Reasons and Results

Korean Grammar 3

Course 3 Β· Chapter 7 Β· Reasons, Causes and Results

πŸ”— Reasons, Causes and Results β€” μ΄μœ μ™€ κ²°κ³Ό

English has "because", "since" and "thanks to". Korean has far more ways to say why something happened, and each one carries a tone (neutral, blaming, grateful) and a grammar restriction (what may follow it). You already know -μ•„/μ–΄μ„œ and -(으)λ‹ˆκΉŒ from Korean Grammar 2 and the Basic Conversation courses; this chapter revisits them and adds -느라고, -λŠ” λ°”λžŒμ—, -κΈ° λ•Œλ¬Έμ—, -(으)γ„΄ 탓에, 덕뢄에 and -(으)γ„΄/λŠ” 이유. The skill is choosing the right one.

The rule in one box Pick the connective by tone and check what ending you need in the second clause. Neutral: -μ•„/μ–΄μ„œ, -(으)λ‹ˆκΉŒ, -κΈ° λ•Œλ¬Έμ—. The cause was busy effort, with a bad result: -느라고. An unexpected event led to a bad result: -λŠ” λ°”λžŒμ—. Blame: -(으)γ„΄ 탓에. Gratitude: 덕뢄에.

-μ•„/μ–΄μ„œ and -(으)λ‹ˆκΉŒ revisited

-μ•„/μ–΄μ„œ-(으)λ‹ˆκΉŒ
Tense before itnever -μ•˜/μ—ˆ-may take -μ•˜/μ—ˆ-
Second clause may be a command or suggestion?noyes
Feelinga natural cause and effect, a plain explanationthe speaker's own reason, often to persuade
ExampleλΉ„κ°€ μ™€μ„œ 집에 μžˆμ—ˆμ–΄μš”. Because it rained, I stayed home.λΉ„κ°€ μ˜€λ‹ˆκΉŒ 집에 μžˆμœΌμ„Έμš”. Since it's raining, please stay in.

-κΈ° λ•Œλ¬Έμ—: because (a firm, explicit reason)

Stem + -κΈ° λ•Œλ¬Έμ— states a reason more formally and more strongly. With a noun it is noun + λ•Œλ¬Έμ—, and as a sentence ending it is -κΈ° λ•Œλ¬Έμ΄λ‹€.

PatternExampleMeaning
verb / adjective + -κΈ° λ•Œλ¬Έμ—λ°”μ˜κΈ° λ•Œλ¬Έμ— 갈 수 μ—†μŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€.I cannot go because I am busy.
past: -μ•˜/μ—ˆκΈ° λ•Œλ¬Έμ—λŠ¦κ²Œ μΆœλ°œν–ˆκΈ° λ•Œλ¬Έμ— μ§€κ°ν–ˆμ–΄μš”.I was late because I set off late.
noun + λ•Œλ¬Έμ—κ΅ν†΅μ‚¬κ³  λ•Œλ¬Έμ— 길이 λ§‰ν˜”μ–΄μš”.The road was blocked because of an accident.
sentence endingμ œκ°€ λŠ¦μ€ 것은 길이 λ§‰ν˜”κΈ° λ•Œλ¬Έμž…λ‹ˆλ‹€.The reason I was late is that the road was blocked.

-κΈ° λ•Œλ¬Έμ— usually does not sit well with a command or a suggestion in the second clause; use -(으)λ‹ˆκΉŒ for those.

-느라고: because I was busy doing A, B happened

Stem + -느라고 says that time and energy spent on action A led to a result B, nearly always a negative or regrettable one. Three restrictions: A is a verb, the subject is the same in both clauses, and -느라고 itself takes no tense marker.

ExampleMeaning
μˆ™μ œλ₯Ό ν•˜λŠλΌκ³  λͺ» μž€μ–΄μš”.I couldn't sleep because I was doing homework.
κ²Œμž„μ„ ν•˜λŠλΌκ³  약속을 μžŠμ–΄λ²„λ Έμ–΄μš”.Busy with a game, I forgot the appointment.
μΉœκ΅¬μ™€ μ΄μ•ΌκΈ°ν•˜λŠλΌκ³  μ‹œκ°„ κ°€λŠ” 쀄 λͺ°λžμ–΄μš”.I was so busy talking to my friend that I lost track of time.

Not allowed: βœ— λΉ„κ°€ 였느라고 λŠ¦μ—ˆμ–΄μš” (different subject, and μ˜€λ‹€ is not an effortful action). The second clause must be a statement or a question: no command and no suggestion.

-λŠ” λ°”λžŒμ—: an unexpected event, a bad result

Verb stem + -λŠ” λ°”λžŒμ— (past: -(으)γ„΄ λ°”λžŒμ—) says that something happened unexpectedly and caused an unwelcome result. The two clauses may have different subjects, and the second clause is usually in the past.

ExampleMeaning
κ°‘μžκΈ° λΉ„κ°€ μ˜€λŠ” λ°”λžŒμ— μ†Œν’μ΄ μ·¨μ†Œλμ–΄μš”.It suddenly rained, so the picnic was cancelled.
λ²„μŠ€κ°€ 늦게 μ˜€λŠ” λ°”λžŒμ— μ§€κ°ν–ˆμ–΄μš”.The bus came late, so I was late.
μΉœκ΅¬κ°€ λ„˜μ–΄μ§€λŠ” λ°”λžŒμ— 저도 λ„˜μ–΄μ‘Œμ–΄μš”.My friend fell over, and so I fell too.

-(으)γ„΄ 탓에 and 탓: blame

Stem + -(으)γ„΄ 탓에 (adjective), -λŠ” 탓에 (verb) or noun + 탓에 / 탓이닀 puts the blame on something.

ExampleMeaning
날씨 탓에 κ²½κΈ°κ°€ μ—°κΈ°λμ–΄μš”.The match was postponed because of the weather (a bad thing).
μ œκ°€ μ€€λΉ„λ₯Ό μ•ˆ ν•œ 탓에 μ‹€νŒ¨ν–ˆμ–΄μš”.It was my fault for not preparing; I failed.
λͺ¨λ“  게 제 νƒ“μ΄μ—μš”.It is all my fault.

덕뢄에: thanks to

덕뢄에 is the grateful mirror of 탓에. After a noun it is noun + 덕뢄에; after a verb or adjective, -(으)γ„΄/λŠ” 덕뢄에; and as an answer to "how are you?" it is the polite 덕뢄에 잘 μ§€λ‚΄μš” ("thanks to you, I'm well").

ExampleMeaning
μ„ μƒλ‹˜ 덕뢄에 μ‹œν—˜μ— ν•©κ²©ν–ˆμ–΄μš”.Thanks to my teacher, I passed the exam.
μΉœκ΅¬κ°€ 도와쀀 덕뢄에 일찍 λλ‚¬μ–΄μš”.Thanks to my friend's help, it finished early.
덕뢄에 잘 μ§€λƒˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€.Thanks to you, I have been well.

-(으)γ„΄/λŠ” 이유: the reason is…

이유 "reason" is a noun, so it follows a modifier: λŠ¦μ€ 이유 "the reason (I was) late", κ°€λŠ” 이유 "the reason for going". Combine it with λ•Œλ¬Έμ΄λ‹€ / -μ•„/μ–΄μ„œμ΄λ‹€ to answer.

ExampleMeaning
μ œκ°€ ν•œκ΅­μ–΄λ₯Ό κ³΅λΆ€ν•˜λŠ” μ΄μœ λŠ” ν•œκ΅­ λ“œλΌλ§ˆλ₯Ό μ’‹μ•„ν•˜κΈ° λ•Œλ¬Έμ΄μ—μš”.The reason I study Korean is that I like Korean dramas.
λŠ¦μ€ 이유λ₯Ό 말해 μ£Όμ„Έμš”.Please tell me why you were late.

Choosing the connective

PatternToneBefore itSecond clause
-μ•„/μ–΄μ„œneutralno -μ•˜/μ—ˆ-statement or question (no command, no suggestion)
-(으)λ‹ˆκΉŒspeaker's reason-μ•˜/μ—ˆ- allowedany, including command and suggestion
-κΈ° λ•Œλ¬Έμ—firm, formal-μ•˜/μ—ˆ- allowedstatement or question
-느라고busy, bad resultno tense; same subjectstatement or question; result usually negative
-λŠ” λ°”λžŒμ—unexpected, bad resultverbs onlystatement; usually past
-(으)γ„΄ 탓에blamenoun or modifierstatement; unwelcome result
덕뢄에gratitudenoun or modifierstatement; welcome result
Watch out: do not use -느라고 for a good result βœ— μ—΄μ‹¬νžˆ κ³΅λΆ€ν•˜λŠλΌκ³  ν•©κ²©ν–ˆμ–΄μš” sounds wrong, because -느라고 expects an unfortunate outcome. For a good result use -μ•„/μ–΄μ„œ or 덕뢄에: μ—΄μ‹¬νžˆ κ³΅λΆ€ν•΄μ„œ ν•©κ²©ν–ˆμ–΄μš”.
Watch out: connectors between sentences When a reason is stated in its own sentence, use κ·Έλž˜μ„œ ("so, therefore") before the result and μ™œλƒν•˜λ©΄ … -κΈ° λ•Œλ¬Έμ΄λ‹€ ("because …") before the reason: λΉ„κ°€ μ™”μ–΄μš”. κ·Έλž˜μ„œ 집에 μžˆμ—ˆμ–΄μš”. κ·ΈλŸ¬λ‹ˆκΉŒ is the sentence-linking form of -(으)λ‹ˆκΉŒ and can lead into a command.

πŸ—£οΈ In Use β€” μ‹€μ œ 예문

Three exchanges with reasons and results.

β‘  Being busy (-느라고)

A: μ™œ μ „ν™”λ₯Ό μ•ˆ λ°›μ•˜μ–΄μš”? Why didn't you answer the phone?
B: λ―Έμ•ˆν•΄μš”. λ°œν‘œ μ€€λΉ„ν•˜λŠλΌκ³  λͺ» λ΄€μ–΄μš”. Sorry. I was preparing a presentation and didn't see it.

β‘‘ An accident (-λŠ” λ°”λžŒμ—)

A: μ–΄μ œ μ™œ λͺ» μ™”μ–΄μš”? Why couldn't you come yesterday?
B: μ§€ν•˜μ² μ΄ κ°‘μžκΈ° λ©ˆμΆ”λŠ” λ°”λžŒμ— λŠ¦μ—ˆμ–΄μš”. The subway suddenly stopped, so I was late.

β‘’ Thanks (덕뢄에)

A: μ‹œν—˜ 잘 λ΄€μ–΄μš”? Did the exam go well?
B: λ„€, μ„ μƒλ‹˜ 덕뢄에 ν•©κ²©ν–ˆμ–΄μš”. κ°μ‚¬ν•©λ‹ˆλ‹€! Yes, I passed thanks to you, teacher. Thank you!

πŸ“‹ Quick Reference β€” μš”μ•½ν‘œ

PatternMeaningExample
-κΈ° λ•Œλ¬Έμ— / noun + λ•Œλ¬Έμ—because (firm)λ°”μ˜κΈ° λ•Œλ¬Έμ— λͺ» κ°€μš”
-느라고busy doing A, so Bκ³΅λΆ€ν•˜λŠλΌκ³  λͺ» μž€μ–΄μš”
-λŠ” λ°”λžŒμ—unexpected event, bad resultλΉ„κ°€ μ˜€λŠ” λ°”λžŒμ— μ·¨μ†Œλμ–΄μš”
-(으)γ„΄ 탓에 / noun + 탓blame날씨 탓에 μ—°κΈ°λμ–΄μš”
덕뢄에thanks toμ„ μƒλ‹˜ 덕뢄에 ν•©κ²©ν–ˆμ–΄μš”
-(으)γ„΄/λŠ” 이유the reason thatλŠ¦μ€ 이유

✏️ Try It Yourself β€” μ—°μŠ΅

Work out the answer first, then click to check.

1. Say "I couldn't call because I was working" with -느라고.

Show answer

μΌν•˜λŠλΌκ³  μ „ν™”λ₯Ό λͺ» ν–ˆμ–΄μš”.

2. Say "The match was cancelled because it suddenly rained" with -λŠ” λ°”λžŒμ—.

Show answer

κ°‘μžκΈ° λΉ„κ°€ μ˜€λŠ” λ°”λžŒμ— κ²½κΈ°κ°€ μ·¨μ†Œλμ–΄μš”.

3. Say "Thanks to my friend, I found a job."

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친ꡬ 덕뢄에 μ·¨μ§ν–ˆμ–΄μš”.

4. Why is λΉ„κ°€ μ™€μ„œ μš°μ‚°μ„ κ°€μ Έκ°€μ„Έμš” wrong, and how do you fix it?

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-μ•„/μ–΄μ„œ cannot lead into a command. Use λΉ„κ°€ μ˜€λ‹ˆκΉŒ μš°μ‚°μ„ κ°€μ Έκ°€μ„Έμš”.

5. Why is μ–΄μ œ λΉ„κ°€ μ™”μ–΄μ„œ 집에 μžˆμ—ˆμ–΄μš” wrong?

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-μ•„/μ–΄μ„œ takes no tense marker. Say μ–΄μ œ λΉ„κ°€ μ™€μ„œ 집에 μžˆμ—ˆμ–΄μš”, with the past only in the second clause.

6. Pick the pattern for blame: "It's all because of the weather."

Show answer

λ‹€ 날씨 νƒ“μ΄μ—μš”.

7. Why is μΉœκ΅¬κ°€ μ•„ν”„λŠλΌκ³  λͺ» μ™”μ–΄μš” wrong?

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-느라고 needs a verb of effortful action and the same subject in both clauses; μ•„ν”„λ‹€ is an adjective and the subjects differ. Use μΉœκ΅¬κ°€ μ•„νŒŒμ„œ λͺ» μ™”μ–΄μš”.

8. Say "The reason I live in Seoul is my job."

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μ œκ°€ μ„œμšΈμ— μ‚¬λŠ” μ΄μœ λŠ” 직μž₯ λ•Œλ¬Έμ΄μ—μš”.

9. Which is polite for "Thanks to you, I'm doing well": 덕뢄에 잘 μ§€λ‚΄μš” or 탓에 잘 μ§€λ‚΄μš”?

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덕뢄에 잘 μ§€λ‚΄μš”. 탓 is for blame.

Coming up in Chapter 8: Contrast and Concession. You will learn -μ•„/어도, -더라도, -(으)ㄹ지라도, -(으)γ„΄/λŠ”λ°λ„, -κΈ°λŠ” ν•˜μ§€λ§Œ, -(으)γ„Ή 뿐만 μ•„λ‹ˆλΌ and -(으)γ„Ή 뿐, and the difference between "even if" and "although".