[Learn Korean E33] “-아/어도 돼요?”, “-(ㅂ)습니다만”

안녕하세요. 토미입니다.

The theme of today’s class is【제가 가도 돼요?】 “Is it okay for me to go?”

Today, we’re going to learn two expressions.

First, -아/어도 돼요? May I / Is it okay” which is used to ask someone for permission.

Second, -(ㅂ)습니다만 “but/ however” which is a preface expression that is used when asking someone a favor.

By learning these, your hard work will definitely bear fruits soon, and I am sure you will pass TOPIK with the highest score and be the super master of Korean!

그럼 시작할게요.

Listen to the Conversation

The theme of today’s conversation is【제가 가도 돼요?】 “Is it okay for me to go?”

Sangmin got three tickets for a cruise ship from his junior colleague.

Who is Sangmin going to invite?
Let’s try to guess from the conversation.

그럼 들어보세요！

• 상민：토미 씨, 오늘 저녁에 시간 있으세요?
  Sangmin：Tammy, do you have time this evening?
• 토미：시간은 있습니다만 무슨 일이에요?
  Tammy：I have, but what is it?
• 상민：제 후배가 유람선 표를 세 장 줬어요. 우리 같이 유람선을 타고 야경 구경하러 가요.
  Sangmin：My junior colleague gave me three tickets for a cruise ship. Why don’t we go on a cruise ship together and see the night view?
• 토미：우와! 그 유람선은 광고에서 많이 봤어요! 근데 제가 가도 돼요?
  Tammy：Wow! I’ve seen lots of advertisements for that cruise ship! But is it okay for me to go?
• 상민：물론이죠. 제 친구들은 아무도 가고 싶어하지 않아요.
  Sangmin：Of course. None of my friends want to go.
• 토미：그럼 제 친구를 데려가도 될까요?
  Tammy：Then may I take my friend with me?
• 상민：네, 그러세요. 토미 씨 친구도 기뻐할 거예요.
  Sangmin：Yes, please do so. I’m sure your friend will be happy, too.

Vocabulary and Phrases

I’ll explain the vocabulary and phrases while reviewing the conversation one sentence at a time.

• 상민：토미 씨, 오늘 저녁에 시간 있으세요?
  Tammy, do you have time this evening?

저녁 is “evening.”

Let’s take a look at some new words for indicating other times of a day.
새벽 is “early morning” or “late night.”
I can say it is approximately around 1AM to 6AM.

아침 is “morning,” 낮 is “day time,” 저녁 is “evening,” and 밤 is “night.”
Among these, 아침 also means “breakfast” and 저녁 means “dinner.”
However, keep in mind that “lunch” is 점심, not 낮.

• 토미：시간은 있습니다만 무슨 일이에요?
  I have time, but what is it?

The word 일 is one of the words that beginners often make mistakes when making sentences.
But 일, when used by itself, means “matter / errands” rather than “work.”
Therefore, 무슨 일 will mean “what matter.”

무슨 일이에요? becomes “What is it?”

And when it comes to work, the word is often followed by 하다 like 일하다 “to work.”
So , if you wanna say “I worked today,” it sounds natural to say 오늘은 일했어요.

• 상민：제 후배가 유람선 표를 세 장 줬어요. 우리 같이 유람선을 타고 야경 구경하러 가요.
  My junior colleague gave me three tickets for a cruise ship. Why don’t we go on a cruise ship together and see the night view?

후배 is “junior” and 선배 is “senior” at school or office.

유람선 is a “cruise ship”, and the word 장 in 세 장 means “pieces~ / sheets.”
You use native Korean numbers to count like 한 장 one sheet of paper, 두 장 two sheets of paper, 세 장 three sheets of paper and so on.

야경 is a “night view.”
구경 means “sightseeing,” so 구경하다 is “to see (something for fun or to enjoy).”

• 토미：우와! 그 유람선은 광고에서 많이 봤어요! 근데 제가 가도 돼요?
  Wow! I’ve seen lots of advertisements on that cruise ship! But is it okay for me to go?

광고 is an “advertisement.”
By the way, TV commercials are called CF(씨에프) in Korean.
This stands for “commercial film” in English.
By the way, in Korean, “F” is pronounced as 에프.
So, it becomes CF(씨에프).

• 상민：물론이죠. 제 친구들은 아무도 가고 싶어하지 않아요.
  Of course. None of my friends want to go.

물론 means “of course”, and 물론이죠 also means “of course” but in a polite form.
This is an expression that you will use very often, so you might wanna memorize this.

아무 means “any/no.”
You use it in a negative sentence.
When you say 아무도, it means “nobody/no one.”

So 아무도 가고 싶어하지 않다 means “No one wants to go.”

• 토미：그럼 제 친구를 데려가도 될까요?
  Then may I take my friend with me?

데려가다 means “to take someone with/to take along.”
Here, 데려가다’s 가다 means “to go.”
So, you can also say 데려오다 “to bring someone with/ come in company with.”
You can memorize these two verbs together.

• 상민：네, 그러세요. 토미 씨 친구도 기뻐할 거예요.
  Yes, please do so. I’m sure your friend will be happy, too.

그러세요 is “Please do so.”
It is made up with 그러다 “to do so” and -(으)세요 “please.”

기뻐하다 is “to be happy/pleased.”
내 친구는 기뻐할 거예요. means “my friend will be happy.”

Grammar

-아/어도　되다 “(one) may/(one) is allowed to”

아/어도 되다 means “(one) may/(one) is allowed to do something.”
This grammar indicates that you are okay to do an action.

When you say 아/어도 돼요?, it means you are asking for permission, like “May I~/Can I~/Is it okay~.”

To use it in a sentence, you remove 요 from the 요 form, goodbye 요 and add 도 돼요? instead.

Let’s look at a sentence in today’s conversation.
Ex.1)
제가 가도 돼요?
Is it okay for me to go?

가다 is “to go” which becomes 가요 in the 요 form.
If you remove 요 from it and add 도 돼요?, it becomes 가도 돼요? “Is it okay to go?”

Ex.2)
제 친구를 데려가도 될까요?
May I take my friend with me?

Here, 데려가다 is “to take (someone with).”
The 요 form of 데려가다 is…. 데려가요!
When you say good bye to 요 and add 도 될까요?, it becomes 데려가도 될까요? “May I take?”

Ex.3)
이걸 제가 받아도 돼요?
Is it okay for me to get this? / May I receive this?

Here, the 요 form of 받다 “to get/receive” is ….받아요.
When you remove 요, goodbye 요 and add 도 돼요?, it becomes 받아도 돼요? “May I receive?”

Ex.4)
이거 제가 먹어도 돼요?
Is it okay for me to eat this? / May I eat this?

Here, the 요 form of 먹다 “to eat” is… 먹어요.
When you remove 요, goodbye 요 and add 도 돼요?, it becomes 먹어도 돼요? “May I eat?”

Quiz

What fits into the parentheses?
・ 여기에 (        ) 될까요?
May I sit here?

(1)않아도 (2)앉아도

The answer is (2).
“To sit” is 앉다. The 요 form of 앉다 is 앉아요.
You remove 요, goodbye 요 and add 도 here, so the answer is 앉아도.

The whole sentence would be 여기에 (앉아도) 될까요?

–ㅂ/습니다만 　but~, though~

-(ㅂ)습니다만 means “but/however.”
This is a sentence connector to join two sentences.

You use this grammar in the beginning of a clause to politely say something with “but/however.”

Korean people often use this grammar with 죄송하다 “to be sorry,” 실례하다 “to excuse,” 미안하다” to be sorry” to express “Excuse me.”

For example,
실례합니다만 혹시 배우가 아니세요?
Excuse me, but aren’t you an actor?

You apply -(ㅂ)습니다만 in the same way as -(ㅂ)습니다, with basic three patterns.
① First, when a verb stem has a final consonant, you add -습니다만.
② Second, when a verb stem does not have a final consonant, you add -ㅂ니다만.
③ Lastly, when a verb stem finishes with ㄹ, remove ㄹ and add -ㅂ니다만.

The past tenses -았/었- and -겠-, which are used to express intentions and guesses, also finish with a final consonant.

So you use them with -습니다만 as in 갔습니다만 or 모르겠습니다만.

Now, let’s read an example with a final consonant.
This sentence is from today’s conversation.

Ex.1)
시간은 있습니다만 무슨 일이에요?
I have time, but what is it?

있다 has a final consonant, so you add 습니다만 to make 있습니다만 “I have, but.”
In this sentence, the speaker is trying to say “but” in a more polite manner.

Next is an example with a verb without a final consonant.

Ex.2)
저는 갑니다만 어머니는 못 갑니다.
I can go, but my mother can’t go.

Here, 가다 does not have a final consonant, so you add ㅂ니다만 to say 갑니다만.

Lastly, let’s check a verb with ㄹ final consonant.

Ex.3)
그의 이름은 압니다만 얼굴을 잘 모르겠어요.
I know his name, but I don’t really know his face.

Here, 알다 is “to know,” right?
This word has ㄹ final consonant, so you remove ㄹ, goodbye ㄹ and add -ㅂ니다만 to say 압니다만 “I know, but.”

Quiz

What goes into the parentheses?

・ (     ) 이것 좀 빌려도 되겠습니까?
I’m sorry, but may I borrow this for a moment?

(1)미안하겠습니다만 (2)죄송합니다만

The answer is (2).
죄송하다 “to be sorry” does not have a final consonant, so you add -ㅂ니다만 and it becomes 죄송합니다만.

The whole sentence would be 죄송합니다만 이것 좀 빌려도 되겠습니까?

Conversation (Korean only)

Let’s listen to today’s conversation again, but this time only in Korean.

Focus everything here, and make sure you understand all the contents.

그럼 확인해 보세요！

• 상민：토미 씨, 오늘 저녁에 시간 있으세요?
• 토미：시간은 있습니다만 무슨 일이에요?
• 상민：제 후배가 유람선 표를 세 장 줬어요. 우리 같이 유람선을 타고 야경 구경하러 가요.
• 토미：우와! 그 유람선은 광고에서 많이 봤어요! 근데 제가 가도 돼요?
• 상민：물론이죠. 제 친구들은 아무도 가고 싶어하지 않아요.
• 토미：그럼 제 친구를 데려가도 될까요?
• 상민：네, 그러세요. 토미 씨 친구도 기뻐할 거예요.

Conversation Practice

This is the only time you can practice speaking, so let’s read along with me.

그럼 큰소리로 읽어 보세요！

• 상민：토미 씨, 오늘 저녁에 시간 있으세요?
  Sangmin：Tammy, do you have time this evening?
• 토미：시간은 있습니다만 무슨 일이에요?
  Tammy：I have, but what is it?
• 상민：제 후배가 유람선 표를 세 장 줬어요. 우리 같이 유람선을 타고 야경 구경하러 가요.
  Sangmin：My junior colleague gave me three tickets for a cruise ship. Why don’t we go on a cruise ship together and see the night view?
• 토미：우와! 그 유람선은 광고에서 많이 봤어요! 근데 제가 가도 돼요?
  Tammy：Wow! I’ve seen lots of advertisements for that cruise ship! But is it okay for me to go?
• 상민：물론이죠. 제 친구들은 아무도 가고 싶어하지 않아요.
  Sangmin：Of course. None of my friends want to go.
• 토미：그럼 제 친구를 데려가도 될까요?
  Tammy：Then may I take my friend with me?
• 상민：네, 그러세요. 토미 씨 친구도 기뻐할 거예요.
  Sangmin：Yes, please do so. I’m sure your friend will be happy, too.

Homework

The first homework is writing.
please, use 아/어도 돼요 to write a sentence on asking for a permission.
For example, I would write like this!

• 영화를 봐도 돼요?
  May I watch a movie?

For the second sentence, use -(ㅂ)습니다만, -아/어 주시겠어요? “but, can you~?” to ask someone a favor in a polite manner.
For example,

• 죄송합니다만 길을 좀 알려 주시겠어요?
  I’m sorry, but can you please teach me a direction?

The second homework is to memorize vocabulary.
Please memorize 40 words from #921 to 960 on page 12 of the Elementary Vocabulary List. You can take a vocabulary quiz on my website for free, so please check it out!

That’s all for today!
그럼 오늘도 행복 가득, 웃음 가득한 하루 되세요！ 한국어 화이팅, 화이팅, 화이팅！！