안녕하세요. 토미입니다.
Let’s have fun learning Korean today!
Today’s grammar is first -았/었더라면 “if I had ~”, second -든(지) “whether ~ or ~” and third -(으)ㄹ 듯 말 듯 하다 “barely, almost ~ but not quite.”
After you learn today’s grammar, you will be able to express that you almost remember something but not quite.
For example,
옛날 일이라 기억이 날 듯 말 듯하네요.
“It’s been so long, so I barely can remember it.”
Let’s learn today’s grammar to tell slight nuances, pass TOPIKII Level 4, and become a super master of intermediate Korean!
You guys can achieve it! 그럼 시작할게요!
-았/었더라면
The first grammar, -았/었더라면 means “if I had ~, I would have ~.”
You can use it to express your regret or sadness, assuming a past situation opposite to what happened.
You can replace 았/었더라면 to -았/었으면 or -았/었다면.
The meaning will be the same.
About the usage, for verbs and adjectives, you attach -았/었더라면.
It is quite easy because you can just make the past tense of a verb or an adjective first and then add 더라면 to the stem.
For example, the past tense of 가다 “to go” is 갔다 “went.”
Thus, you add 더라면 to the stem to make 갔더라면 “If I had gone, I would have.”
Let’s look at another example with 먹다 “to eat.”
The past tense is 먹었다 “ate.” You add 더라면 to the stem to make 먹었더라면 “if I had eaten, I would have.”
For nouns, you attach -였/이었더라면. Now, let’s read a sample sentence.
내가 조금만 참았더라면 좋았을텐데…
I wish I had been a bit more patient.
Here, 참다 means “to be patient” and the past tense is ?
3, 2, 1!! 참았다! Yes!!
So, you add 더라면 to the stem to make 참았더라면 “if (I) had been more patient.”
You can tell the speaker’s regret, right?
Then, let’s read the next sentence.
그때 우리가 도와줬더라면 회사가 좀 더 잘 되지 않았을까요?
If we had helped at that time, the company would have gone a bit better, wouldn’t it?
Here, 도와주다 means “to help” and the past tense is 도와줬다.
So, you add 더라면 to the stem to make 도와줬더라면 “if (we) had helped.” Let’s read the next sentence.
내가 오빠였더라면 어떻게 했을까?
If I had been the older brother, how would I have acted?
Here, 오빠 “older brother” is a noun, which does not have a final consonant.
Thus, you add -였더라면 to make 오빠였더라면 “if (I) had been an older brother.”
Quiz
Then, let’s deepen our understanding with some quizzes.
Which one is the correct answer?
30분만 일찍 집을 ( ) 지각하지 않았을 텐데.
If I had left home just 30 minutes earlier, I would not have been late.
(1)나갔더라면 (2) 나간다면
The correct answer is number one.
나가다 means “to go out, to leave (home)” and the past tense is 나갔다.
Therefore, you add 더라면 to the stem to make 나갔더라면 “if (I) had left.”
Number two is close but wrong. 나간다면 means “If I leave.”
It does not express regret.
Then, let’s read it together!
30분만 일찍 집을 (나갔더라면) 지각하지 않았을 텐데.
Then, let’s look at the next quiz!
네가 그때 ( ) 모두가 더 놀랐을 거야.
If you had told them at that time, everyone would have been more surprised.
(1)말하고 (2) 말했더라면
The correct answer is number two.
Here, 말하다 means “to say” and the past tense is 말했다.
So, you add 더라면 to make 말했더라면 “If (you) had told them.”
Number one is wrong because 말하고 means “(I) say and.”
It does not express regret.
Then, let’s read it together!
네가 그때 (말했더라면) 모두가 더 놀랐을 거야.
Please read it again and again until you can use the grammar naturally.
-든(지)
Let’s move on to the second grammar!
-든(지) follows verbs and adjectives, and it has two meanings.
First, it means “either ~ or ~.”
You use it when you mention more than two choices.
For this meaning, you can repeatedly use grammar like -든(지) -든(지).
Moreover, if you add 하다 just like -든(지) -든(지) 하다, it means “do either A or B.”
Secondly, it means “whether A or B.” It expresses that any choices are fine.
For this meaning, you can also say -든(지) 말든(지) “whether ~ or not.”
You can highlight the difference between the two options.
Moreover, you can also say -든(지) -든(지) 간에 “whether choosing A or B” or -든(지) -든(지) 상관없이 “regardless of A or B.”
In addition, -든 is a shorter form of -든지. Thus, it means the same with or without -지.
But, when you use it repeatedly, you should choose one form to repeat such as 든 -든 or -든지 -든지.
About the usage, for verbs and adjectives, you attach -든(지) to the stem.
And for nouns, you attach (이)든지. This part is a piece of cake!!
Then, let’s read a sample sentence.
난 영화를 보든지 집에서 쉬든지 했으면 좋겠어.
I want to either watch movies or rest at home.
Here, 보다 “to watch” and 쉬다 “ to rest” are the verbs and you attach -든지 to make 보든지 “either watch” and 쉬든지 “or rest.”
Let’s read the next sentence!
일이 있든 없든 오늘 꼭 회사에 가야 돼.
Whether I have work or not, I have to go to the office today.
Here, 있다 and 없다 are the substantive verbs.
Thus, you add -든 to make 있든 “whether (I) have” and 없든 “or not.”
Let’s read the next sentence.
난 남이 웃든 말든 상관 안 해.
I don’t care if people laugh or not.
Here, 웃다 “to laugh” is a verb and you add -든 to make 웃든 “whether (other people) laugh.”
Here, 웃든 말든 means “whether (people) laugh or not.”
Quiz
Then, let’s deepen our understanding with some quizzes.
Which one is the correct answer?
내일은 집에서 공부를 ( ) 책을 ( ) 할래요.
Tomorrow, I will either study or read a book at home.
(1)하든, 읽든 (2) 했던, 읽던
The correct answer is number one.
하다 “to do” and 읽다 “to read” are verbs, so you add -든 to make 하든 “either study,” 읽든 “or read.”
Number two 했던, 읽던 are the past tense noun modifier.
Therefore, it does not have the meaning of choices.
Then, let’s read it together!
내일은 집에서 공부를 (하든) 책을 (읽든) 할래요.
Then, let’s look at the next quiz!
어떤 직업을 ( ) 네 마음에 드는 걸로 해.
Whatever job you were going to choose, choose the one you would like.
고르든지 (2) 고르곤
The correct answer is number one.
고르다 means “to choose.” So, you add -든지 to make 고르든지 “whatever (you) choose.”
Number two 고르곤 “I used to choose” is not right, because it does not fit in this sentence.
Then, let’s read it together!
어떤 직업을 ( 고르든지 ) 네 마음에 드는 걸로 해.
Please read it again and again until you can read it smoothly.
-(으)ㄹ 듯 말 듯 하다
The third grammar, -(으)ㄹ 듯 말 듯 하다, mainly follows verbs and means “barely, almost ~ but not quite.”
You use this when you describe that something seems to be happening but actually not happening.
About the usage, for verbs, you attach -(으)ㄹ 듯 말 듯 하다.
If a verb does not have a final consonant, you attach -ㄹ 듯 말 듯 하다.
For instance, 가다 “to go” does not have a final consonant.
Therefore, you add ㄹ 듯 말 듯 하다 to make 갈 듯 말 듯 하다 “whether I go or not.”
If a verb has a final consonant, you attach -을 듯 말 듯 하다.
For example, 먹다 “to eat” has a final consonant.
Thus, you add 을 말 듯 하다 to make 먹을 듯 말 듯 하다 “whether I eat or not.”
Then, let’s read a sentence.
하늘을 보니까 비가 올 듯 말 듯 하네요.
I look at the sky and it looks like it’s going to rain but not quite.
Here, 비가 오다 “to rain” does not have a final consonant.
Therefore, you add -ㄹ 듯 말 듯 하다 to make 비가 올 듯 말 듯 하다 “almost raining, but not quite.”
Then, let’s read the next sentence.
그는 웃을 듯 말 듯 한 표정으로 말했다.
He said it with a barely smiling face.
I guess his face was awkward enough.
Here, 웃다 is a verb that has a final consonant.
Thus, you add -을 듯 말 듯 하다 to make 웃을 듯 말 듯 하다 “barely smile.”
Besides, 듯 하다 itself is an adjective.
Therefore, when you want to make it into a noun modifier, you attach -(으)ㄴ to make 웃을 듯 말 듯한 “barely smiling ~.”
Now, I will give you the last example.
그녀는 미팅에 참석할 듯 말 듯 말하더니 결국 안 왔다.
She said that she would attend the meeting, but in the end she did not come.
Here, 참석하다 “to attend” does not have a final consonant.
Therefore, you add ㄹ 듯 말 듯 to make 참석할 듯 말 듯 “(she) would attend.”
참석할 듯 말 듯 is expressing that she is not making a clear decision yet. Ok?
Quiz
Then, let’s deepen our understanding with some quizzes.
Which one is the correct answer?
그 문제는 ( )말 듯 하네요.
The problem seems to be easy to understand, but not quite.
(1)이해될 듯 (2)이해할 듯
The correct answer is number one.
이해되다 “to be understandable” does not have a final consonant.
Therefore, you add -ㄹ 듯 말 듯 하다 to make 이해될 듯 말 듯 하다 “seem to be understandable but not quite.”
Number two 이해할 듯 is wrong because the subject is 그 문제는 “the problem.”
As a result, you have to use the passive voice 이해되다, instead of the active voice 이해하다.
Then, let’s read it together!
그 문제는 (이해될 듯) 말 듯 하네요.
Then, let’s look at the next quiz!
목소리가 ( ) 좀 더 크게 말해 줘.
I can barely hear your voice, so can you say it a bit louder?
(1)들릴 듯 말 듯 하니까 (2) 들릴 것 같은데
The correct answer is number one.
들리다 “to be heard” does not have a final consonant.
So, you add -ㄹ 듯 말 듯 하다 to make 들릴 듯 말 듯 하다 “barely hear.” And then, you want to say it as a reason.
Therefore, you add -(으)니까 to make 들릴 듯 말 듯하니까 “I can barely hear your voice, so.”
Number two is wrong because 들릴 것 같은데 means “I might be able to hear your voice.”
Then, let’s read it together!
목소리가 (들릴 듯 말 듯 하니까) 좀 더 크게 말해 줘.
Please read it again and again while you imagine the situation.
Homework
OK!! Now, I will tell you today’s phrase!
지금 알고 있는 걸
그 때도 알았더라면
what I know now
If only I had known at that time
by 류시화 Ryu Si-hwa
This is the title of a poem by Ryu Si-hwa.
Did you spot today’s grammar?
The speaker is expressing regret by 알았더라면 “If only I had known.”
I hope we are not going to be too regretful about our past.
Anyway, it’s time for our homework.
There are two assignments. The first one is to make sentences.
For the first sentence, please use -았/었더라면 “if I had ~, I would have.”
For example,
그때 비가 왔더라면 큰일 날 뻔했네요.
If it had been raining at that time, it would have been a big problem.
For the second sentence, please use -든(지) “whether ~ or ~.”
For example,
밥 먹기 싫으면 빵을 먹든 라면을 먹든 뭐라도 먹어.
If you don’t want to eat, eat anything like bread or ramen.
This sentence is something a mom would say to her children, right?
For the third sentence, please use -(으)ㄹ 듯 말 듯 하다 “barely, almost ~ but not quite.”
For example,
지금 막 생각이 날 듯 말 듯 해요.
Right now I almost remembered it, but not quite.
Just like this sentence, you can use the grammar with 생각이 나다, 기억이 나다 “to remember.”
And thank you for sending me homework every time!! I received so much homework from you guys!! I can see your effort!
Now, I will move on to the second homework, which is to memorize new words.
Please, memorize the forty words from number 1441 to number 1480 on page 19 in the intermediate vocabulary list.
There is a vocabulary quiz of forty words on my website. Therefore, just feel free to try it. The link is in the description box.
That’s pretty much for today! You guys did a great job! I hope we can meet and talk in Korean someday!
그럼 오늘도 행복 가득, 웃음 가득한 하루 되세요！
한국어 화이팅, 화이팅, 화이팅！！
