문형과 문법    
Patterns and Grammar Notes

1. 

(하마터면) A.V. + ㄹ/을 뻔하다 
=> "almost," "nearly," "a close call"

When used with 하마터면, this construction intensifies the near occurrence of an event that could have happened.

  • 못 알아볼 뻔했다.
    => I almost didn't recognize you.

  • 교차로에서 사고가 날 뻔했다.
    => I nearly had an accident at the crossroads. 

  • 하마터면 비행기를 놓칠 뻔했다.
    => I almost missed the airplane. 

  • 차 사고가 나서 하마터면 죽을 뻔했다.
    => I almost died because of the car accident.

2. Indirect statements

An indirect statement is one in which the speaker is reporting something that was said by another individual. (This form of speech, called indirect speech, is also referred to as reported speech.)

The basic ending for indirect statements, -다고 하다, changes depending on the tense of the statement that is being reported. It also changes depending on whether a descriptive or an action verb was used in the statement that is being reported.

           

a. 

Present 
D.V. + 다고 하다
A.V. + ㄴ/는다고 하다
N. + (이)라고 하다
           

b. 

Past

V. + 었/았다고 하다
N. + (이)었다고 하다
           

c. 

Future

V. + ㄹ/을 거라고 하다
N. + 일 거라고 하다
 

(a)

  • 그 아이는 키가 크다고 해요. 
    => They say that the child is tall.
  • 그 분이 한국에 간다고 한다.
    => They say that he is going to Korea. 
  • 그래서 요즘 한국 책을 많이 읽는다고 한다. 
    => They say that, therefore, he is reading many Korean books these days.
  • 올해는 빨간 색이 유행이라고 해. 
    => It is said that red is in fashion this year. 
  • 꽃무늬 스카프도 인기라고 해. 
    => It is said that floral scarves are popular.

(b)

  • 론은 네 살 때 키가 작았다고 해요. 
    => They say that Ron was short when he was four years old. 
  • 그 분이 한국에 가셨다고 한다. 
    => They say that he went to Korea.
  • 한국 역사 책을 많이 읽었다고 한다. 
    => They say that he read many Korean history books.
  • 작년에도 빨간 색이 유행이었다고 해. 
    => They say that red was also in fashion last year. 
  • 꽃무늬 스카프도 인기였다고 해. 
    => They say that floral scarves were popular, too.

(c)

  • 지나는 장래에 키가 클 거라고 해요. 
    => They say that Ji-na will be tall in the future.
  • 그 분이 한국에 가실 거라고 한다. 
    => They say that he will go to Korea.
  • 그 분이 책을 많이 읽으실 거라고 한다. 
    => They say that he will read many books. 
  • 내년에는 노란 색이 유행일거라고 해. 
    => They say that yellow scarves will be in fashion next year.

(See L6, GN4 for more on indirect speech types - command, question, and "let's." See L9, GN5 for a summary of indirect speech endings and L20, GN1 for their short forms.) 

3. a.  D.V. + (어/아)지다
=> "is becoming . . . ," "is getting . . ."
b.  A.V. + (어/아)지다
=> "is be -ed." "is (happening) . . ."

This helping verb, -(어/아)지다, has two main functions. When used with a descriptive verb, it indicates the changes occurring to the state or condition of the subject. When used with an action verb, it turns an active sentence into a passive sentence or indicates that something is happening automatically. (See the helping verb chart in L14, GN7.)

(a) 

Dictionary Form / With (어/아)지다
  • Examples

쉽다 / 쉬워지다

  • 일이 쉬워진다.
    => The work is getting easy.

덥다 / 더워지다 

  • 날씨가 더워진다. 
    => The weather is getting warm.

깨끗하다 / 깨끗해지다 

  • 공기가 깨끗해졌다. 
    => The air has gotten clean.

복잡하다 / 복잡해지다 

  • 길이 복잡해진다. 
    => The street is getting crowded. 

빨갛다 / 빨개지다 

  • 하늘이 빨개진다. 
    => The sky is turning red. 

젊다 / 젊어지다 

  • 저 여자는 젊어졌다. 
    => She is looking younger (literally "She has become young.")

(b) 

쓰다 / 써지다 

  • 연필이 잘 써진다. 
    => The pencil writes well.

지우다 / 지워지다 

  • 글씨가 지워졌다. 
    => The characters were erased.

넘다 / 넘어지다 

  • 나무가 넘어졌다. 
    => The tree has fallen.

4.  Person N. + (이)셔 or (이)세요
=> "This is . . . (HON.)"

This casual and intimate ending -(이)셔 is the contraction of -(이)시어, which means "this is so and so (HON.)" or "I present (HON.) . . ." 

  • 승준 형이셔. 
    => This is (my) older brother, Seung-joon.
  • 우리 할아버지셔. 
    => This is my grandfather.

5.  Expressions for "any" or "every"
a.  아무 N. + (이)나
=> "any N."
b.  아무/누구/무엇/어디/언제 + (이)나
=> "anyone," "everyone," "anything," "any place/everywhere," "any time"

When a noun is preceded by 아무 and followed by -(이)나, it means "any," as in 아무 책이나 "any book," or 아무 지도나 "any map." When the particle -(이)나 is attached to a question word 아무, 누구, 무엇, 어디, or 언제, it becomes like a pronoun: 아무나 "anyone," 누구나 "everyone," 무엇이나 "anything/everything," 어디나 "anyplace/anywhere," or 언제나 "any time/whenever." (For more on "any" or "every," see L10, GN4.) 

(a)

  • 방학동안에 아무 일이나 하겠어요. 
    => During vacation, I'll do any kind of work. 
  • 어떤 색깔 셔츠를 드릴까요? 
    => What color shirt would you like?
    아무 거나 주세요. 
    => Please give me any color. 
  • 무슨 영화 볼래? 
    => What do you want to see? 
    아무 영화나 볼래. 
    => I'll watch any movie.

(b) 

  • 누구나 시를 쓸 수 있다. 
    => Anyone can write a poem.
  • 미국은 무엇이나 발달됐다. 
    => In the United States, everything is developed 
  • 봄에는 어디나 꽃이 핀다. 
    => In the spring, flowers bloom everywhere. 
  • 언제나 바다에 가면 배들을 볼 수 있다. 
    => Whenever you go to the ocean, you can always see boats.

6.  a.  N. + 인가요?
=> "is it . . . ?"
b.  D.V. + ㄴ/은가요?
=> "is it . . . (adjective)?"
c.  A.V. + 나요?
=> "is it . . . (action verb)?"

These question endings indicate that the speaker wants a confirmatory (yes or no) answer. Note that 있다 and 없다 end in -나요, as in -있나요? or -없나요?

(a) 

  • 오늘이 노는 날인가요? 
    => Is today a holiday?
  • 이 분이 선생님인가요? 
    => Is he a teacher?

(b) 

  • 날씨가 추운가요? 
    => Is the weather cold?
  • 집이 넓은가요? 
    => Is the house roomy?

(c) 

  • 한국어를 배우나요? 
    => Are you learning Korean?
  • 요즘 무슨 책을 읽나요? 
    => What books are you reading these days?
  • 동생이 있나요? 
    => Does he have a younger sibling?