Complete Guide to TOPIK - Self Study Package BX0121

The Only Guide You Need to Pass TOPIK Test

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Learning grammar is one of the most difficult things for Korean language learners. On this blog we will try to help you learn Korean grammar in the quickest and easiest way possible. This blog will be helpful for those who are studying Korean language and want to improve their grammar skills.

Today we’ll see how to form sentences with grammar pattern “어서/아서 vs (으)니까 and (기) 때문에 " in Indirect speech with some example sentences. 

어서/아서 vs (으)니까 and (기) 때문에

1. 어/아서 - simply means because, so or therefore.

Used to express doing one action then a second action. It signifies that the action in the following clause happened after, but in connection with the action of the preceding clause.

어/아서 Is the short form of 그래서 which in the most literal sense has the meaning of because, so or therefore. They can be added after a verb or an adjective.

The rule to conjugate 어/아서 :

  • 아서 - used when the verb stem or adjective  ends with 오 or 아 then 아서 has to be used. 
  • 어서 - used when the verb stem or adjective ends with anything other than 오 or 아 then 어서 has to be used.
  • When combined with the verbs or adjectives ending with 하다, it makes 해서.

Some example sentences :

  • 너무 매워서 한국 음식은 못 먹어요. - I can't eat Korean food because it's too spicy.
  • 너무 더워서 집 밖에 안 나가요. - I don't go outside because it's so hot.
  • 집에 와서 잤어요. - I came home and slept.
  • 공원에 가서 책을 읽을 거예요. - l am going to go to the park and read a book.
  • 친구를 만나서 밥을 먹었어요. - I met a friend and we ate together.
  • 친구를 만나서 밥을 먹을 거예요. - l am going to meet a friend and we will eat together.

2. (으)니까 - has the meaning of " that's why "

(으)니까 also has the meaning of that's why which may sound similar to because or so (어/아서) that we learnt earlier.

The only difference is that it can be used to make a statement or may sound like you're giving excuses. To a native person it may sound just a tiny bit rude in some situations.

The rule to conjugate (으)니까 :

  • (으)니까 - used when the verb stem or adjective which ends with consonant. 
  • 니까 - used when the verb stem or adjective ends with a vowel.

Some example sentences :

  • 이번 달에 월급을 못 받았으니까 한번만 할인 좀 해주세요. - I didn't receive my salary this month so please give me a discount once. OR, Because I didn't receive my salary this month, please give me a discount once.
  • 금방 올테니까, 여기서 혼자 있어. - I'll be back soon so stay here. 
  • 그러니까 내 말 좀 들으세요. - So please listen to me. 

3. (기)때문에 - reason of~ something 

(기) 때문에 might sound similar as well. It slightly has the meaning of " thanks to " instead of because or so. 

It is mostly used to express positive remarks or sentences. 때문에 alone means " because of " which is used ONLY after noun.

The clause before 때문에 should be a noun form, so we add ~기 to the verb or adjective stem. 

The rule to conjugate (기) 때문에 :

  • (기) 때문에 - used irrespective of whether the verb stem or adjective ends with a vowel to consonant.
  • 때문에 - used only after noun irrespective of whether it ends with a vowel to consonant.

Some example sentences :

  • 비 왔기 때문에 오늘 날씨가 너무 좋네요. - The weather is so nice today because it rained.
  • 생일이니까 여기까지 왔기 때문에 너무 행복해.  - I'm so happy because it's my birthday and you came all the way here.
  • 중국 음식을 좋아하기 때문에 중국 음식을 먹었어요. - Because I like Chinese food, I ate Chinese food. 
  • 저는 시험을 못 봤기 때문에 대학교에 못가요. - Because I did badly on the test, I won't be able to go to university.
  • 비 때문에 안 갔어요. - I didn't go because of the rain.

Learning Korean can be tricky, especially when the goal of your learning is conversation. If you’ve ever attempted to speak Korean but were unable to, then hopefully you’ll find this post helpful.

Thank you for reading. If you have any questions or suggestions. Comment down below. 

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