This grammar principle is placed at the end of a clause to indicate the reason for something or provide an explanation. Most of the time, you’ll see 거든(요) used at the end of a fragment or incomplete sentence as a tag on explanation to what has previously been said. Here are some examples of this:
These days, I go to bed too late. It’s because I have so much work. 저는 요즘에 너무 늦게 자요. 일이 많거든요.
Come to our house this Friday night. We moved house recently (so we’re having a party). 이번 주 금요일에 우리 집에 저녁 드시러오세요. 얼마 전에 새집으로 이사했거든요.
Will you come to our house for dinner tomorrow? It’s my birthday. 내일 저희 집에서 식사 함께 하실래요? 내일이 제 생일이거든요.
It is also possible to use 거든(요) in full sentences, like so:
It’s because if I get the chance, I’d like to try working at a Korean company in the future. 나중에 기회가 되면 한국 회사에서 일해 보고 싶거든요.
거든(요) in a first clause
거든(요) has a slightly different meaning when used in the first clause instead of the second clause of an explanation. If used at the end of the first clause, 거든(요) indicates that you are providing information which will help the listener to make sense of the next clause. Here are some examples of how this can be used:
I haven’t done the work yet, so I’ll probably have to go to the office to do it. 일을 아직 안 했거든요. 그래서 오늘 회사에 사거 해야 될 것 같아요.
I marked it in our calendar. Don’t forget, and make sure that you come on the day. 우리가 언제 달력에 표시했거든요. 깜빡하지 말고 그 날에 꼭 와야 돼요.
This is the way in which Han Mi-Nyeo uses 거든(요). She is telling the Game Administrator that she has a baby to allow her to then explain that she hasn’t named it yet so she couldn’t register the birth of her baby. This is one of the first scenes that hints towards Han Mi-Nyeo’s intelligence and manipulative abilities. She most likely doesn’t have a baby, but pleads desperately with the Game Administrator to let her go to be with her child. This is very smart, considering that Korea has a very low birth rate. The rarity of children has caused people to value them a lot, and you will often find people trying to interact with childrenandgiving them freebies like sweets or yakult drinks wherever they go. In normal circumstances, Mi-Nyeo would have been sent away immediately.
As you may have already learned, 아/어(서) is used to connect two clauses in order to indicate that one thing happened after another. When using 나/어(서) in this way, 서 is optional.
I’m going to sit down and relax. 나는 앉아서 쉴 거야.
I’m going to go to school and study. 저는 학교에 가서 공부할 거예요.
아/어서
Another usage of 아/어서 is to indicate how or by what means the second action happens. In this usage, 서 cannot be omitted.
I solved the problem using the new computer. 새로운 컴퓨터를 써서 문제를 풀었어요.
I explained it by using many types of examples. 몇 가지 예를 사용해서설명했어요.
They used the globe to draw a map. 지구본을 사용해서 지도를 그렸어요.
As you may already know, when 하다 and 어 are combined, they create 해. Therefore, 해서 is used when 아/어서 is added to a verb ending in 하다. As mentioned in the 아/어(서) section however, the 서 can be omitted sometimes, so you may simply see 해 as the connective. A variation of 해 is 하여, which is seen most commonly in written Korean. This is simply the original version of 해 without the two particles joining together.
This is what we see in the above example. The full sentence said by the Front Man is ‘456명 중의 255명이 탈락하여, 첫 번째 게임을 끝마친 참가자는 201명입니다’. Here, the connector 아/어(서) is being used to indicate that out of 456 players, 255 players have passed, and the number of players who finished playing in the first game is 201. The 서 has simply been omitted and the variation 하여 has been utilised instead.
중 means ‘middle’ and all of these grammar principles incorporate ‘middle’ or ‘between’ into their meaning in some way.
중의 and 중에
This grammar principle is used to indicate that a statement is being made about a group of people. The English equivalent would be ‘out of’ or ‘amongst’.
She is the youngest amongst three girls. 그녀는 세 자매 중의막내이다.
Amongst our group, someone is left handed. 우리중의 어떤 사람은 왼손잡이다.
중에 can be used in exactly the same way. The two are interchangeable in this context.
There is no such person amongst us. 그런 사람은 우리 중에는 없다.
중에 Additional Meanings
Although 중에 can be used to mean amongst a group, it can also be used to show that something is taking place in the middle of another action. This usage is a very literal combination of 중 and the particle 에. If this principle feels difficult to learn, one way to practise could be creating sentences using the particle 에 for time, and changing the first part of the sentence into something which was happening whilst the action takes place and adding in 중.
I happened to meet my friend at 12 o’clock. 12시에 친구를 우연히 만났다.
Whilst I was going home, I happened to meet my friend. 집에 가는 중에 친구를 우연히 만났다.
My doorbell suddenly rang whilst I was in the middle of cooking. 요리 하는 중에 갑자기 누가 초인종을 눌렸어요.
는 중
If you’re unfamiliar with English grammar, the present progressive tense is used when you are in the middle of a certain action, or when that action is in progress. In English, these words usually end in the -ing suffix (eg. studying, writing, reading). When studying Korean as a beginner, one of the first grammar principles that you learned was probably 고 있다, which is the Korean equivalent of this form, however, you can also use 는 중 to show that something is in the present progressive tense. This grammar is used in exactly the same way as 고 있다, as you can just place it directly onto the end of the verb stem. This form is slightly less common than 고 있다, but is still used quite frequently and is good for adding variation to your speech or writing.
I’m studying. 나는 공부하는 중이다.
My brother is on a blind date. 오빠가 미팅을 하는 중이에요.
You may have noticed that all of the previous examples for 중에 also incorporated the 는 particle. This is because these sentences used both the 는 중 and 중에 grammar principles simultaneously to indicate that something was already taking place, and whilst that happened something else occurred. Using these two forms combined is a great way to easily impress native Koreans since it shows that not only do you know two intermediate forms, you also know how to combine them.
A 하고 B 중에(서)
This principle is used to indicate that there is a choice between 2 or more things. This principle is extremely useful if a choice needs to be made between several options, or something needs to be distinguished. Although 하고 is commonly used, you can also use 과/와 and this would still be grammatically correct. You may also use 중에(서) after a the name of a group or a collective noun, as ‘group’ indicates that there are several things involved to choose/make a distinction from.
Between Busan and Seoul, where do you want to go? 부산하고 서울 중에 어디 가고 싶어요?
Between design and practicality, which do you think is more important? 디자인하고 실용성 중에서 어느 게 더 중요해요?
Between all of my classes, geography is my favourite. 수업 주에 지리 수업을 제일 좋아해요.
This grammar form is added to a word stem to indicate the reason why you feel gratitude for something. This form is really useful for Korean learners, as it can be used all the time to make you sound more polite and grateful towards the people around you, especially as Korean people can be very kind and giving towards others. A good way to translate this form would be ‘thanks to…’ and the typical structure for using it in a sentence would be the reason that you are thankful + ㄴ/은 덕분에 + the positive result. Here are some examples of how it can be used:
Student: Teacher, thanks to your help my English has really improved. 학생: 선생님께서 잘 가르쳐 주신 덕분에 제 영어 실력이 많이 좋아졌습니다.
Teacher: No, it’s because you worked so hard! 선생님: 아니에요. 열심히 공부해서 그런 거예요.
The work was finished a lot faster because we did it together. 다 같이 일을 나누어서 한 덕분에 생각보다 일이 빨리 끝났어요.
Thanks to my scholarship I studied at a good university overseas. 장학금 덕분에 좋은 외국 대학를 다녔어요.
Thanks to my kind Korean friend, I was able to adjust to life in Korea easily. 친한 한국 친구 덕분에 한국 생활에 쉽게 적응할 수 있었어요.
덕에
덕에 is simply the abbreviated form of 덕분에. This form can only be used in informal conversations since it’s much more casual. In the example from Squid Game, Gi-Hun is saying to Sang-Woo and Ali that it is thanks to the both of them that he is alive.
ㄴ/은/는가 보다 is a grammatical form used to indicate that what is being said is a guess or supposition. This is very similar to 것 같다, however the main difference between these two forms is that ㄴ/은/는가 보다 is only used when you have some kind of strong evidence to think that way.
Yonsei University explains this difference really well in their video which you can find here. If you were to look at a picture of some delicious looking food, then you could say 맛있을 것 같아요. If the food looks good, then it’s reasonable to assume that it probably tastes good too. Yet, there is no actual concrete evidence that it will taste good. It could look amazing and still taste awful. Because of this, you can’t use ㄴ/은/는가 보다 since there needs to be clear evidence. A good way to translate the difference would be like this:
것 같다 - It seems / I think / It’s probably ㄴ/은/는가 보다 - It must be
Here are some more examples:
Excuse me, could I please get some kimchi fried rice, kimchi jeon, kimchi jjigae, and lots of kimchi side dishes. 조기요, 김치볶음밥 하나랑 김치전 하나랑 김치 찌개 하나랑 김치 반찬 많이 주세요. Woah, that foreigner must love kimchi! 와, 그 외국인이 김치를 좋아하는가 봐요!
Student: Ugh, what is this?! 학생: 애이, 이게 뭐야?! Exam invigilator: I guess the test is really difficult. 시험 감독관: 시험이 어려운가 봐요.
This grammar form is conjugated differently depending on whether it’s used with a verb or an adjective. Here are the usage rules:
V+ 은/는가 보다 A+ ㄴ/은가 보다
There is also a shorted version of this form, which is used much more commonly than this full version. The shortened version is 나보다. This version is useful for us as Korean learners since this version doesn’t have any variations depending on usage. You can simply take the word stem and add 나보다. This is the version which is used in the scene. Do-Yeon says ‘천하의 보험왕도 별수 없나 봐요,’ meaning that in this world, even being the king of insurance must not be anything special.
When literally translated, 한 사람 means ‘one person’. The actual meaning of this grammar isn’t too far off the literal translation. This grammatical rule can be used to say ‘the person who’, or ‘the one who’. As with the English equivalent, this is used to highlight the person in particular who carried out a certain action. Here are some examples:
They were all destroyed. Even the (one who was) the last man. 그들은 모두 처치되었다. 마지막 한 사람까지.
She is the only one who is suited to the job. 그녀가 그일자리에 맞는 단 한 사람이다.
Who is the one who said that this movie was good (it’s terrible and I want to pick a fight). 이 영화 재미있다고 한 사람누구야?!
Which one of you said that it wasn’t going to be cold here? (I didn’t bring a jacket and it’s your fault). 여기 안 춥다고 한 사람누구야?
In this scene, Kyu-Sik is saying ‘아이, 그래도 이년 연속 보험왕까지 한 사람인데요.’ In our last lesson, we went through how the use of the auxiliary 까지 creates the meaning ‘Even for the insurance king?!’. Without 한 사람, this would be a perfectly fine sentence which conveys the same meaning. 한 사람 just adds the nuance of asking how can De-Young in particular be having a hard time since he’s the person who’s held the title of insurance king for 2 years running. It allows the suggestion that De-Young should be exempt from having a hard time due to his skills, but times are so difficult that even he is struggling.
Many Korean learners begin their studies by learning very basic grammar such as 도, 고, 서, 요, etc. One of the most commonly learned grammar rules at this stage is 부터 and 까지. In most situations, 까지 is used in this way to mean ‘to’ or ‘until’, however in this scene, it is an alternative usage of 까지. This form is the auxiliary form.
When used as the auxiliary form, 까지 is used to express that something has extended to an extreme or surprising extent. This can often be translated to ‘even’. Here is an example:
My friend ate japchae, bindaetteok, and kimchi jjigae. They even ate octopus! 친구가 잡채와 빈대떡과 김치찌개를 먹었어요. 문어까지먹었어요!
Here, you could say 문어도 먹었어요 - they ate octopus too. However, 까지 adds a nuance of surprise or something being beyond expectations, which is much more useful in this statement to show that it was shocking that their friend tried octopus. Here are some more uses of this grammar form:
I even did all my homework too! 나는 숙제까지 다 했어!
I lost my phone and even my wallet. 핸드폰도 없어졌는데 지갑까지잃어버렸어요.
I was already late but I even missed my bus. 늦었는데 버스까지늫졌어요.
In the previous scene that we studied, Do-Yeon was saying that from what she remembers, it’s hard to make money nowadays. In this scene, Kyu-Sik responds saying ‘아이, 그래도 이년 연속 보험왕까지 한 사람인데요.’ Here, 까지 is being used to say ‘What? Even for the person who was the insurance king for two consecutive years?!’
더 is a grammar particle which is used to show that something is being remembered from the past. If you combine 더 and -ㄴ/은, this grammar particle becomes 던. The most common usage of this form is when you are remembering something that has changed, or which is from your past.
This may seem like a small nuance but it is important to learn as it’s a very common form and if you as a Korean learner use it, it will make your sentences sound more natural by giving some variation and emotion to what you say. Here is an example:
A small house 작은 집
A house that I remember being small 작던 집
ㅆ던
There is also a past tense variation of this form, which may seem confusing since this form already refers to something that has happened in the past. This conjugation is a little difficult to understand, but here is the difference between them:
던 - something from the past that continues into present day. ㅆ 던 - something from the past that finished or is no longer the same.
Why are you studying a book that you already studied before? 왜 전에 공부하던책을 계속 공부해요?
I want to go to that park that we used to visit often. 우리가 자주 가던 공원에 다시 가고 싶어요.
I went t the school that I used to study at. 데가 공부했던 학교에 갔어요.
In the first two examples, the action that is being remembered is still taking place, so the past tense conjugation isn’t used. In the final example, they no longer study at the school. The action that they are reminiscing about has ended, so the past tense conjugation is appropriate here.
던데(요)
Once you understand the other forms of 던, 던데(요) is very simple to understand as it just combines 던 and 는데(요). Again, this adds nuance, as it more or less translates to ‘but I remember’, or ‘I remember…though’.
In the show, Do-Yeon says ‘가뜩이나 요즘 돈벌이도 시원찮은 것 같던데’. Translated, this means ‘moreover, from that I remember (던데) it seems (것 같다) hard to make money these days’.
것같아(요) is the combination of the 는 것 principle and the verb 같다, meaning to be similar or the same. There are a few different ways that it can be translated: it might, it seems like, I think, or probably. The main idea that combines all of these translation is that an assumption is being made based on pre-existing information.
The conjugation rules of this form are: Past tense ㄴ/은 것 같다 Present tense 는 것 같다 Future tense ㄹ/을 것 같다
It seems like it will rain. 비가올 것 같아요.
We’ll probably be late. 우리는 늦을 것 같아.
It seems like he’s on his break. 그를 휴식을 하는 것 같아요.
I think mom is waiting. 엄ㅁ아는 기다리고 있는 것 같아.
Teacher, I think you probably studied a lot. 선생님이 열심하 공부한 것 같아요.
I think the boss already did all of the work. 부장님이 그 일을 이미 다 한 것 같아요.
Another thing to note is that although this form is always written as 것 같아(요), you may hear people say it as 같애(요). This is still exactly the same form, and it actually a more natural way of saying it.
If you’ve been following this blog so far, or if you’re an intermediate learner, you should be able to pick this form up really easily. 대요 is simply the contracted version of the quoting form 다고 하다. It’s usually only used in informal conversation. Here is a quick recap of the 다로 하다 form in case you’ve forgotten.
Active verb stem + ㄴ/는다고 하다 Descriptive verb stem + 다고 하다
I said that I want to go. 가고 싶다고 했어요. 가고 싶대요.
Did you say that you like kimchi? 제가 김치를 좋아한다고 했어요? 제가 김치를 좋아한대요?
래요
Similarly to 대요, 래요 is the contracted version of the quoting form. In this instance, however, 래요 is the contracted form of (이)라고 하다, the quoting form for nouns.
I said “it’s an apple”. 사과라고 했어요. 사과래요.
Be careful not to confuse this with the very similar form (으)라고 하다 which is also shortened to 래요, as this has a different meaning where you are showing that something is an imperative.
My parents say that now I’m over 20 years old, I must be independent. 부모님은 저한테 스무 살이 넘었으니까 독립하라고 해요. 부모님은 저한테 스무 살이 넘었으니까 독립하래요.
재요
Again, 재요 is a contracted quotation form, this time relating to the command quotation form 자고 하다.
This principle has a few different ways that it can be translated in English depending on how it is used, but the main purpose of it is to express futility. Because of this, translations can include ‘don’t bother’, ‘there’s no point’, ‘it’s a waste of time’, or ‘even if you try X, Y will happen anyway’. Here are some examples:
There’s no point talking to my parents honestly, they won’t believe me. 부모님은 내가 솔직하게 말해 봤자 내 말을 믿지 않으실 거예요.
Even if you go now, you’ll be late anyway. 지금가 봤자 늦었을 거예요.
Don’t bother going. 가 봤자예요.
In this scene, Kyu-sik asked Do-yeon if Dae-young eventually paid all of the settlement money. Do-yeon is responding by highlighting that he had to, mentioning that… Even if he tried to take the problem to court, it would just be a waste of time and money. 어차피 이런 싸움 재판까지 가 봤자 시간 버리고, 돈 버리는 거.
You may also see (으)나 마나 used in place of 아/어 봤자 sometimes. These two principles have identical meanings and can more or less be swapped out in place of one another.
This principle is the combination of the topic particle ㄴ/는 with a shortened version of 것이에요. This principle requires a good understanding of the topic marker to be able to understand exactly how it functions, so if you feel like you don’t understand the nuances of 은/는, it’s definitely important to go over them again before learning this principle.
This principle uses the topic marker to highlight what is being said. It literally means THIS is the thing. Because of this, it is frequently used when asking for clarification, or when clarifying something yourself.
가: What are you doing? Are you playing games. 가: 뭐하는 거야? 게임을 하는 거야? 나: No, I’m studying. 나: 아니, 저는 지금 공부하는 거야.
가: Is there anything you are looking for / Can I help you? 가: 뭐 찾으시는 거 있으세요? 나: I’m just looking. 나: 그냥 구경하는 게예요.
In the usage given in this scene, Kyu-sik is asking Do-yeon for clarification as to whether or not Dae-young was made to pay all of the settlement money eventually.
Since it’s asking for clarification, this principle can also be used if you are accusing someone of something, or if you want them to explain their actions (maybe if they’ve upset you or acted rudely). Here is an example, where a store assistant accuses a customer of stealing.
가: Quickly, put this necklace in your pocket. 가: 빨리, 너의 주머니에 이 목걸이를 넣어. 나: What are you doing? / Are you stealing? / Please explain yourself. 나: 뭐 하시는 거에요?
No matter where you are, or even who you’re talking to, when you wish to spark up a conversation you’ll always need to start with a greeting. In English this could be anything from “hello,” to “hi,” or even “good morning” or “good afternoon.” The great news is there is only one word that you need to learn in Korean that translates as all of these greetings!
안녕하세요 is the standard way to say “hello” in Korean and can be used to greet someone no matter what time of the day. The phrase is made up of two words that literally translate as “are you at peace?” or “are you well?”
Our blog post here teaches you how to pronounce “안녕하세요” like a native.
이미 벌어진 일이나 어떤 상태가 배경임을 나타낼 때 사용해요. 일상적인 대화나 비격식적인 상황에서 주로 써요.
It’s used to indicate what’s already happened or what’s going on behind the scenes. It’s usually used in daily conversations or in informal situations.
예문(example sentences):
1. 저희가 사귄다는 사실도 이제 다 알려진 마당에 뭘 더 숨기겠어요? What else can we hide now (given the circumstances) that everyone knows we’re dating?
2. 가: 이번 회사 체육대회에서 버려진 음식 쓰레기가 이렇게나 많아요. 너무 낭비예요. There is so many discarded food waste from the company athletic competition. It’s too wasteful. 나: 굶어 죽는 사람도 있는 마당에 이렇게 많은 음식을 버려서야 되겠습니까? How can you think about throwing away food given the circumstances that there are people starving to death?
3. 가: 그 회사와 계속 거래를 할 예정이에요? Are you going to keep doing business with them? 나: 이미 신뢰가 깨진 마당에 더 이상 이 회사와 거래할 수 없어요. Under the circustances that the trust already been broken, I can no longer deal with this company anymore.
‘(으)ㄴ/는 마당에’를 사용하여 대화를 완성하십시오. Use ‘(으)ㄴ/는 마당에’ and complete the sentence.
가: 요즘 새로 나온 휴대폰을 써 보니까 좋던데 너도 이번 기회에 한번 바뀌 보는 게 어때? 나: 아르바이트를 그만둬서 생활비도______새로운 휴대폰은 꿈도 못 꿔.
가: 어려운 일을 돕자는 의도는 좋지만 이렇게 돈을 많이 써 가며 행사를 진행할 필요가 있을까요? 나: 저도 동감이에요. 당장 작은 도움을 줄 수 있는 돈도 ______행상에 이렇게 많은 돈을 쓸 필요가 없다고 생각해요.
가: 대학 다닐 떄 공부 좀 열심히 할 걸 그랬어. 학점이 낮으니까 회사에 지원해도 번번이 서류 심사에서 떨어지는 것 같아. 나: 이미 ________후회한다고 점수가 바뀌냐? 자기소개에 좀 더 공을 들여 봐.
-가락 is used as an ending in many words so I thought I’d make a post explaining why its used lingustically and a list of those words its in. I find learning the breakdown of words and reasoning helps memorize and remember them faster
가락 means something that is long and thin. It can also be used as a unit word that can count objects in that shape.
For chopsticks 젓가락 is a combination of 저(箸) + 가락. 저 comes from the chinese word for chopsticks. 저 becomes 젓 because of 사이시옷 (funky lingustics that happens in some compound nouns; where a consonant is added in between two parts of the compound)
For spoon 숟가락 is a combination of 술 + 가락. 술 is an old Korean word for spoons that is now used when measuring something by a spoonful, like tablespoon (큰술) and teaspoon (작은술).
Time for another grammar post! I was just looking through the Grammar Directory and was surprised to find that I hadn’t yet written about this very useful form. Doubting that there’s no way your best friend forgot your birthday? Don’t believe that the quiet nerdy kid in your social anthropology course moonlights as a stand-up comedian? -(으)ㄹ 리가 없다/만무하다 is just what you’re looking for!
Hello, everyone! It’s great to be back~ I finished my graduate degree (waiting on my exam results to make it official), and I’ll be moving to my new house just a few hours after this post goes up! That being said, please understand if my posting is a bit irregular for the next week or two, though I will certainly try my best to get things up on time. Anyway, negation!
The other day, someone asked me about negation in Korean, and I realized that I had never tackled it before despite being a pretty simple and highly important part of the language! Let’s check out four ways to negate things in Korean: 안, -지 않다, 못, and -지 못하다.
A/V-고말고요 is a way to express strong affirmation to a question that had been asked or strong agreement to what has been stated. Roughly, this can translate into English as “Of course…”
In the above screen cap examples, EXID’s Hani is recounting the time she ran into her first childhood crush, an 오빠 who would later go on to become a well known athlete in Korea. He had asked her, “내가 메일 보냈던 거 기억나니?” (Do you remember the mail I used to send?–after he had moved away), to which she replied, “기억하고말고!”(Of course I remember!)
Note: There is some debate as to whether this grammar should be written -고말고요 or -고 말고요. I first encountered this grammar point in the Yonsei book series as -고말고요, which is the form I use.
Further Examples
가: 그 사람을 잘 알아요? 나: 네, 알고말고요.
A: Do you know that person? B: Of course I know him.
가: 그 식당 음식이 맛있어요? 나: 네, 맛있고말고요.
A: Is the food at that restaurant tasty? B: Of course it’s tasty.
가: 네 남동생은 학생이야? 나: 네, 학생이고말고.
A: Is your younger brother a student? B: Of course he’s a student.
Note: The ending for nouns is always 이고말고요 regardless of the presence or absence of a 밤침. Ex; 학생–>학생이고말고요, 의사–>의사이고말고요
가: 손을 씻었나요? 나: 네, 씻었고말고요.
A: Did you wash your hands? B: Of course I washed my hands.
Welcome back to Korean Sentence Patterns! Today, we’ll continue to look at grammatical structures that include the verb 되다. This one is about how to give (or ask for) permission to do something.
(Note that unlike variety shows where they write tons of stuff on the screen, this show doesn’t put any text on the screen so I added the caption myself based off of what I heard in the show.)
이 쪽은 안 다쳤으니까 안 해도 돼.
This side isn’t hurt so you don’t have to do that.
Finally, a sentence from a show that’s not 1박2일! Haha, yes I do actually watch other Korean shows too. This one is the Korean version of the Japanese show Shin-chan.
The context of the sentence above is that the mom hurt her finger and Shin volunteered to help her. After putting a bandage on her wound, he starts wrapping up her (perfectly fine) other hand, so she says the sentence above.
VERB + –아/어도 되다
The meaning of this grammatical structure is giving permission (as a statement) and asking for permission (in a question). You can translate it in a variety of ways depending on the form:
STATEMENT (V -도 되다.) – “It’s okay if you V.” – “You can/may V” (when “can” it’s permission not ability) QUESTION (V -도 되다?) – “Is it okay if I V?” – “Can/may I V?” NEGATIVE (안 V -도 되다.) – “It’s okay if you don’t V.” – “You don’t have to V.”
Also note that the subject isn’t limited to the second person (“you”). With a different subject, it’s more so expressing that the person is allowed to do something, rather than giving permission.
The rule on how to make this grammar is to conjugate the verb similarly to informal present form (e.g. 가다 –> 가. 먹다 –> 먹어) and attach -도 되다. Note that in writing, the -도 is attached directly to the verb. There’s no space.
Examples:
사도 돼요 = You can buy it.
사도 돼요? = Can I buy it?
안 사도 돼요 = You don’t have to buy it.
안 사도 돼요? = Is it okay if I don’t buy it?
Difference between -면 되다 and -도 되다?
It can be confusing because these two grammatical points are so similar, so let’s compare them (I also included -면 안 되다) :
–면 되다 = You just have to… (instructions: minimum required action)
–면 안 되다 = You shouldn't… (instructions: prohibition)
–도 되다 = It’s okay if you… (permission/allowance)
You can think of -면 되다 and -면 안 되다 as both giving the listener instructions or advice. In the first, you’re telling them “all you have to do is…” (the minimum thing). In the second you’re telling them what NOT to do.
But -도 되다 isn’t really an instruction or advice, you’re just telling someone what is and isn’t allowed, more like just letting them know with the intention of influencing their behavior.
The Template: (안) V –(으)니까 + (안) V –아/어도 되다
The sentence above has another grammatical structure that I didn’t discuss and it’s -(으)니까. All it means is “because/so” (a reason). So the template is (reason) + (permission). You use this when you want to tell someone that it’s okay to do or not do something because of a certain situation.
Our variations:
안 급하니까 지금 안 해도 돼요. It’s not urgent so you/I don’t have to do it right now.
