안녕하세요! 토미입니다.
Let’s learn Korean efficiently today!
The grammar I will teach you today is first, 아/어 보이다 “seem/look,” second, 아/어서 그런지 “maybe because” and third, 았/었던 것 같다 “I think (sub) was/did.”
If you learn today’s grammar,
저 사람 뭔가 수상해 보이지 않아?
Doesn’t that person look kind of suspicious?
You’ll be able to use expressions of what you saw by guessing! It looks like a line from a detective drama, doesn’t it?
And this is the 50th lesson, so I have a handmade present for you. It is a test!
The test will cover the 46th to 50th lessons. I have prepared it so that you can strengthen your grammar and reading skills!
Please take the challenge! The link is in the description box!
And we have already reached the 50th lesson of the intermediate level!
Woo-hoo!
The more effort you put in, the more you will be able to hear! So, keep studying, pass TOPIKII level 4, and let’s become super intermediate masters! You can do it!
Okay, let’s begin!
그럼 시작할게요！
-아/어 보이다
The first grammar, 아/어 보이다, means “seem/look.”
This is a way of saying that you can see it with your own eyes and then guess and talk about the outward appearance of an event, person, or thing.
You use 아/어 보이다 for adjectives only. The grammatical structure will be A ＋아/어 보이다. OK?
To conjugate, first you create 요 form.
After that, you remove 요 from it, goodbye 요, and attach 보이다.
For example, 좋다 means “to be good.” The 요 form will be 좋아요. You remove 요 from it, goodbye 요, and add 보이다 to make 좋아 보이다 “to look good.”
Crystal clear?
By the way, I briefly explained this grammar in the Beginner’s 21st lesson. But this time, let’s dive deeper with 아/어 보이다 with more examples.
Now, let’s read a sample sentence.
어제 친구를 만났는데 많이 아파 보였어요.
I met a friend yesterday and he looked very sick.
I hope he’s okay. Here, 아프다 is “to be hurting / to be aching.”
BUT, BUT, BUT, if you use it on a person like this example, the translation becomes “to be sick.” OK?
The 요 form of 아프다 is 아파요. You remove 요 from it, goodbye 요, and attach 보이다 to make 아파 보이다 “to look sick.”
Next, let’s look at an example sentence that says, “It’s not what it looks like!”
이 김치는 보기에는 매워 보이지만 실제로는 안 그래요!
This kimchi looks spicy, but it’s actually not!
It’s true that some Kimchi looks super spicy, but some are even sweet. Did you notice this?
Anyway, here, 맵다 is “to be spicy.” What is the 요 form of 맵다⁉ It’s 매워요. So, you remove 요 from it, goodbye 요, and attach 보이다 to make 매워 보이다 “to look spicy.”
Next, I prepared an example sentence that women would be happy to hear!
유미 씨는 젊어 보여서 저는 20대 초반이라고 생각했어요.
Yumi looks so young that I thought she was in her early 20s.
Women always want to look young. Right? Here, 젊다 is “to be young.” What is the 요 form of 젊다 ⁉ 3, 2, 1 Yes, it’s 젊어요.
So, you remove 요 from it, goodbye 요, and attach 보이다 to make 젊어 보이다 “to look young.”
Next, I prepared an example sentence like the news.
이산화탄소 배출권에 대해서 논의가 계속 되고 있지만 해결될 여지는 없어 보인다.
There is an ongoing debate about carbon dioxide emission rights, but there seems to be no room for resolution.
Here, 없다 is “to be not.” The 요 form of 없다 is 없어요. So, you remove 요, goodbye 요, and attach 보이다 to make 없어 보이다 “seem to be no.”
없어 보이다 is a verb. Since it comes at the end of the sentence, you attach ㄴ다 to make 없어 보인다. Crystal Clear?
Quiz
Then, let’s deepen our understanding with some quizzes. Which one is the correct answer?
여자친구가 새로 산 옷을 입었는데 평소보다 ( ).
She wore a new outfit she bought and she looked prettier than usual.
(1)예뻐 보였다 (2)예뻐 보았다
The correct answer is number one.
예쁘다 is “to be pretty.” The 요 form of 예쁘다 is 예뻐요, right?
You remove 요, goodbye 요, and attach 보이다 to make 예뻐 보이다.
Here, you want to say the past tense like “she looked pretty.” So, it becomes 예뻐 보였다.
Number two is wrong because it said 예뻐 보았다, right? This kind of grammar does not exist. So, be careful!
Now, let’s read it together!
여자친구가 새로 산 옷을 입었는데 평소보다 (예뻐 보였다).
You can read it like “I’m in love with her again!”
Now let’s look at the next quiz!
그 사람 겉으로는 ( ).
The person ostensibly looked okay.
(1)괜찮아 보였어요 (2)괜찮게 생겼어요
The correct answer is number one.
괜찮다 is ”to be okay.” The 요 form of 괜찮다 is 괜찮아요, right?
You remove 요 and attach 보이다 to make 괜찮아 보이다 “to look okay.”
Since it is the past tense, it becomes 괜찮아 보였어요.
Number two 괜찮게 생겼어요 is wrong because it means “it looks good.”
Now, let’s read it together!
그 사람 겉으로는 (괜찮아 보였어요).
Please read it as if you’re telling your friend.
아/어서 그런지
The second grammar, 아/어서 그런지, means “maybe because.”
You use this when you give a possible reason to explain some situations.
You can use 아/어서 그런지 for verbs, adjectives, and nouns. Here is the grammatical structure.
V/A＋아/어서 그런지
N＋(이)라서 그런지
N＋이어서/여서 그런지
You conjugate verbs and adjectives by making 요 form first. Then, you remove 요 and add 서 그런지 to it.
For example, 가다 is “to go.” The 요 form is 가요. You remove 요 from it, goodbye 요, and add 서 그런지 to make 가서 그런지 “maybe because (I) go.”
먹다 is “to eat.” The 요 form is 먹어요. You remove 요 from it, goodbye 요, and add 서 그런지 to make 먹어서 그런지 “maybe because (I) eat.”
For nouns, when a word has a final consonant, you attach 이라서 or 이어서 그런지. If a word does not have a final consonant, you attach 라서 or 여서 그런지.
Now, let’s read a sample sentence.
남편은 오랫동안 공부만 해서 그런지 항상 어려운 정치 이야기만 해요.
Maybe because my husband has been studying for so long, he always talks about difficult politics.
Here, 하다 is “to do.” The 요 form of 하다 is 해요, right? I’m sure you all can quickly come up with this.
You remove 요 and attach 서 그런지 to make 해서 그런지 “maybe because (sub) has been doing.”
You can feel that she is guessing, “My husband is studying all the time, so maybe this is what happened to him.” That’s why she is using 해서 그런지. Do you get it?
Next, let’s look at an example sentence for an adjective!
미국이랑 문화가 달라서 그런지 유학 생활에 익숙해지는데 시간이 좀 걸렸어요.
Maybe because the culture is different from the United States, it took me a bit of time to get used to life as an exchange student.
Here, 다르다 is “to be different.” The 요 form of 다르다 is 달라요. So, you remove 요 and attach 서 그런지 to make 문화가 달라서 그런지 “Maybe because the culture is different.”
And finally, let’s look at an example sentence for a noun!
역시 그 분은 선생님이라서 그런지 항상 예의가 바르네요.
Maybe because the person is a teacher, he is always polite.
Here, 선생님 is a “teacher.” It is a noun with a final consonant. So, you attach 이라서 그런지 to make 선생님이라서 그런지 “Maybe because the person is a teacher.”
You can see that she is guessing and telling the story.
Quiz
Then, let’s deepen our understanding with some quizzes. Which one is the correct answer?
커피를 많이 ( ) 밤 12시가 되었는데도 잠이 안 오네요.
Maybe because I drank a lot of coffee, I don’t feel sleepy even though it’s 12 o’clock at night.
(1) 마셨어서 (2)마셔서 그런지
The correct answer is number two.
마시다 is “to drink.” The 요 form of 마시다 is 마셔요.
You remove 요 and attach 서 그런지 to make 마셔서 그런지 “Maybe because (I) drank.”
Number one 마셨어서 is wrong because you can only apply the present tense for 아/어서. No past tense!! OK?
Now let’s read it together!
커피를 많이 (마셔서 그런지) 밤 12시가 되었는데도 잠이 안 오네요.
Please read this with the thought that drinking too much coffee is not good.
Now let’s look at the next quiz!
우리 동생은 대학교 때 ( ) 지금도 체격이 엄청 좋아요!
Maybe because my brother exercised in college, he is still very fit.
(1)운동해서 그런지 (2)운동했기 때문에
The correct answer is number one.
운동하다 is “to exercise.” The 요 form of 운동하다 is 3, 2, 1, 운동해요! Yes!
You remove 요 and attach 서 그런지 to make 운동해서 그런지 “Maybe because (my brother) exercised.”
If you choose number two, 운동했기 때문에, it becomes “Because he exercised” which is not your guess but an objective statement of the reason. Thus, it is incorrect.
Now, let’s read it together!
우리 동생은 대학교 때 (운동해서 그런지) 지금도 체격이 엄청 좋아요!
Please read it as if you are telling them what kind of person he is.
았/었던 것 같다
The last grammar, 았/었던 것 같다, means “I think (sub) was/did.” You have already learned 았/었던 in the 36th intermediate lesson.
Let’s review it together. You can use 았/었던 to recall something that was completed in the past.
You combine it with 같다 “seems to be/I think.” Then it becomes 았/었던 것 같다 “I think (sub) was/did.”
In other words, you use it when you are uncertain about what you experienced in the past and you want to guess like, “I feel like it was like this…”
You can apply this grammar with verbs, adjectives, and nouns. The grammatical structure will be like this.
V/A＋았/었던 것 같다
N＋이었던/였던 것 같다
To conjugate verbs and adjectives, first, you make the basic past tense.
Then, you attach 던 것 같다 to the stem.
For example, the past tense of 가다 is 갔다. Right? So, you attach 던 것 같다 to it to make 갔던 것 같다 “I think (I) went.”
The past tense of 먹다 is 먹었다. You attach 던 것 같다 to it to make 먹었던 것 같다 “I think (I) ate.”
For nouns, if a word has a final consonant, you attach 이었던 것 같다. If a word does not have a final consonant, you attach 였던 것 같다.
Now, let’s read a sample sentence.
어제 남편이 몰래 제 푸딩을 먹었던 것 같아요.
I think my husband secretly ate my pudding yesterday.
He secretly ate my pudding! That’s a big deal, isn’t it? Family discord starts from pudding.
Anyway, here, 먹다 is “to eat.” The past tense of 먹다 is 먹었다 “ate”, right? You attach 던 것 같다 to this to make 먹었던 것 같다 “I think (my husband) ate.”
Let’s take a look at the next sentence.
상민 씨 시험 점수를 보니까 상민 씨는 공부를 열심히 했던 것 같아요.
Looking at Sangmin’s test score, it seems like Sangmin studied hard.
Here,공부하다 is ”to study.” The past tense of 공부하다 is 공부했다.
You attach 던 것 같다 to it to make 공부했던 것 같아요, “it seems (he) studied.”
Since you want to add 열심히 “hard” to emphasize the sentence, you place it in the middle of 공부했던 to make 공부를 열심히 했던. OK?
Next, let’s see an example with a noun. Here you go!
그 사람은 한국에 있을 때 영어 선생님이었던 것 같아요.
I think that person was an English teacher when he was in Korea.
See? Can you get the feeling of uncertainty?
선생님 is a “teacher.” Since it has a final consonant, you attach 이었던 to make 선생님이었던 것 같아요 “I think (he) was a teacher.”
Quiz
Then, let’s deepen our understanding with some quizzes. Which one is the correct answer?
손님들이 음식을 저렇게 많이 남기다니 너무 ( ) 것 같아요.
I think it was too spicy that the customer left so much food.
(1)매운 (2) 매웠던
The correct answer is number two.
맵다 is “to be spicy.” The past tense of 맵다 is 매웠다 “it was spicy.”
You attach 던 것 같다 to it to make 매웠던 것 같다 “I think it was spicy.”
Number one 매운 is the present tense of a noun modifier, right? Therefore, it is not correct.
Now let’s read it together!
손님들이 음식을 저렇게 많이 남기다니 너무 (매웠던) 것 같아요.
Please imagine a spicy meal and read it.
Now let’s look at the next quiz!
그는 아마도 의사가 적성에 맞지 않다고 ( ) 것 같다.
I think he thought perhaps the doctor was not the right fit for him.
(1)생각했던 (2)생각했고
The correct answer is number one.
생각하다 is “to think.” The past tense of 생각하다 is 생각했다.
You attach 던 것 같다 to this to make 생각했던 것 같다 “I think he thought.”
Number two 생각했고 is wrong because it means “and (I) thought.”
Now, let’s read the correct sentence together!
그는 아마도 의사가 적성에 맞지 않다고 (생각했던) 것 같다.
Please read it as if you are telling your friends.
Homework
I will give you today’s saying. Please, spot today’s grammar.
푹 자고 나면 왠만한 것은 좋아 보인다.
Almost everything looks better after a good night’s sleep.
by H. Jackson Brown Jr.
This is so true, right? Good night sleep refreshes your memory!
Anyway, here’s your homework for today! There are two homework assignments. First, compose three sentences using today’s grammar.
First, try to use 아/어 보이다 “seem/look.”
For example,
피곤해 보이는데 어제 야근했어요?
“You look tired, but did you work overtime yesterday?”
It’s an example that could be used in a company.
Second, try to use 아/어서 그런지 “maybe because.”
For example,
날씨가 따뜻해져서 그런지 어제는 많은 사람들이 외출했어요.
“Maybe because it got warmer, a lot of people went out yesterday.”
Third, try to use 았/었던 것 같다 “I think (sub) was/did ” to share vague memories of the past.
For example,
그는 매일 콜라를 마셨던 것 같아요.
I think he was drinking Coke every day.”
그럼 오늘도 행복 가득, 웃음 가득한 하루 되세요!
한국어 화이팅, 화이팅, 화이팅!!
