Conjunctions - Because [때문에]

Conjunctions - Because [때문에; 왜냐하면, 때문이다]

때문에 is more frequently used in written Korean and ~서 is favoured in spoken Korean because of its brevity.

Rules  

Take 다 off a plain form and past tenses of verbs and adjectives and then attach 기 때문에. (But NOT a present tense of verbs ie. 한다 → 한기 때문에 is wrong! 하다 → 하기 때문에 is right!)  

• 하다 → 하기 때문에 = Because I do
  
• 가다 → 가기 때문에 = Because I go
• 사다 → 사기 때문에 = Because I buy
• 보다 → 보기 때문에 = Because I see
• 먹기 → 먹기 때문에 = Because I eat
• 좋아하다 → 좋아하기 때문에 = Because I like
  
• 했다 → 했기 때문에 = Because I did
• 갔다 → 갔기 때문에 = Because I went
• 먹었다 → 먹었기 때문에 = Because I ate
• 크다 → 크기 때문에 = Because it's big
• 작다 → 작기 때문에 = Because it's small
• 덥다 → 덥기 때문에 = Because it's hot
• 춥다 → 춥기 때문에 = Because it's cold
  
• 많다 → 많기 때문에 = Because there is a lot 
• 길다 → 길기 때문에 = Because it's long
• 맛있다 → 맛있기 때문에 = Because it's delicious 
• 높았다 → 높았기 때문에 = Because it was high 
  
• 예뻤다 → 예뻤기 때문에 = Because it was pretty
  
• 빨랐다 → 빨랐기 때문에 = Because it was fast
• 강했다 → 강했기 때문에 = Because it was strong

Example sentences 
- Compare and contrast 때문에 and ~서.

• 중국음식을 좋아하기 때문에 중국음식을 먹었다. = Because I like Chinese food, I ate Chinese food. (Written Korean)
• 중국음식 좋아하기 때문에 중국음식 먹었어요. = Because I like Chinese food, I ate Chinese food. (Spoken Korean)
• 중국음식 좋아해서 중국음식 먹었어요 = Because I like Chinese food, I ate Chinese food. (Spoken Korean) Conjunctions - Because, So
• 아침 일찍 학교를 가기 때문에 일찍 일어났다. = Because I go to school early in the morning, I got up early.
• 아침 일찍 학교 가서 일찍 일어났어요 = Because I go to school early in the morning, I got up early.
• 겨울에는 춥기 때문에 사람들은 따뜻한 옷을 입는다. = Because the winter is cold, people wear warm clothes.
• 겨울엔 추워서 사람들은 따뜻한 옷을 입어요 = Because the winter is cold, people wear warm clothes.
• 인터넷에는 잘못된 정보가 많기 때문에 무엇을 읽는지 조심해야 한다. = Because on the internet, there is a lot of false information, we should be careful about what we read.
• 인터넷엔 잘못된 정보가 많아서 뭘 읽는지 조심해야 되요. = Because on the internet, there is a lot of false information, we should be careful about what we read

Note: The object particle, 를/을, is omitted and some words are abbreviated in the spoken form. For example,

• 에는 →엔
• 무엇을 → 무얼 → 뭘
  

Although it is less commonly used, a sentence containing two clauses can be divided into two sentences using 왜냐하면 and 때문이다. 왜냐하면 is attached to the front of a second clause and 때문이다 replaces 때문에.

• 중국음식을 먹었다. 왜냐하면 중국음식을 좋아하기 때문이다. = I ate Chinese food because I like Chinese food.
• 중국음식 먹었어요. (왜냐면) 중국음식 좋아해서요. = I ate Chinese food because I like Chinese food.
• 일찍 일어났다. 왜냐하면 아침 일찍 학교를 가기 때문이다. = I got up early because I go to school early in the morning.
• 일찍 일어났어요. (왜냐면) 아침 일찍 학교 가서요. = I got up early because I go to school early in the morning.

Note:

왜냐하면 is abbreviated to 왜냐면 or it is altogether omitted in spoken Korean.

때문에 is mainly used in literature and the news reporters use it often. However, people still use 때문에 occasionally in conversations instead of ~서, especially when one wants to explain and reason.

Conjunctions - While

Conjunctions - While [~며/~(으)면서]

~며 form is more frequently used in written Korean while ~면서 is more frequently used in spoken Korean.

Rules

1. Take 다 off a plain form of verbs with no final consonant and add 며/면서 to it.

• 하다 → 하며/하면서 = while doing
  
• 가다 → 가며/가면서 = while going
  
• 주다 → 주며/주면서 = while giving
  
• 사다 → 사며/사면서 = while buying
  
• 보다 → 보며/보면서 = while watching
  
• 말하다 → 말하며/말하면서 = while speaking
• 마시다 → 마시며/마시면서 = while drinking
• 자다 → 자며/자면서 = while sleeping
  

2. Take 다 off a plain form of verbs with a final consonant and add 으며/으면서 to it.

• 먹다 → 먹으며/먹으면서 = while eating
• 받다 → 받으며/받으면서 = while receiving
• 찾다 → 찾으며/찾으면서 = while looking for
  
• 읽다 → 읽으며/읽으면서 = while reading

Exceptions

• 걷다 → 걸으며/걸으면서 = while walking
• 듣다 → 들으며/들으면서 = while listening

Example sentences

Written Korean

• 나는 운동을 하며/하면서 매트릭스를 봤다. = While doing exercise, I watched Matrix.
  
• 나는 노래를 들으며/들으면서 지리 공부를 했다. = While listening to music, I studied geography.
  
• 호머는 자며/자면서 코를 골았다. = While sleeping, Homer snored.
• 민지는 스타벅스에서 잡지를 읽으며/읽으면서 커피를 마셨다. = At Starbucks, while reading a magazine, Minji drank coffee.
  
• 준호는 차를 타고 회사를 가며/가면서 라디오를 들었다.  = While going to work by car, Junho listened to radio.

Spoken Korean

• 운동 하면서 매트릭스 봤어. = While doing exercise, I watched Matrix
• 노래 들으면서 지리 공부 했어. = While listening to music, I studied geography.
• (호머는) 자면서 코 골았어. = While sleeping, Homer snored.
• (민지는) 스타벅스에서 잡지 읽으면서 커피 마셨어. = At Starbucks, while reading a magazine, Minji drank coffee.
• (준호는) 차 타고 회사 가면서 라디오 들었어. = While going to work by car, Junho listened to radio.

매트릭스 = Matrix (The movie)
노래 = music, song
지리 = geography
호머 = Homer (a male name as in Simpsons)
민지 = Minji (a female name)
스타벅스 = Starbucks
잡지 = magazine
커피 = coffee
회사 = work, company
라디오 = radio
준호 = Junho (a male name)


Note:

The spoken Korean usually omits a subject because it is usually understood by the speakers as to who they are talking about. For example, if I were talking about myself, I wouldn't need to use 나는 to say something about me because it is assumed that I am talking about me.

Likewise, the third person subjects like 호머는 and 민지는 can also be omitted when a person being talked about is already known by people having a conversation.

The object particle, 를/을, is omitted in spoken Korean.

Conjunctions - When

Conjunctions - When [~을 때] 

● Rules

First, take 다 off a plain form of verbs(Verbs - Present/Past) then:


1. Add ~을 때 to verbs with a final consonant

• 먹다 → 먹을 때 = when I eat
• 앉다 → 앉을 때 = when I sit
• 믿다 → 믿을 때 = when I believe
• 죽다 → 죽을 때 = when I die

2. Add ~ㄹ 때 to verbs without a final consonant.

• 가다 → 갈 때 = when I go
• 오다 → 올 때 = when I come
• 자다 → 잘 때 = when I sleep
• 사다 → 살 때 = when I buy

3. Add ~때 to verbs with ㄹ as a final consonant

• 팔다 → 팔 때 = when I sell
• 살다 → 살 때 = when I live
• 놀다 → 놀 때 = when I play (muck around)

Eg.

• 저녁 먹을 때 비가 왔다. = When we were eating dinner, the rain came.
  
• 의자에 앉을 때 조심하세요. = When you sit on the chair, be careful.
  
• 병사는 죽을 때 한 마디를 남겼다. = When the soldier was dying, he left a message.
  

• 학교 갈 때 차로 간다. = When I go to school, I go by car.
  
• 집에 올 때 친구 집에 들린다. = When I come home, I visit my friend's house.
• 우리는 잘 때 꿈을 꾼다. = When we sleep, we dream.
  
• 사람들은 먹을 것을 살 때 슈퍼마켓으로 간다= When people buy food, they go to a supermarket.

 ● Take 다 off and add ~을 때 to the past tense of verbs 

• 먹었다 → 먹었을 때 = when I ate
• 앉았다 → 앉았을 때 = when I sat
• 믿었다 → 믿었을 때 = when I believed
• 죽었다 → 죽었을 때 = when I died

• 팔았다 → 팔았을 때 = when I sold
• 살았다 → 살았을 때 = when I lived
• 놀았다 → 놀았을 때 = when I played (mucked around)

Eg.

• 시카고에 살았을 때 영어를 배웠다. = When I lived in Chicago, I learned English.
  
• 밖에서 놀았을 때, 날씨가 좋았다 = When we played outside, the weather was good.
  

Note:  

• 저녁 먹을 때 비가 왔다. = When we were eating dinner, the rain came.
• 저녁 먹었을 때 비가 왔다. = When we were eating dinner, the rain came.

Both 먹을 때 or 먹었을 때 can be used and they mean the same thing. This is because the final verb, 왔다, determines the tense of a sentence. The former is a more casual form than the latter. 

Conjunctions - But, Although

그러나 [But]

그러나 can only be used between sentences.

Book = 책
Banana = 바나나
read = 읽다
want to read = 읽고 싶다
wanted to read = 읽고 싶었다 (Verbs - Want)
sleep = 자다 slept = 잤다
like = 좋다 (plain)
like = 좋아한다 (present) (Verbs - Present/Past)

Eg. 

• 책을 읽고 싶었다. 그러나 잤다. [I wanted to read a book. But I slept.]
  
• 바나나는 맛있다. 그러나 나는 좋아하지 않는다. [Banana is delicious. But I don't like it]

The two sentences are linked by 그러나 but they are still separate.


~데/~지만 [But, Although]

To link two or more sentences into one sentence, ~데 or ~지만 are used.

● For verbs, add 데 to Verbs - Descriptive I
● For adjectives, add 데 to Adjectives - Descriptive

Eg.

• 쓰는 → 쓰는데 = write but / although I write
  
• 글씨는 쓰는데, 읽을 수 없다 = I write words but I cannot read / Although I write, I cannot read

• 사는 → 사는데 = live but / although it lives
  
• 물에서는 사는데, 땅에서는 못 산다 = It lives in the water but it cannot live on the ground / Although it lives in the water, it cannot live on the ground

• 어려운 → 어려운데 = difficult but / although it's difficult
  
• 외국어는 배우기 어려운데 재미있다 = A foreign language is difficult to learn but it's interesting / Although a foreign language is difficult to learn, it's interesting.

● For verbs and adjectives, add 지만 to a plain form without 다.

Eg. 

• 쓰다 → 쓰지만 = write but / although I write
  
• 글씨는 쓰지만, 읽을 수 없다 = I write words but I cannot read

• 살다 → 살지만 = live but / although it lives
  
• 물에서는 살지만, 땅에서는 못 산다 = It lives in the water but it cannot live on the ground

• 어렵다 → 어렵지만 = difficult but / although it's difficult
  
• 외국어는 배우기 어렵지만 재미있다 = A foreign language is difficult to learn but it's interesting.
  

Conjunctions - Because, So

Conjunctions - Because and So [~서]

~서 has many usages and "because and so" is one of them.  

Rules

● Add 서 to a spoken form of the present tense of verbs or adjectives. (Adjectives - Present/Past, Verbs - Present/Past)

• 해 → 해서 = Because (I) do /   (I) do and so
  
• 가서 → 가서 = Because (you) go / (you) go and so
• 떠나 → 떠나서 = Because (you) leave / (you) leave and so
• 좋아 → 좋아서 = Because (I) like / (I) like and so
• 먹어 → 먹어서 = Because (you) eat / (you) eat and so
• 잡아 → 잡아서 = Because (I) catch / (I) catch and so
• 빨라 → 빨라서 = Because (he's) fast / (he's) fast and so
• 높아 → 높아서 = Because (it's) high / (it's) high and so
• 작아 → 작아서 = Because (she's) small / (she's) small and so
• 커 → 커서 = Because (it's) big / (it's) big and so

Example Sentences

• 농구를 해서 키가 크다 
• = Because I play basketball, I'm tall. 
• = I play basketball and so I'm tall.

• 한국에 가서 지금 미국에 없다 
• = Because he's gone to Korea, now he's not in America.
• = He's gone to Korea and so he's not in America.

• 나무는 커서 좋다 
• = Because a tree is big, I like it.
• = A tree is big and so I like it.

• 과학이 좋아서 대학에 갔다 
• = Because I like science, I went to college.
• = I like science and so I went to college.

• 빌딩이 높아서 엘리베이터를 사용해야 한다 
• = Because the building is high, we have to use an elevator.
• = The building is high and so we have to use an elevator.

농구 = basketball
한국 = Korea
미국 = America
나무 = tree
과학 = science
대학 = college/university
빌딩 = building
엘리베이터 = elevator


Conjunctions - So [그래서]

A sentence containing ~서 can be divided into two separate sentences and 그래서 is used to link them.

Example sentences

• 농구를 한다. 그래서 키가 크다. = I play basketball. So I'm tall.
• 한국에 갔다. 그래서 지금 미국에 없다. = He's gone to Korea. So he's not in America.
• 나무는 크다. 그래서 좋다. = A tree is big. So I like it.
• 과학이 좋다. 그래서 대학에 갔다. = I like science. So I went to college.
• 빌딩이 높다. 그래서 엘리베이터를 사용해야 한다. = The building is high. So we have to use an elevator.

Conjunctions - If/Once [~면/으면]

~면/으면 is used after a verb and the clause containing ~면 must always come first and its meaning is "if/once I do such and such."

Rules

1. Take 다 off a plain verb and add 면 to it.

• 하다 → 하면 = If/Once (I) do
• 가다 → 가면 = If/Once (you) go
• 던지다 → 던지면 = If/Once (you) throw

2. Take 다 off a verb with a final consonant and add 으면 to it.

• 좋다 → 좋으면 = If/Once (I) like
• 먹다 → 먹으면 = If/Once (you) eat
• 잡다 → 잡으면 = If/Once (I) catch

Eg.

• 학교에 가면 공부 할 수 있다 = If/Once I go to school, I can study.
• 의대에 가면 의사가 될 수 있다 = If/Once you go to med school, you can become a doctor.
• 책을 가져오면 읽어 줄게 = If/Once you bring (me) a book, I will read (it) to you.

학교 = school
할 수 있다 = can do
의대 = med school
의사 = doctor
될 수 있다 = can become
책 = book
가져오다 = bring
읽다 = read

Conjunctions - And

그리고 [and]

그리고 can only be used between sentences.

Yesterday = 어제
Book = 책
Banana = 바나나
read = 읽다
read[past] = 읽었다
sleep = 자다 slept = 잤다 

Eg. 

• 어제 책을 읽었다. 그리고 잤다. [Yesterday, read book. And slept.]
• 바나나는 맛있다. 그리고 달다. [Banana is delicious. And sweet.]

The two sentences are linked by 그리고 but they are still separate. To link two or more sentences into one sentence, please refer to Verbs - Connective.

와/과 ['and' for nouns]

와/과 is used for nouns. Use 와 after nouns without a final consonant, and 과 for nouns with a final consonant. 과/와 is only used to join nouns. 

Eg. 

• 바다와 산 = Sea and Mountain
• 너와 나 = You and I
• 밥과 빵 = rice and bread
• 책과 연필과 종이 = book, pencil and paper