 가끔 gakkeum, and so on.
A similar expression is ~(으)ㄴ/는 축에 들다 (eu)n/neun chuge
deulda (see page 359). There’s a very slight difference in
meaning between the two. Think of 편이다 as placing the
subject on a scale between 0 and 100. Let’s say 0 is 제일 작
은 jeil jageun and 100 is 제일 큰 jeil keun. If the subject rates over
50 on that scale, 큰 편이다 keun pyeonida. With 축에 들다 chuge
deulda, rather than a scale, you’re dividing people into
groups and saying which group they belong in: the big
group or the small group. It’s more often used when
comparing yourself to family or colleagues, rather than the
entire human population. 편이다 compares you to everyone.
Another difference is that 편이다 is rather more formal. 축에
들다 shouldn’t be used toward elders.

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

저는 라면을 좋아해요. 라면을 자주 먹는 편이에요.

Jeoneun ramyeoneul joahaeyo. Ramyeoneul jaju meokneun pyeonieyo.

I like ramen. I tend to eat ramen a lot.

저 학생은 작은 편이라서 다른 학생보다 더 작은 책상이 필요
해요.

Jeo haksaengeun jageun pyeoniraseo dareun haksaengboda deo jageun

chaeksangi piryohaeyo.

That student is small (for his grade), so he needs a
smaller desk than the other students.

수업에 정시에 오기도 하고 늦기도 해요.

Sueobe jeongsie ogido hago neutgido haeyo.

I sometimes come to class on time and sometimes
I come late.

This is a way to talk about things that are known to
occur from time to time.

HOW IT’S FORMED

기 turns a verb into a noun. 도 in this case means “too,” and
하다 means “to occur” here.

HOW IT’S CONJUGATED

It follows action verbs. 하다 can be conjugated to express
the past tense or the future tense.

Action verbs 하다 Past Present Future
ending in a 먹다 하기도 했다 hagido 하기도 하다 hagido 하기도 할 것이다
vowel haetda hada hagido hal geosida

Action verbs 먹기도 했다 먹기도 하다 먹기도 할 것이다
ending in a meokgido haetda meokgido hada meokgido hal
consonant geosida

TAKE NOTE

This expression and ~(으)ㄹ 수도 있다 ~(eu)l sudo itda are similar,
but ~기도 하다 means that ~ actually does happen while ~
(으)ㄹ 수도 있다 means that ~ has the potential to happen,
whether or not it actually does.

기도하다 or 기도 하다 by itself means “to pray” or “to
attempt.” 기도 하다 directly following another verb means
“~ sometimes happens.” Don’t get them confused.

You can repeat 기도 하다 in the middle of your sentence
and again at the end to say that sometimes you do one
thing and sometimes you do another. See the examples.

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

어제 주로 비가 왔어요. 그래도 눈이 오기도 했어요.

Eoje juro biga wasseoyo. Geuraedo nuni ogido haesseoyo.

Yesterday it mainly rained, but occasionally it
snowed.

점심에 밥을 먹곤 하지만 라면을 먹기도 해요.

Jeomsime babeul meokgon hajiman ramyeoneul meokgido haeyo.

I usually eat rice for lunch, but sometimes I eat
ramen.

어떤 날은 잘 자기도 하지만 어떤 날은 잘 못 자요.

Eotteon nareun jal jagido hajiman eotteon nareun jal mot jayo.

Some days I sleep well, but some days I don’t.

친구 하고 길게 이야기를 하다가 보니까 수업에 늦게 됐어요.

Chingu hago gilge iyagireul hadaga bonikka sueobe neutge dwaesseoyo.

I was talking with my friend for a long time and
suddenly noticed I was late for class.