Essential Korean Grammar. Laura Kingdon
nam-ja-i-go mal-go-yo남자일거고 말고요 nam-ja-il-geo-go mal-go-yo
TAKE NOTE
This expression is used only at the end of very short sentences. If you want to explain yourself further, start a new sentence and do so.
While you can use go 고 말고요 mal-go-yo with nouns, it’s not very common; people generally prefer one of the expressions listed at the beginning of this section.
고 말았다 Go ma-rat-da (see page 233) is not at all the same as 고 말고요. 고 말았다 means that something happened accidentally and/or unfortunately. Likewise, 고 말겠다 go mal-get-da (see page 232) is used to talk about definite plans—it has nothing to do with 고 말고요.
EXAMPLE SENTENCES
일을 벌써 끝냈어요?
I-leul beol-sseo kkeun-nae-seo-yo?
Have you already finished your work?
끝냈고 말고요. 다섯시간 전에 그 일을 시작했어요.
Kkeun-naet-go mal-go-yo. Da-seot si-gan jeon-e geu i-leul si-jak-hae-seo-yo.
Of course I’ve finished. I started five hours ago.
__________
미스 코리아가 예쁜가요?
Miseu koriaga yeppeungayo?
Is Miss Korea beautiful?
예쁘고 말고요. 모델이잖아요.
Yeppeugo malgoyo. Moderijanayo.
Of course she’s beautiful! She’s a model.
Disagreement/Negatives
Why can’t we all just get along? Sometimes you need to object to or disagree with something someone else has said or to state that something is untrue. This section will show you how to do that.
First, however, let’s review basic negatives. The simplest way to negate something in Korean is to simply add 지 않다 ji anta to the end of the verb. This works with any kind of verb and after either a vowel or a consonant.
| 먹다 meokda | to eat | 먹지 않다 meokji anta | to not eat |
| 하다 hada | to do | 하지 않다 haji anta | to not do |
| 작다 jakda | to be small | 작지 않다 jakji anta | to not be small |
| 예쁘다 yeppeuda | to be pretty | 예쁘지 않다 yeppeuji anta | to not be pretty |
Another option is to put 안 an in front of the verb. This negates the verb. It’s not really used much in formal situations or in writing. In common, everyday speech, either 안 or 지 않다 ji anta is usually fine.
| 먹다 meokda | to eat | 안 먹다 an meokda | to not eat |
| 하다 hada | to do | 안 하다 an hada | to not do |
| 작다 jakda | to be small | 안 작다 an jakda | to not be small |
| 예쁘다 yeppeuda | to be pretty | 안 예쁘다 an yeppeuda | to not be pretty |
If what you’re talking about has to do with capability, 지 못하다 should be used. This is covered on page 297 in the section on Possibility.
Another expression which can also belong in this section is (으)ㄴ/는/(으)ㄹ걸요. It’s often used for guesses as well, so it appears in that section on page 149. When used as a negative, it’s quite similar to 기는요.
What’s with All These 말s?
You’ll see a few expressions here and there that look kind of like this:
A(expression) 말 mal (expression) 하다 hada
In these cases the 말 is negating A, so the expression will have something to do with “A or not”. The table below summarizes and briefly explains these expressions; I hope it clears up any confusion.
| Expression | Page | Meaning | Example |
| ~(으)ㄹ락 말락 하다 (eu) r-rak mallak hada | ~ almost, but not quite, happened/is happening | 그 사고에서 죽을락 말락 했어요. Geu sagoeseo jugeullak mallak haesseoyo. I was hovering on the verge of death after that accident. | |
| ~다가 말다가 하다 daga maldaga hada | Doing ~ on and off | 운동을 하다가 말다가 하면 근육에 무리가갈 거예요. Undongeul hadaga maldaga hamyeon geunnyuge muriga gal geoyeyo. If you keep exercising on and off like that, it will be too stressful for your muscles. | |
| ~(으)ㄹ지 말지 하다 (eu)r-ji malji hada | I can’t decide whether to ~ or not. | 운동을 할지 말지 결정 못했어요. Undongeul halji malji gyeoljeong motaesseoyo. I couldn’t decide whether or not to exercise. | |
| ~(으)ㄹ까 말까 하다 (eu)r-kka malkka hada | I can’t decide whether to ~ or not. | 운동을 할까 말까 해요. undongeul halkka malkka haeyo. I can’t decide whether to exercise or not. | |
| ~는 둥 마는 둥 하다 neun dung maneun dung hada | ~ almost didn’t happen, but ultimately did | 비가 오는 둥 마는 둥 했어요. Biga oneun dung maneun dung haesseoyo. It rained just a little. | |
| A 거나 말거나 geona malgeona B | B, whether or not A. | 그녀가 예쁘거나 말거나, 저는그녀를사랑해요. Geunyeoga yeppeugeona malgeona jeoneun geunyeoreul saranghaeyo. Whether or not she’s beautiful, I love her. |
A: 오늘 늦었어요? Oneul neujeosseoyo? Were you late today?
B: 늦기는요. 정시에 왔어요. Neutgineunnyo. Jeongsie wasseoyo. Late? Not at all. I was on time.
This is a nice way to deny something, especially a compliment. It’s often used when you want to be modest such as when you say 안녕 하세요 annyeong haseyo to a Korean and are met with heaps of praise for your wonderful Korean abilities.
HOW IT’S CONJUGATED
| Past | Present | ||
| Action verbs ending in a vowel | 하다 | 하기는요 hagineunnyo 했기는요 haetgineunnyo | 하기는요 hagineunnyo |
| Action verbs ending in a consonant | 먹다 | 먹기는요 meokgineunnyo 먹었기는요 meogeotgineunnyo | 먹기는요 meokgineunnyo |
| Descriptive verbs (adjectives) ending in a vowel | 예쁘다 | 예쁘기는요 yeppeugineunnyo 예뻤기는요 yeppeotgineunnyo | 예쁘기는요 yeppeugineunnyo |
| Descriptive verbs (adjectives) ending in a consonant | 작다 | 작기는요 jakgineunnyo 작았기는요 jagatgineunnyo | 작기는요 jakgineunnyo |
| Nouns ending in a vowel | 남자 | 남자였기는요 namjayeotgineunnyo | 남자기는요 namjagineunnyo |
| Nouns ending in a consonant | 물 | 물이었기는요 murieotgineunnyo | 물이기는요 murigineunnyo |
TAKE NOTE
As this expression is used