Korean Lessons ᚛ Level 8 - Advanced Korean #1 (Lessons 211 to 240) ᚛ Lesson 228 - Express cause and effect #5, written register [-기에] [-(으)므로]
Express cause and effect #5, written register [-기에] [-(으)므로]
After -길래, the cause of spoken language, here are the two causes of the written register. -기에, "as", "since", is the formal equivalent of -길래 and -아/어서: you read it in narratives, letters and polished texts. -(으)므로, "given that", "therefore", is the cause of official texts, regulations, announcements and reasoning: it is the most formal of all. This lesson also presents another use of 기에, -기에는, which does not mark cause but point of view: "for (doing)…, it's too…".
"As", "since" in writing with -기에
-기에 attaches to the stem, and accepts the past -았/었기에:
[Cause]기에 [Consequence]
The meaning and constraints are those of -길래: the cause is an observed situation, the consequence is what one did in reaction, and the sentence ends neither with a command nor with a suggestion. The difference is one of register: -길래 in speech, -기에 in writing and careful language. With indirect speech, -다기에, "since I was told that", which we saw in the previous lesson. The adverb 그렇기에, "that is why", opens a sentence of consequence.
아침에 비가 오기에 우산을 가지고 나갔다.
→ As it was raining this morning, I went out with an umbrella.
날씨가 좋기에 오랜만에 공원을 산책했다.
→ As the weather was nice, I took a walk in the park for the first time in a long while.
친구가 간곡히 부탁하기에 거절할 수 없었다.
→ As my friend asked me earnestly, I couldn't refuse.
값이 쌌기에 두 개를 샀습니다.
→ As it was cheap, I bought two.
시간이 조금 남았기에 근처 서점에 들렀다.
→ As I had a little time left, I stopped by a nearby bookstore.
그는 평생 정직하게 살았다. 그렇기에 많은 사람이 그를 존경한다.
→ He lived honestly all his life. That is why many people respect him.
"Given that", "therefore" with -(으)므로
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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.
