Korean Lessons ᚛ Level 8 - Advanced Korean #1 (Lessons 211 to 240) ᚛ Lesson 220 - Express cause and effect #4 [-길래] [-(ㄴ/는)다길래] [-(ㄴ/는)다기에]
Express cause and effect #4 [-길래] [-(ㄴ/는)다길래] [-(ㄴ/는)다기에]
After -느라고 and -는 바람에, here is a third specialized cause, very frequent in speech: -길래. It introduces a situation the speaker noticed in someone else or around them, and which led them to react: "seeing that…", "since…". It is also the form used in questions of the type "what's going on that…?". Combined with indirect speech, it gives -(ㄴ/는)다길래, "since I was told that", whose written equivalent is -(ㄴ/는)다기에.
"Seeing that" with -길래
-길래 attaches directly to the stem, and accepts the past:
[Situation observed]길래 / -았/었길래 [Speaker's reaction]
Two constraints define this cause. The first clause describes something the speaker observed and that does not depend on them: another person's state or action, a circumstance (there was nothing to eat, I had time left). The second clause is the speaker's reaction, in the first person and most often in the past: I bought, I suggested, I went. It is not used for a cause of which the speaker is the subject: 배가 고프길래 먹었어요 is possible (I noticed my hunger), but 공부하길래 is not said for "since I studied".
임신한 아내가 떡볶이랑 순대를 너무 먹고 싶어 하길래 집에 가는 길에 사 갔어요.
→ Since my pregnant wife was craving tteokbokki and sundae, I bought some on my way home.
민지가 우울하다며 하루 종일 안 나가고 집에만 있길래 같이 기분전환하러 나가자고 했어요.
→ Since Minji said she was feeling down and stayed home all day, I suggested going out together to clear her head.
- 나는 집인데 지금 어디야?
- 집에 갔는데 먹을 게 아무것도 없길래 마트에 장 보러 왔어.
→ - I'm at home, where are you right now?
- I went home, but since there was nothing to eat, I came to the supermarket to shop.
집에 오는 길에 새로 오픈한 치킨집이 보이길래 사 왔어요. 빨리 와서 같이 먹어요.
→ On my way home I saw a newly opened fried chicken place, so I bought some. Come quick, let's eat together.
"What's going on that…?" with -길래 in questions
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"Since I was told that" with -(ㄴ/는)다길래 and -(ㄴ/는)다기에
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Exercises
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Particles are omnipresent in Korean. They indicate the role of words in a sentence, nuance meaning, and make it possible to understand who does what, where, how, and why.
Particles are also often the aspect that causes the most difficulty for Korean learners. In grammar books, they are usually presented in the middle of long sentences, with complex vocabulary, without being clearly highlighted.
With Korean Particles, we made the opposite choice:
taking the time to explain each particle, one by one, using very simple sentences, accessible even to beginners.
