[Learn Korean E44] “-(으)ㄴ 지”, “아/어지다”, “-거나”

안녕하세요. 토미입니다.

The theme of today’s class is 【날씨가 꽤 따뜻해졌네요】 “It’s gotten pretty warm these days.”

Today, we will learn three grammar rules.

First, -(으)ㄴ 지 +time +되었다 “It has been (length of time) since.”
Second, 아/어지다 “to become/turn,” and third, -거나 “or.”

그럼 시작할게요！

Listen to the Conversation

The theme of today’s conversation is 【날씨가 꽤 따뜻해졌네요】 “It’s gotten pretty warm these days.”

Tammy and Sangmin are taking a walk.
What are Tammy and Sangmin thinking about?

Let’s listen carefully to their conversation and try to figure it out.

그럼 들어보세요！

• 토미：날씨가 꽤 따뜻해졌네요. 이제 곧 벚꽃도 피겠군요.
  Tammy：It’s gotten pretty warm these days. It looks like the cherry blossoms will be blooming soon.
• 상민：그러게요. 어느새 겨울이 다 가고 봄이 오네요.
  Sangmin：I know, right? Winter is already over and spring is coming.
• 토미：작년에 벚꽃이 필 때 제가 이 회사에 취직했는데 날이 정말 빨리 지나간 것 같아요.
  Tammy：I started working for this company last year when the cherry blossoms were in bloom, but the days seem to have flown by really fast.
• 상민：맞아요. 토미 씨가 우리 직장에 온 지 1년이 다 됐네요. 눈 깜짝할 사이에 지나간 것 같아요. 토미 씨, 그동안 어렵거나 힘든 일도 많았죠?
  Sangmin：That’s right. It’s been a year since Tammy came to our office. It seems like time has gone by in a blink of an eye. Tammy, you must have gone through a lot of difficult or tough things during this time, right?
• 토미：네. 그래도 그런 일이 생길 때마다 모두 다 잘 도와줘서 즐겁게 일할 수 있었어요. 이제는 직장 사람들하고도 다 친해졌어요.
  Tammy：Yes. But whenever those things happened, everyone helped me out a lot, so I was able to enjoy my work. I’ve become good friends with everyone in the office now.
• 상민：맞아요. 우리 회사는 가족같은 분위기라서 너무 좋아요.
  Sangmin：That’s right. I like our company because there is a family-like atmosphere.

Vocabulary and Phrases

Let’s look at vocabulary and phrases in more detail!

• 토미：날씨가 꽤 따뜻해졌네요. 이제 곧 벚꽃도 피겠군요.

벚꽃 is “cherry blossoms.”
피다 means “to bloom,” so 벚꽃이 예쁘게 피었어요 means “Cherry blossoms bloomed beautifully.”

• 상민：그러게요. 어느새 겨울이 다 가고 봄이 오네요.

어느새 means “already/so soon.”
다 means “all/completely”, so when you say 어느새 겨울이 다 갔네요 means “The winter is already gone completely.”

• 토미：작년에 벚꽃이 필 때 제가 이 회사에 취직했는데 날이 정말 빨리 지나간 것 같아요.

취직하다 means “to get a job”, so when you say 저 취직했어요!, it means “I got a job!”

날 means a “day.”
어느 날 is “one day,” and 기쁜 날 is a “happy day.”

지나가다 means “to pass”, so 버스가 지나갔어요 means “The bus has passed by.”

• 상민：맞아요. 토미 씨가 우리 직장에 온 지 1년이 다 됐네요. 눈 깜짝할 사이에 지나간 거 같아요. 토미 씨, 그동안 어렵거나 힘든 일도 많았죠?

직장 is a “workplace/office/company”, so 직장에 오다 means “to come to my office.”

눈 means “eyes,” and 깜짝하다 means “to blink (eyes).”
So when you translate 눈 깜짝할 사이 directly in English, it means “the time it takes to blink.”
In other words, this is a phrase to express that time went by “in a blink of an eye.”

그동안 means “during this time.”
Please note that you don’t say 이 동안 even it has the meaning of “this”.
It’s always 그동안.

• 토미：네. 그래도 그런 일이 생길 때마다 모두 다 잘 도와줘서 즐겁게 일할 수 있었어요. 이제는 직장 사람들하고도 다 친해졌어요.

그런 means “that kind of,” so 그런 일 is “that kind of things.”
생기다 means “to happen,” so 그런 일이 생기다 means “that kind of things happen.”
마다 means “every/whenever”, so 그런 일이 생길 때마다 means “whenever that kind of things happened.”

즐겁다 means “fun/enjoy.”
즐겁게 means “joyfully,” so 즐겁게 일하다 will be “to work joyfully” when directly translated, but it’s a bit weird in English, so more naturally “to enjoy my work.”

• 상민：맞아요. 우리 회사는 가족같은 분위기라서 너무 좋아요.

같다 means “like~.”
It can be used like 가족같은 분위기, which means “family-like atmosphere.”

Grammar

-(으)ㄴ 지 +time +되었다 It has been (length of time) since

Let’s first take a look at the grammar -(으)ㄴ 지 +time +되었다, which means “It has been (length of time) since.”
By using this grammar, you can express that a certain time has passed since a certain action or condition occurred.

To apply this grammar, you add -(으)ㄴ 지 after verbs.
There are two patterns of use.

First, when a verb stem has a final consonant, you add -은 지.
For example, 받다 “to receive” has a final consonant.
So it becomes 받은 지 “since I received.”

Second, when a verb stem does not have a final consonant, you add -ㄴ 지.
For example, 만나다 “to meet” does not have a final consonant.

In this case, you add -ㄴ 지 to make 만난 지, which means “since we met~.

Now, let’s look at a sentence from the conversation.

Ex.1)
토미 씨가 우리 직장에 온 지 1년이 다 됐네요.
It’s been a year since Tammy came to our office.

In this sentence, let’s focus on 온지 first.
오다 “to come” does not have a final consonant.

So you add -ㄴ 지, and it becomes 온 지 “since you came.”
Can you also see 1년이 다 됐네요 at the end? 1년 is one year, and 다 됐네요 means “completely passed.”

I omitted “completely” in the translation because it is not natural to say it in English, but you should understand that this is the right order to use this grammar.

Ex.2)
약을 먹은 지 얼마나 됐어요?
How long has it been since you took the medicine?

Let’s focus on 먹은 지 first. 먹다 has ㄱ final consonant.
So you add -은 지 and make 먹은 지, which means “since you took (the medicine).”

얼마나 means “how long,” which describes the time.
됐어요? means “has been” which is the past tense of 되다.
So, same as the previous sentence, you can understand the grammar rule.

Quiz

・창문을 (        ) 10분도 안 됐는데 벌써 덥네요.
It hasn’t even been 10 minutes since I closed the window, but it’s already hot.

(1)닫은지 (2)닫는지

The answer is (1).
닫다 “to close” has ㄷ final consonant.
So, you attach -은 지 to say 닫은 지.

The whole sentence would be 창문을 (닫은지) 10분도 안 됐는데 벌써 덥네요.

-아/어지다　(to become~)

By using this, you can express a change in state over time.

It is mainly used with adjectives to express “to become like something/to turn into” such as “to become beautiful” or “to become more painful.”

As you may have noticed, the grammar starts with 아/어.

So when you apply this, you need to think about 요 form first.

After that, you remove 요 from the 요 form and add 지다 at the end.

For example, the 요 form of 작다 “small” is 작아요, so you remove 요 and add 지다 to say 작아지다 “to become small/get smaller.”

Next, the 요 form of 멀다 “far” is 멀어요, so you remove 요 from here and add 지다 to say 멀어지다 “to become far.”

Then, let’s take a look at some example sentences from the conversation.

Ex.1)
날씨가 꽤 따뜻해졌네요.
It’s gotten pretty warm these days.

Let’s focus on 따뜻해졌네요 in this sentence.
The 요 form of 따뜻하다 “warm” is 따뜻해요, so you remove 요 from here and add 지다 to say 따뜻해지다 “to become warm.”

Ex.2)
이제는 직장 사람들하고도 다 친해졌어요.
I’ve become good friends with everyone in the office now.

Can you see 친해졌어요?
The 요 form of 친하다 “close” is 친해요, so you remove 요 from here and add 지다 to say 친해지다, which means “to become close” or “to become good friends.”

Quiz

・회사 일이 점점 더 (                  ) 것 같아요.
My work is going to become busier and busier.

(1)바빠질 (2)바쁘질

The answer is (1).
바쁘다 is “busy.” The 요 form is 바빠요.
So, you remove 요 and add 지다 to say 바빠지다 “to become busy.”
We want to say “seems like” here, so you need to use -(으)ㄹ 것 같다.
So the right way is 바빠질 것 같아요.

The whole sentence would be 회사 일이 점점 더 (바빠질 ) 것 같아요.

-거나 (or~)

By using this, you can provide two or more options to choose.

Application of this grammar is very straightforward and simple.

You just need to add -거나 in a verb stem regardless of a final consonant.
For example, 먹다 becomes 먹거나 “eat or~,” and 가다 becomes 가거나 “go or~,” also, 기쁘다 becomes 기쁘거나 “happy or~.”

Ex.1)
그동안 어렵거나 힘든 일도 많았죠?
You must have gone through a lot of difficult or tough things during this time, right?

In this sentence, I would like to pay an attention to 어렵거나.
어렵다 is “difficult.”
So, you add 거나 to the stem to make 어렵거나 “difficult or~.”

Quiz

・머리가 (          ) 몸이 피곤할 때는 좀 쉬세요.
If you have a headache or you are tired, please rest a bit.

(1)아프거나 (2)아픈거나

The answer is (1).
아프다 is “hurt/painful.”
You attach 거나 to the stem to make 아프거나 “hurt or~”.

The whole sentence would be 머리가 (아프거나) 몸이 피곤할 때는 좀 쉬세요.

Conversation (Korean only)

그럼 확인해 보세요！

• 토미：날씨가 꽤 따뜻해졌네요. 이제 곧 벚꽃도 피겠군요.
• 상민：그러게요. 어느새 겨울이 다 가고 봄이 오네요.
• 토미：작년에 벚꽃이 필 때 제가 이 회사에 취직했는데 날이 정말 빨리 지나간 것 같아요.
• 상민：맞아요. 토미 씨가 우리 직장에 온 지 1년이 다 됐네요. 눈 깜짝할 사이에 지나간 거 같아요. 토미 씨, 그동안 어렵거나 힘든 일도 많았죠?
• 토미：네. 그래도 그런 일이 생길 때마다 모두 다 잘 도와줘서 즐겁게 일할 수 있었어요. 이제는 직장 사람들하고도 다 친해졌어요.
• 상민：맞아요. 우리 회사는 가족같은 분위기라서 너무 좋아요.

Conversation Practice

그럼 큰소리로 읽어 보세요！

• 토미：날씨가 꽤 따뜻해졌네요. 이제 곧 벚꽃도 피겠군요.
  Tammy：It’s gotten pretty warm these days. It looks like the cherry blossoms will be blooming soon.
• 상민：그러게요. 어느새 겨울이 다 가고 봄이 오네요.
  Sangmin：I know, right? Winter is already over and spring is coming.
• 토미：작년에 벚꽃이 필 때 제가 이 회사에 취직했는데 날이 정말 빨리 지나간 것 같아요.
  Tammy：I started working for this company last year when the cherry blossoms were in bloom, but the days seem to have flown by really fast.
• 상민：맞아요. 토미 씨가 우리 직장에 온 지 1년이 다 됐네요. 눈 깜짝할 사이에 지나간 것 같아요. 토미 씨, 그동안 어렵거나 힘든 일도 많았죠?
  Sangmin：That’s right. It’s been a year since Tammy came to our office. It seems like time has gone by in a blink of an eye. Tammy, you must have gone through a lot of difficult or tough things during this time, right?
• 토미：네. 그래도 그런 일이 생길 때마다 모두 다 잘 도와줘서 즐겁게 일할 수 있었어요. 이제는 직장 사람들하고도 다 친해졌어요.
  Tammy：Yes. But whenever those things happened, everyone helped me out a lot, so I was able to enjoy my work. I’ve become good friends with everyone in the office now.
• 상민：맞아요. 우리 회사는 가족같은 분위기라서 너무 좋아요.
  Sangmin：That’s right. I like our company because there is a family-like atmosphere.

Homework

We have two assignments as usual.

First, please tell us how long it has been since you’ve done something.
For example,

• 서울에 이사온 지 벌써 3년이나 됐네요!
  “It’s been already 3 years since I moved to Seoul!”

When you use this grammar, don’t forget the order, (으)ㄴ 지+ time+ 됐어요.

Second, use the grammar 아/어지다 “to become” to tell us what you got better on than in the past.
If it was me, I would say

• 과거에 비해서 마음이 넓어졌어요.
  “I became more generous than in the past.”

The second homework is memorizing vocabulary.
Please memorize 40 words from #1361 to #1400 on page 18 of the Elementary Vocabulary List.
You can take a quiz on these 40 words on this website, so please give it a try!

그럼 오늘도 행복 가득, 웃음 가득한 하루 되세요！ 한국어 화이팅, 화이팅, 화이팅！！