안녕하세요～! 토미입니다!
Let’s learn Korean cheerfully!
Today’s grammar is
① 아무 + -(이)나 “any ~”
② 아무 + -도 “no ~”
③ 얼마나 + -(으)ㄴ/는지 “how much something is ~”
If you learn today’s grammar,
한국어를 제가 얼마나 열심히 공부해 왔는지 아세요?
Do you know how hard it has been for me to study Korean?
Like this example, you can make appealing sentences. Let’s learn the expression “how ~,” pass TOPIK II level 4, and become super intermediate masters. You can do it!
그럼 시작할게요!
아무 -(이)나
아무 Nouns(without a final consonant) + 나
아무 Nouns(with a final consonant) + 이나
The first grammar is 아무 -(이)나 “any ~.” It indicates not selecting any specific thing, time, person, etc.
You use this in interrogative expressions or positive statements. There are some idiomatic expressions for 아무 -(이)나. So, I will summarize all of them.
For a time, 아무 때나 means “anytime.”
For a thing, 아무거나/아무것이나 means “anything.”
For a place, 아무데나 means “anywhere” and 아무 곳이나 means “any place.”
For a person, 아무나 means “anyone.” 아무하고나 means “with anyone.” And 아무한테나 means “to anyone.”
Student A: Hey, Teacher! Did you forget to put the space between 아무 and 것?
Oh, that’s an excellent question! Word spacing could be confusing in Korean. Right? You might want to write 아무것. However, you put them together since 아무것 is a compound word that is solidified into one word.
Compared to 아무것, 아무 때나, 아무 데나, 아무 곳이나 are not solidified as one word. That’s why you separate them.
Regarding 아무나, 아무하고나, 아무한테나, 아무에게나, you write them together because 아무 is a noun, which means “anyone” here.
This expression is similar to the grammar, 아무 – 도 “no ~.” However, you use it in a different situation. Since I will explain in more detail in the next grammar section, for now, remember that you often use 아무 -(이)나 in affirmative or interrogative sentences.
I want to emphasize “often” here because it can also be used in negative sentences.
How to conjugate is by putting (이)나 after a noun. You attach 나 for nouns without a final consonant, and 이나 for nouns with a final consonant.
As for 띄어쓰기 (space between words), you write 아무 and nouns separately, such as 아무 책이나 “any books” or 아무 커피나 “any coffee.”
Now, let’s check it out with an example.
Noun: Example 1
가: 넌 뭘 먹고 싶어?
What do you want to eat?
나: 아무거나 좋아.
Anything is fine.
Here, 아무거나 “anything” is used, which is the idiomatic expression I explained earlier. In addition, please pay attention to the adjective 좋아 “fine.” This grammar often ends with affirmative expressions. This part is important to distinguish 아무 -(이)나 and 아무 -도, which we will learn next. Let’s see the following interrogative example!
Noun: Example 2
그 행사에는 아무나 참가 가능하세요?
Can anyone participate in that event?
Here, 아무나 means “anyone.” You can memorize it as it is. In addition, this is an interrogative sentence, which ends with a question mark. Let’s look at the following example.
Noun: Example 3
가: 과장님, 모카랑 라떼가 있는데 뭘 드릴까요?
Manager, there are mocha and latte, what can I get for you?
나: 아무 커피나 주세요.
Please give me any coffee.
Here, 커피 is “coffee.” You attach 아무 “any” before it. Since 커피 does not have a final consonant, you attach 나 to make 아무 커피나 “any coffee.”
Quiz
Then, let’s deepen our understanding with some quizzes. Which one is the correct answer?
1. 요즘은 일이 없으니（ ）만날 수 있어요.
I don’t have to work these days, so I can see you anytime.
(1)아무 때나 (2)아무 데나
The correct answer is number one. Since “anytime” indicates time, you use 때 to make 아무 때나 “anytime.” A similar expression is 언제든지 “whenever.”
Number two, 아무데나 is close, but wrong because it means “anywhere.”
Now, let’s read it together!
요즘은 일이 없으니 아무 때나 만날 수 있어요.
Please read it three times with the emotion of “feel free to contact me to catch up.” Now let’s look at the following quiz!
2.（ ）막 말하면 안 되는데.
You’re not supposed to blab to anyone.
(1)아무에게나 (2)아무나
The correct answer is number one. 아무에게나 means “to anyone.” 아무 is a pronoun used to indicate a random person. 에게 is a particle, which means “to (whom).” 나 is a particle, which means “any.” Altogether, it means “to anyone.”
In addition, it is said “안 되는데,” which is a negative sentence. As you can see, 아무 -(이)나 could be used in a negative sentence as well. But most of the time, it is used in affirmative sentences.
Number two, 아무나, means “anybody.” It does not have the particle, 에게 “to.” Thus, it is incorrect.
Now, let’s read it together!
아무에게나 막 말하면 안 되는데.
Please read it three times as advice to your friends.
아무 –도
아무 Nouns + 도
The second grammar is 아무 – 도 “no ~.”
This expression means the total negation, like “not ~ at all.” A particle 도 “even” is used here to emphasize negation.
Although 아무 -(이)나 and 아무 -도 are very similar, please remember that you use 아무 -(이)나 for an affirmative sentence often, and 아무 -도 for a negative sentence.
For example, 아무거나 좋다 means “Anything is good.”
In this sentence, 아무거나 “anything” is followed by 좋다 “to be good/to be fine.”
On the other hand, 아무것도 마음에 안 들다 means “I don’t like anything.” Here, 아무것도 “anything” is followed by a negative word such as 마음에 안 들다 “I don’t like.”
There are some idiomatic expressions for 아무 -도 as well. So, I will summarize all of them.
For a thing, 아무것도 means “nothing.”
For a place, 아무 데도, 아무 곳도 means “nowhere.”
For a person, 아무도 means “nobody,” 아무한테도 means “to nobody,” 아무하고도 means “with nobody.”
Student A: Hey, Tammy. What about the time?
Yes!! That’s an excellent question! For a time, 아무 때도 means “no time.” However, somehow Korean people don’t use this expression often. So, I didn’t write it. Korean people use 시간이 없다 “there is no time~” more often than 아무 때도.
I hope this has cleared your head. You will use these expressions often, so please repeat them repeatedly to memorize them!
How to conjugate is by adding the particle 도 to the noun! Simple is best!
Now, let’s look at an example.
Noun: Example 1
이 비밀은 아무도 모를 거야.
I think nobody knows this secret.
Oh, I wonder what kind of secret it is!
Here, 아무도 means “nobody.” The adjective 모르다 “to not know” is negative in meaning, right? So, you use it like 아무도 –모르다 “nobody knows (anyone doesn’t know).” As a whole, you are expressing a total negation. Let’s look at the following example!
Noun: Example 2
군대에서는 아무 생각도 없이 움직이면 안 되지.
In the military, you can’t move without thinking.
There are weapons in the military, so it would be better to move after proper ideas or instructions.
Here, 생각 is “thought / thinking.” You combine 아무 – 도 “no ~” to make 아무 생각도 “no thinking.” 없이 means “without ~,” so 아무 생각도 없이 means “without any thinking.”
Next is an expression that Koreans often use when they feel relieved! Let’s take a look!
Noun: Example 2
아무 일도 없어서 다행이다.
I’m glad nothing happened to you.
Here, 일 is a “thing.” You combine 아무 -도 with it to make 아무 일도 “nothing.” The following expression uses the word 없다 “there is no” which means negative. The overall meaning is 아무 일도 없다 “there is nothing,” which means “nothing happened.”
Quiz
Then, let’s deepen our understanding with some quizzes. Which one is the correct answer?
1. 아무 ( ) 없는 니가 왜 걱정하냐?
You have nothing to do with this, but why are you worried?
(1)상관도 (2)상관이나
The correct answer is number one. Here, 상관 is “relation.” You combine 아무 -도 with it to make 아무 상관도 없다 “have no relation.” In other words, it means “have nothing to do with.”
Number two, 상관이나, is wrong because the phrase 상관이나 없다 does not exist.
Now let’s read it together!
상관도 아무없는 니가 왜 걱정하냐?
Please read it three times. Now, let’s look at the following quiz!
2. 그 사건에 대해서는 ( ) 몰라요.
I do not know anything about that incident.
(1)아무것이도 (2)아무것도
This was another expression that could appear in suspense dramas.
The correct answer is number two. 것 means a “thing.” You attach 도 directly. Thus, it becomes 아무것도.
In addition, regarding this quiz, you can also use 전혀 “at all” instead of 아무것도, like 그 사건에 대해서는 전혀 몰라요. Both mean the same.
Number one 아무것이도 is a wrong conjugation. So, don’t use it!
Now let’s read it together!
그 사건에 대해서는 아무것도 몰라요.
Please read it at least three times!
얼마나 -는지
Verbs + 얼마나 -는지
Adjectives(without a final consonant) + 얼마나 ㄴ지
Adjectives(with a final consonant) + 얼마나 은지
[Past tense] Verbs + 얼마나 -았/었는지
The last grammar is 얼마나 -는지 “how much something is ~.” This expression is used to describe quantity or degree.
It is often used 얼마나 -는지 모르다 “don’t know how much something is ~.”
You use this to emphasize an action’s state of affairs or degree.
For example, you can say like
그 개그가 재미있어서 얼마나 웃었는지 몰라요.
Because that gag was so funny, I didn’t know how much I laughed.
Did you understand how to use 얼마나 -는지 모르다?
Then let’s move on to the conjugation.
● For verbs, attach 는지 to a stem regardless of a final consonant. For example, 가다 becomes 얼마나 가는지 “how much (I) go.”
먹다 will be 얼마나 먹는지 “how much (I) eat.”
● For adjectives, you attach (으)ㄴ지.
● For the past tense, it becomes 았/었는지.
And attention here!!!
When you express a past event, 았/었는지 몰라요 is correct instead of 았/었는지 몰랐어요.
For example,
얼마나 더웠는지 몰라요. (〇)
I don’t know how hot it was.
It is correct instead of
얼마나 더웠는지 몰랐어요. (X)
Now, let’s see how much you want to emphasize.
Verb: Example 1
그를 내가 얼마나 싫어하는지 아무도 이해해 주지 않는다.
No one understands how much I hate him.
You can already feel how much she dislikes him, can’t you?
And this example includes today’s two grammar rules!
Let’s start with the 얼마나 –는지. The verb 싫어하다 means “to hate, to dislike.” It doesn’t have a final consonant, so you attach 는지 to make 싫어하는지 “(how much) I hate.” You attach 얼마나 before it to make 얼마나 싫어하는지 “how much I hate.”
In this sentence, the second grammatical phrase “아무도 이해해 주지 않는다” is also included. It means “no one understands.” Now, let’s look at the following example.
Verb: Example 2
지금 지구 환경이 얼마나 심각한 상황인지 정확히는 알 수 없다.
We don’t know exactly how serious the situation is in the global environment.
Here, 심각한 상황이다 means “it is a serious situation.” 이다 “to be” is an adjective. So you attach ㄴ지 to make 심각한 상황인지 “how serious the situation is.”
Past tense: Example 3
네가 얼마나 노력했는지는 이젠 알 것 같다.
I think I know now how hard you tried.
In this example, 노력했다 means ”tried hard.” You attach 는지 to the stem to make 노력했는지 “(how) hard (you) tried.” And you attach 얼마나 before it to make 얼마나 노력했는지 “how hard you tried.” Let’s look at the following example.
Quiz
Then, let’s deepen our understanding with some quizzes. Which one is the correct answer?
1. 내가 이 일에 내 인생을 ( ) 바쳐왔는지 모른다.
I don’t know how much I have devoted my life to this job.
(1)얼마든지 (2)얼마나
The correct answer is number two. It is appropriate to insert 얼마나, which means “how much.”
Number one, 얼마든지, means “as much as (sub) likes.” So, it has a different meaning. Now, let’s read the correct sentence together!
내가 이 일에 내 인생을 얼마나 바쳐왔는지 모른다.
Please read it three times with the emphasis you want on it. Now let’s look at the next quiz!
2. 그 사람이 얼마나 ( ) 상상이 가겠어요?
Can you imagine how weird that person is?
(1)이상한지 (2)이상하는지
The correct answer is number one. 이상하다 means “to be weird / to be strange.”
It has 하다, BUT, BUT, BUT it is an adjective. Did you get tricked?
Therefore, ㄴ지 is the correct noun modifier. You attach ㄴ지 to the stem to make 이상한지 “how weird.”
Number two 이상하는지 is a wrong conjugation. So, don’t use it!
Now, let’s read it together!
그 사람이 얼마나 이상한지 상상이 가겠어요?
Please read it three times while imagining the speaker’s earnest feelings.
Homework
Now, it’s time for today’s saying. You can find today’s grammar!
사람들은 당신이 그 일을 얼마나 빨리 끝냈는지는 금방 잊지만,
얼마나 훌륭하게 처리했는지는 오래 기억한다.
People quickly forget how fast you finished a task,
but they will remember how well you handled it for a long time.
Yes!! It’s better to handle a task well rather than finish quickly, isn’t it?
Moving on to the homework, there are two assignments.
First, compose three sentences using today’s grammar.
① Firstly, let’s use 아무 -(이)나 “any ~.”
For example,
- 결정을 잘 못하는 사람에게 ‘아무거나’라는 말은 참 편리하다.
For the indecisive, the word “anything” is very useful.
② Secondly, let’s use 아무 -도 “no ~.”
For example,
- 이 물건은 아무 소용도 없었다.
This item was good for nothing.
That’s an example that conveys a sense of disappointment. Keep in mind that 아무 소용도 없다 means “good for nothing.” It is a phrase.
③ Lastly, let’s use 얼마나 -는지 “how much something is ~.”
For example,
- 저 그림이 얼마나 예쁜지 직접 보고 느껴 보세요.
Please see and feel how beautiful that painting is.
It’s a line that someone who likes painting would say, right?
The second homework is to memorize new words.
Please memorize the forty words from number 2281 to number 2320 on page 29 in the intermediate vocabulary list. My website has a vocabulary quiz of forty words, so feel free to try it. The link is in the description box.
Thank you for your hard work today! Let’s keep up the good work with a cheerful and positive mind. I’m excited to see your writing too!
And I will do my best to become the best Korean teacher in the world!
그럼 오늘도 행복 가득, 웃음 가득한 하루 되세요！ 한국어 화이팅, 화이팅, 화이팅！！
