Tense and aspect on sentence-final verbs
-었다 vs. 고 있다 for verbs of wearingcontact
-고 있다 focuses more on how things are now rather than on what was done, but both forms express more or less the same thing
– a present state resulting from a completed action.
겨울옷을 입었어요. She’s wearing winter clothes.
겨울옷을 입고 있어요. 등산화를 신었어요.
She’s wearing hiking boots. 등산화를 신고 있어요.
큰 가방을 들었다. He’s holding a big satchel.
큰 가방을 들고 있다. •
Completed action or state in the future 혼자 가면 갔지 같이는 안 갈래.
I would go if I can go by myself, but I don’t want to go with him.
친구들이 많이 왔으면 좋겠다. It would be nice if many friends came.
너 이제 아빠한테 혼났다. Now you’re going to get scolded by Dad.
나는 이제 었구나. Oh no, I’ll be dead meat.
커피를 다섯잔이나 마셨으니 I won’t be able to sleep tonight now that
오늘 잠은 다 잤다. I’ve drunk five cups of coffee.
16.1.5 -었었
With descriptive verbs, there is generally only a subtle difference between -었 and -었었, with both denoting ‘past state,’ but the latter creates a more distant
feeling. 옛날엔 날씬했었어요.
I used to be slender. 올겨울도 추웠지만 작년 겨울은
It was cold this winter, but last winter 더
추웠었어. was even colder.
어렸을 때도 똑똑했었는데 She was smart when she was little, and
지금도 아주 똑똑해. she still is very smart.
With action verbs, the difference can be sharper. There, -었었 expresses: •
A more remote past than what is indicated by a single -었, thereby implying an experience prior to a past reference time.
전에 잠깐 만났었어요. I had met him briefly before.
전화했을 때 이미 떠났었어. I had already left when you called.
• Circumstances implying discontinuation of a situation
신혼여 갔었습니다. They went on their honeymoon, but are back
. 신혼여 갔습니다.
They went on their honeymoon and are still gone.
지난주에 병원에 입원했었어. I had been hospitalized last week.
지난주에 병원에 입원했어. I got hospitalized last week and am still
in the hospital. 결혼을 했었습니다.
I was married before. 결혼을 했습니다.
I got married and still am. 엄마를 닮았었어요.
I used to look like my mom. 엄마를 닮았어요.
I look like my mom. 감기가 걸렸었습니다.
I had a cold. 감기가 걸렸습니다.
I have a cold. 잘 알았었습니다.
I used to know it well. 잘 알았습니다.
I got it. I understand.
16.1.6 -더, -었더
This form is used for a less assertive retrospective report of a past or continuing action or state ‘I saw…,’ ‘I noticed…,’ ‘I heard…’, based on a perception,
impression, casual observation, or hearsay. It is very commonly used, but only in the spoken style since it presupposes a particular person to speak to
. It can occur
in either the 해요 or 해 style. -더 may be pronounced -드 – see 8.3.
해요 style 존댓말 해 style 반말
Statement -더라구요, -데요, -던데요
-더라, -데, -던데 Question
-던가요 -디, -던
NOTE: The -데요 and -던데요 endings are often accompanied by rising intonation. -더 does not occur with the more formal 합니다 style. Expressions such as
디다 and 갔읍디다, with the -ㅂ읍디다 ending, are old-fashioned and are used only among old folks.
• -더 with either descriptive or action verbs
코요테 새 노래가 참 신나더라. I noticed Koyote’s new song is very upbeat.
새 앨범이 5 집이던가요? Was her new album the fifth one?
부인이 참 예쁘더라. His wife is a beauty, I noticed.
성격은 별로라던데요. Her personality is not very good, I heard.
걔 공부 진짜 열심히 하더라. I saw him studying really hard.
이번 시험에는 꼭 합격하겠던데. It seemed like he’d definitely pass the test
this time. 도서관에 그 책이 없더라구요.
I noticed the library didn’t have that book. 오다 보니까 밖에 비가 오데요.
On my way, I saw it raining hard. 비가 많이 오디오던?
Was it raining hard?
오늘 못 온다더라.
I heard that he can’t come today.
왜 못 온다던가요?.
Why did he say he can’t come? The -더 form is inappropriate for a report based on lengthy experience or
something that one is sure about. Therefore, it usually is not used to talk about oneself or a close family member. For this reason, the following sentences
sound strange.
Unacceptablestrange-sounding 내 동생은 참 말을 안 더라.
My brother never listens, I noticed. 우리 엄마는 요리를 잘 하시더라. My mom is a great cook, I noticed.
우리 남편은 정말 하더라. My husband is really nice, I noticed.
However, -더 is perfectly fine for reporting one’s own feelings from one’s own perspective ‘I findfound myself…’.
나는 김치 볶음밥을 잘 만드는 여자가 좋더라. I find myself liking women who can make good Kimch’i fried rice.
나는 이런 치마는 잘 안 입게 되더라. I find myself not wearing skirts like this.
기가 혀서 말이 안 나오더라. That was so unbelievably ridiculous that I found myself speechless.
너무 맛이 없어서 못 먹겠더라구요. It was so bad that I found myself unable to eat it.
기분 나쁘더라. 정말 화가 나더라. I was upset. I found myself getting really angry.
• -었더 with only action verbs
The -었더 form is
NOT
used with descriptive verbs in sentence-final position although it is found on descriptive verbs in non-final positions; see 16.2.2.
Hence, we can say 지루하더라 ‘I found it boring,’ 시끄럽더라 ‘It was noisy, I noticed,’ 맛있더라 ‘I found it delicious,’ and so on, but
NEVER
지루했더라, 시끄러웠더라, or 맛있었더라.
-었더 is used only with action verbs to report an actionprocess that is already completed at the time of observation. The following pairs illustrate the contrast
between -었더 and -더.
밖에 비 왔더라. I noticed that it had rained.
밖에 비 오더라. I noticed that it was raining outside
. 들어 왔더라구요.
I saw that he had come in. 들어 오더라구요.
I saw him coming in. 장미가 다 시들었더라.
I saw the roses all withered. 장미가 시들더라.
I saw the roses withering. 얼굴이 퉁퉁 부었더라구요.
I saw her face all puffed up. 얼굴이 퉁퉁 붓더라구요.
I noticed her face was getting all puffy.
16.1.7 -을, -겠
A variety of forms involving -을 ㄹ after a verb stem ending in a vowel or -겠 are used to talk about the future, but they are not ‘pure’ future tense markers.
Rather, as the following examples show, they are more directly associated with the expression of intention and conjecture, which indirectly evokes the future.
• -을래요 ‘I am going to…; Are you going to…?’
언제 또 만날래? When are you meeting him again?
그 사람 이제 그만 만날래요. I’m going to stop meeting him from now on.
•
-을게요 ‘I will…; Let me…’
제 꼭 낼게요. I’ll be sure to turn in the homework.
제가 도와 드릴게요. Let me help you.
• -을까요? ‘Shall Iwe…; Will youshe …I wonder?’
제가 언제 들를까요? Shall I drop by sometime?
다음달까지 끝낼 수 있을까요? Will we be able to finish it by next month?
너희들끼리 갈 수 있을까? Will you be able to go by yourselves?
그 친구들이 파티에 올까요? Will they come to the party, I wonder?
내일 정말 눈이 올까? Will it really snow tomorrow?
• -었을까요 ‘Will youshe have…-ed?; I wonder whether…’
그 친구 지금쯤 도 했을까? Will he have arrived by now?
서운했을까요? I wonder whether she was upset.
•
-을 거, -겠 ‘I will…; Will you…?; You she… will probably…’
요일쯤 떠날 거예요.
I’ll leave around Thursday.
오전에 떠나실 겁니까? Will you be leaving in the morning?
이제 괜찮을 거예요. You’ll probably be okay now.
자주 연 드리겠습니다. I’ll be in touch often.
엄마가 기다리시겠다. Mom must be waiting for us.
• -었을 거, -었겠 Conjecture about a pastcompleted event or state
A: 이제 다 고쳤겠지요? I guess they’ve fixed it by now?
B: 아 못 고쳤을 거예요.
I doubt that they have. A: 표 사느라고 힘들었겠지?
I bet it was difficult to buy the ticket, right? B: 많이 힘들었을 거야.
I’m sure it was.
-을게요 promissory vs. -을 거예요 plan: ‘I will…’
To someone who will be waiting for your call, you say 전화할게요, but to others you say 전화할 거예요. -을게요 is used if the speaker’s intentions are in any way
the listener’s personal concern. To your mother or spouse, who is concerned about your health, you promise with 담배 끊을게 ‘I promise I will quit smoking.’ To
most others, you would simply talk about your plan by saying 담배 끊을 거야 ‘I’m going to quit smoking.’
16.1.8 -을 거 versus -겠
When used to express conjecture, the two forms can differ in meaning. -을 거 is for conjecture based on knowledge, reasoning, factual support, or substantial
evidence, while -겠 indicates conjecture based on feelings, emotions, casual judgment, or circumstantial evidence.
이 고추 매울 거예요. 내가 먹어봤어요. These peppers will be hot. I tried them.
색깔 보니까 고추가 맵겠어요. Their color tells me that the peppers are going to be hot.
일기예보에서 오늘 비 올 거래요. The weather forecast says it’ll rain today.
하늘 보니까 비 오겠어요. The look of the sky tells me that it’s going to rain.
-겠 is often used to express sympathy or concern, but -을 거 is used for neutral and objective information.
Sympathyconcern Neutral guessconjecture
피곤하시겠어요. 피곤하실 거예요.
You must be tired. You’ll be tired.
전화비 많이 나오겠네요. 전화비 많이 나올 거예요.
Your phone bill will be large, I’m afraid. Your phone bill will be large.
Sympathyconcern Neutral guessconjecture
수 에 늦었겠네요. 수 에 늦었을 거예요.
He must have been late for class. He was probably late for class.
천천히 먹어라, 배탈나겠다. no appropriate -을 거 form
Eat slowly, you’re going to get sick. 감기 들겠다, 조심해.
no appropriate -을 거 form You’re going to catch a cold, be careful.
Questions containing -겠 are often answered with the -을 거 form. A: 이 정도 갖고 되겠어요?
Will this much be enough? B: 될 거예요.
It’ll be enough.
16.1.9 Only -겠, not -을 거
Unlike -을 거, which is mostly used to express a neutral intentionconjecture, -겠 often expresses a variety of other things, including the following.
• Courteous requestsquestions
좀 앉으시겠습니까? Would you sit down, please?
주문하시겠어요? Would you like to order?
음료수는 뭘로 하시겠어요? What would you like to drink?
NOTE: Less formally, one could say: 앉으실래요, 주문하실래요, etc. •
Courteous promise 다시 전화 드리겠습니다.
I’ll call again. 맛있게 먹겠습니다.
I’ll enjoy the food. NOTE: Less formally, one could say: 전화 드릴게요, 먹을게요, etc.
• Other courteousformulaic expressions
처음 뵙겠습니다. How do you do?
실례하겠습니다. Excuse me. when entering a place
그럼 이만 줄이겠습니다. Let me stop here. in letter writing
이따 다시 오시면 고맙겠습니다. I’ll be grateful if you come back later today. 잘 알겠습니다.
I understand. •
Formal reports in weather forecasts or meetings 내일 낮 기온은 오늘과 비슷하겠습니다.
Tomorrow’s daytime temperature will be like today’s. 총장님의 환영사가 있겠습니다.
There will be a welcoming speech from the president of the university. 잠시 후 연예가 소 을 전해 드리겠습니다.
In a moment, we’ll give you the entertainment news.
• Abilitypossibility
이 거 다 먹겠니? Will you be able to eat it all?
그 사람이 이 시간에 퍽이나 집에 있겠다. Fat chance that he’ll be home at this time.
설마 지금껏 안 먹었겠어요? Could he still not have eaten? I doubt it.
누가 일이 이렇게 나빠질지 알았겠어요? Who would have known that things will get this bad?
• Hypotheticalidiomatic expressions
졸려 겠다미치겠다. My eyelids feel so heavy that I’m dyinggoing crazy.
집에 전화가 없어서 해 못 살겠다.
Having no phone in the house drives me so crazy that I can’t stand it. 너무 웃어서 배꼽 빠지겠다.
My stomach hurts [my belly button is going to come out] from laughing too much. 음 을 많이 차려서 상다리 부러지겠어요.
You prepared so much food that we might need a bigger table [this table is going to break].
웬일이야? 내일은 해가 서쪽에서 뜨겠다. What’s going on? The sun will rise in the west tomorrow.
to indicate something unexpected but good has happened
좀 조용히 얘기 해. 귀청 떨어지겠다. Talk quietly please. You are deafening me [my eardrums will fall out].
왜 한숨을 푹푹 쉬고 그래? 땅 꺼지겠다. Why do you keep sighing so deeply? The ground might sink.
별 상 없는 사람 다 보겠네요. What a person lacking in common sense he is.