Essential Korean Grammar. Laura Kingdon
가든지 못 가든지, 내 친구는 나와 있을 거예요.
Nega gadeunji mot gadeunji, nae chinguneun nawa isseul geoyeyo.
Whether or not you can go, my friend will be with me.
Just like 거나 and 라도, 든지 can be added to the end of question words or 아무 to form words that mean “any.”
누구든지
nugudeunji
anyone
언제든지
eonjedeunji
any time
어디든지
eodideunji
anywhere (used only with 가다, 오다 and other verbs of motion)
어디에서든지
eodieseodeunji
anywhere
무엇이든지
mueosideunji
anything
누구든지 갈 수 있어요.
Nugudeunji gal su isseoyo.
Anyone can go.
언제든지 할 수 있어요.
Eonjedeunji hal su isseoyo.
We can do it any time.
어디에서든지 하면 돼요.
Eodieseodeunji hamyeon dwaeyo.
We can do it anywhere.
무엇이든지 주세요.
Mueosideunji juseyo.
Just give me whatever.
This is almost exactly the same as 거나 above, but it’s used in situations where A and B are either examples or are about important issues, or are examples used while talking about an important issue. So you can use it to talk about how to solve the city’s traffic problem, for example, but it would be strange to use it to talk about your weekend plans. You could, however, use it to give examples of things you normally do on the weekend.
Add an indirect speech particle (see page 304) to 거나, and repeat the particle plus 거나 after every example.
수영한다거나 자전거를 탄다거나
suyeonghandageona jajeongeoreul tandageona
go swimming or go biking
영화라거나 쇼핑이라거나
yeonghwarageona syopingirageona
a movie or shopping
소설이란다거나 만화란다거나 책을 다른 종류를 다 좋아해요.
Soseorirandageona manhwarandageona chaegeul dareun jongnyureul da joahaeyo.
I like all kinds of books like novels or comic books.
패스트 푸드를 끊는다거나 운동을 더 열심히 한다거나 하면 콜레스케롤 수치를 낮출 수 있어요.
Paeseuteu pudeureul kkeunneundageona undongeul deo yeolsimhi handageona hamyeon kolleseuterol suchi reul natchul su isseoyo.
If you quit eating fast food or if you exercise more, you can lower your cholesterol.
You may recognize 라, 는다, ㄴ다, and 다 as indirect speech endings. In this case they aren’t used to talk about something someone else said. However, they still attach to words the same way: (이)라든가 after nouns, 는/ㄴ다든가 after action verbs, and 다든가 after descriptive verbs. (See page 304 for more on indirect speech endings.)
라든가 and its companions mean “or” and are used to talk about two choices. In the case of (이)라든가, B is normally followed by an explanation of how exactly A and B are similar: “비빔밥이라든가 냉면이라든가 한국 음식 같은 Bibimbapiradeunga naengmyeoniradeunga hanguk eumsig gateun” (“Korean foods like bibimbap or naengmyeon”) 는다든가, ㄴ다든가 and 다든가, on the other hand, are usually followed by 하다, which can then be conjugated however you’d like.
While (이)라든가 is normally used only after A, 는다든가/ㄴ다든가/다든가 follows both A and B.
비빔밥이라든가 불고기 같은 대표적인 한국 음식을 먹어 보세요.
Bibimbapiradeunga bulgogi gateun daepyojeogin hanguk eumsigeul meogeo boseyo.
Please try a representative (famous) Korean food like bibimbap or bulgogi.
커피라든가 차 같은 따뜻한 것을 마시고 싶어요.
Keopiradeunga cha gateun ttatteuthan geoseul masigo sipeoyo.
I want to drink something warm like coffee or tea.
스트레스가 쌓일 때 산책이라든가 수영이라든가 운동을 해요.
Seuteuleseuga ssahil ttae sanchaegiradeunga suyeongiradeunga undongeul haeyo.
When I’m stressed, I like to do some exercise like walking or swimming.
스트레스가 쌓일 때 산책을 한다든가 음악을 듣는다든가 해요.
Seuteuleseuga ssahil ttae sanchaegeul handadeunga eumageul deunneundadeunga haeyo.
When I’m stressed, I like to take a walk or listen to music.
방학 때 여행을 간다든가 친구와 논다든가 하고 싶어요.
Banghak ttae yeohaengeul gandadeunga chinguwa nondadeunga hago sipeoyo.
During vacation I want to travel or hang out with friends.
This is a shorter version of 거나, but it’s used to mean “whether you do A or B.” A and B should be opposites and 건 should follow each of them.
지하철을 타건 택시를 타건 늦을 거예요.
Jihacheoreul tageon taeksireul tageon neujeul geoyeyo.
Whether you take the subway or a taxi, you’ll be late.
한국어를 잘 하건 못 하건 최선을 다 해야 돼요.
Hangukeoreul jal hageon mot hageon choeseoneul da haeya dwaeyo.
Whether you’re good at Korean or not, you must do your best.
돈이 있건 없건 더 어려운 사람을 도와 주었으면 좋겠어요.
Doni itgeon eobsgeon deo eoryeoun sarameul dowa jueosseumyeon jokesseoyo.
Whether you have money or not, you should help those who need it.
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