Essential Korean Grammar. Laura Kingdon
haesseoyo. Geuraeseo siheome baekjeomeul badasseoyo.
I studied hard, so I got 100 on the test.
비가 오고 있어요. 그러니까 우산을 가지고 오세요.
Biga ogo isseoyo. Geureonikka usaneul gajigo oseyo.
It’s raining, so please bring an umbrella.
어머니 생신이에요. 그러니까 파티에 갈 수 없어요.
Eomeoni saengsinieyo. Geureonikka patie gal su eobseoyo.
It’s my mother’s birthday, so I can’t go to the party.
이 신발을 너무 작아요. 그러니까 큰 것으로 바꾸어 주세요.
I sinbareul neomu jagayo. Geureonikka keun geoseuro bakkueo juseyo.
These shoes are too small, so could you change it to a bigger size?
친구가 많아요. 그런데 슬퍼요.
Chinguga manayo. Geureonde seulpeoyo.
I have many friends. But I’m sad.
피곤해요. 그런데 파티에 가고 싶어요.
Pigonhaeyo. Geureonde patie gago sipeoyo.
I’m tired. But I want to go to the party.
그는 한국사람 이에요. 그런데 한국음식을 못 먹어요.
Geuneun hanguksaram ieyo. Geureonde hangukeumsigeul mot meogeoyo.
He is a Korean. But he cannot eat Korean food.
Linking Sentences—Cause and Effect: More Ways to Say “So”
There are a couple of other useful expressions you can use to say that one thing resulted in another.
민수가 늦게 오기에 잠시 인터넷 하고 있어요.
Minsuga neutge ogie jamsi inteonet hago isseoyo.
Since Minsu is coming late, I’m using the internet for a while.
기에 and 길래 mean exactly the same thing, but 기에 is the written form of this expression and 길래 is the spoken or colloquial form. They mean “Since A, then B.” A is a situation that you have observed. As a result of seeing and judging A, you have done, are doing, or are recommending B. You can also use this expression to ask the reason or background for a decision.
The second, similar meaning is a little more difficult to explain in English, but I think you can probably figure it out. It’s pretty simple and is similar to 때문에 ttaemune (“because of”), which I’ll cover on page 78.
When you add 는, the meaning of the expression changes a little. If you add the 는 for emphasis, your second clause should be something negative: something is B to A. If I were to translate “Too Legit to Quit” into Korean, it would be done using 기에는.
HOW IT’S CONJUGATED
| Past | Present | Future | ||
| Action verbs ending in a vowel | 하다 | 했기에(는) haetgie(neun)했길래 haetgillae | 하기에(는) hagie(neun)하길래 hagillae | 하기에(는) 하길래 |
| Action verbs ending in a consonant | 먹다 | 먹었기에(는) meogeotgie(neun)먹었길래 meogeotgillae | 먹기에(는) meokgie(neun)먹길래 meokgillae | 먹기에(는) 먹길래 |
| Descriptive verbs (adjectives) ending in a vowel | 예쁘다 | 예뻤기에(는) yeppeotgie(neun)예뻤길래 yeppeotgillae | 예쁘기에(는) yeppeugie(neun)예쁘길래 yeppeugillae | 예쁘기에(는) 예쁘길래 |
| Descriptive verbs (adjectives) ending in a consonant | 작다 | 작았기에(는) jagatgie(neun)작았길래 jagatgillae | 작기에(는) jaggie(neun)작길래 jaggillae | 작기에(는) 작길래 |
| Nouns ending in a vowel | 남자 | 남자이었기에(는) namjaieotgie(neun)남자이었길래 namjaieotgillae | 남자기에(는) namjagie(neun)남자길래 namjagillae | 남자기에(는) 남자길래 |
| Nouns ending in a consonant | 물 | 물이었기에(는) murieotgie(neun)물이었길래 murieotgillae | 물이기에(는) murigie(neun)물이길래 murigillae | 물이기에(는) 물이길래 |
TAKE NOTE
기에 and 길래 can be used only with statements—not commands, questions, or suggestions. The subject of the first clause shouldn’t be the speaker, and the subjects of both clauses should be different. Also, with 기에 and 길래 (but not 기에는), the first clause must be some new knowledge that was discovered by the speaker.
EXAMPLE SENTENCES
차가 많이 막히길래, 늦게 출발했어요.
Chaga mani makigillae, neutge chulbalhaesseoyo.
차가 많이 막히기에, 늦게 출발했어요.
Chaga mani makigie, neutge chulbalhaesseoyo.
Since traffic was heavy, I left late.
맛있길래 다시 시켰어요.
Masitgillae dasi sikyeosseoyo.
맛있기에 다시 시켰어요.
Masitgie dasi sikyeosseoyo.
Since it was delicious, I ordered it again.
청바지가 싸길래 샀어요.
Cheongbajiga ssagillae sasseoyo.
청바지가 싸기에 샀어요.
Cheongbajiga ssagie sasseoyo.
Since the jeans were cheap, I bought them.
Here are some examples with 기에는. Note that the B clause is always a negative thing.
이 책을 학생이 읽기에는 너무 어려워요.
I chaegeul haksaengi ilkgieneun neomu eoryeowoyo.
This book is too difficult for students to read.
라지 피자를 혼자 먹기에는 너무 많아요.
Lagi pijareul honja meokgieneun neomu manayo.
A large pizza is too much to eat alone.
그 차를 공무원이 사기에는 너무 비싸요.
Geu chareul gongmuwoni sagieneun neomu bissayo.
That car is too expensive for a public servant to buy.
열쇠를 찾느라고 집에서 늦게 출발했어요.
Yeolsoereul chatneulago jibeseo neutge chulbalhaesseoyo.
I left the house late because I was looking for my keys.
Be careful about using 느라고 neurago because there are rules about where and when it can be used. It is the prima donna of the Korean grammar world, and is extraordinarily picky about where it can be used properly. That