Korean Lessons ᚛ Level 3 - Korean for Beginners #2 (Lessons 61 to 90) ᚛ Lesson 70 - Express cause and effect #1 [-아/어서]
Express cause and effect #1 [-아/어서]
Cause with -아/어서
To express the cause of something, we generally use the ending -아/어서. That allows us to use expressions such as "that's why", "since", "seeing as", "because", "so", etc. The ending -아/어서 is attached to the verb from the preposition of cause in the following manner:
[Cause: … verb conjugated in the present tense in the casual style]서 [Effect]
The suffix -아/어서 never marks the tense since it's only there to show that a grammatical proposition is a cause. The tense is marked, as usual, on the final verb of the main action.
Note that the cause suffix -아/어서 cannot be used to express an order or a request. In this case, it's the cause suffix -(으)니까, which we will see in the next chapter, that must be used.
저는 어젯밤에 안 자서 매우 피곤해요.
→ I did not sleep last night, so I'm very tired.
→ I am tired because I did not sleep last night.
→ Since I did not sleep last night, I am very tired.
나는 내 핸드폰이 고장나서 슬퍼.
→ My phone is broken, so I'm sad.
공부를 오래 해서 눈이 침침해요.
→ Since I studied for a long time, I have tired eyes.
어제 라면을 먹고 자서 오늘 얼굴이 부었어요.
→ Since I ate ramyeon and then slept yesterday, my face is swollen today.
어젯밤에 술을 많이 마셔서 기억이 잘 안 나요.
→ Since I drank a lot of alcohol yesterday, I don't remember well.
내가 거짓말해서 엄마를 실망시켰어.
→ Since I lied, I disappointed my mother.
차가 많이 막혀서 제시간에 도착할 수 없었어요.
→ I was not able to arrive at the scheduled time because of traffic. (Lit: Since a lot of cars were blocking, I could not arrive at the scheduled time.)
매운 것을 먹어서 눈물이 나요.
→ I am in tears since I ate something spicy.
에어컨을 켜고 자서 감기에 걸렸습니다.
→ Since I turned on the air conditioner and slept, I caught a cold.
운동하고 배가 고파서 비빔밥을 배달시켰어요.
→ Because I exercised and I was hungry, I had a bibimbap delivered.
가난한 사람들을 기부로 도와줘서 존경을 많이 받아요.
→ He is very respected because he helps poor people with donations.
The suffix -아/어서 with 이다 and 아니다
Learn more
-아/어서 to say "and"
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Summary table of structure
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Exercises
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