How to Say "because of" in Korean.
The concept of "Because" or "Therefore" in Korean finds its expression through the term "왜냐하면" (waenyahamyeon). This linguistic construct is frequently employed to introduce the rationale or causality behind a specific circumstance or action.
To illustrate its application, let's explore a practical example:
> 비가 왔어요 왜냐하면 집에 있었어요
(I stayed home because it was raining)
In this example, "왜냐하면" is used to explain the reason for staying at home, which is "because it was raining."
Bear in mind that the structure of Korean sentences can deviate from English, leading to potential changes in word order. However, it's noteworthy that "왜냐하면" is rarely utilized in the same grammatical context as "because" in Korean. Instead, "왜냐하면" serves as a valuable tool to articulate causality and reasons in conversational Korean
This grammar principle is ~ 아 / 어서, which is added to the verb/adjective in one of the clauses to connect it to the future clause. We will talk about this principle in this lesson.
Because / Therefore
To make the meaning of "because" in Korean sentences, we need to add ~ 아 / 어서 to the verb or adjective. We should know by now that ~ 아서 is added to words where the last letter is a vowel, and ~ 어서 is added to words where the last word is a consonant.
> 저는 김밥 를 먹고 싶어요
(I want to eat kimbab)
> 저는 배고파요
(I am hungry)
Read Also: How to say "try to"
The first clause is the cause of why the second clause happened. It indicates by adding ~ 아 / 어서 between the two clauses so we can create a meaning of "because".
Rules :
[First clause + 아/어서] + [second clause]
*아/어서 will be added to the verb in the first clause
Example:
[그녀가 결혼식에 초대받아서] [제주에 가야 해]
[She has been invited to a wedding so] [she has to go to Jeju]
*We've learned the necessity of appending ~ 이 / 가 to the subject of each clause (Lesson 8) that doesn't hold the main clause status within a sentence.
A. ~ 아 / 어서 in Past Tense (Past Tense)
To change a present tense causal sentence to past tense, all we need to do is change the verb in the second sentence by adding 었다/았다. Consider the following examples:
[그녀가 결혼식에 초대받아서] [제주에 가야 해]
[She has been invited to a wedding so] [she has to go to Jeju]
> Second Clause in present tense
제주에 가야 해
> Second Clause in past tense
제주에 가야했어
> Full sentence:
그녀가 결혼식에 초대받아서 제주에 가야 했어
(She was invited to a wedding so she had to go to Jeju)
Read Also: Korea Grammar
B. ~ 아 / 어서 in Future Tense
This grammar describes an action that should be taken under certain conditions, i.e. when something is about to happen. This sentence uses the ~ 아 / 어서 construction to express a cause or reason followed by the recommended action as in present and past tense sentences
1. 비가 오면 집에 간다
When it rains, I go home
2. 우산을 가져올게요
I will get an umbrella
3. 비가 오면 집에 가서 우산을 가져올게요
If it's raining, I'll go home and get an umbrella
The provided sentences possess equal meanings. When we interpose "because" between two clauses, the outcome is as follows:
오늘은 캐나다에 [갈것이다(~아/어서)] 저는 집을 청소할것이다 > 오늘은 캐나다 [갈거여서] 저는 집을 청소할것이다
(I'm cleaning the house [because I'm going] to Canada today)
However, when a 것 appears in a sentence, we can abbreviate it to 거. For this grammar, the compositional rule is "것이다 + 아 / 아서," forming "것이어서" or "거 여서" (remember, 이어서 is added when a word ends in a consonant, while 여서 is used when a word concludes with a vowel). Beyond fusing ~이어서 or ~여서, we can also utilize ~ 이라 (서) or ~ 라 (서).
Example:
1. First Clause > 할인이 많을 것이다
(there will be a big discount)
2. Second Clause > 그 가게 에 가고 싶어요
(I want to go to that store)
Complete sentence:
[할인이 많을 거라서] [그 가게 에 가고 싶어요]
[I went to that store because] [there will be many discounts]
Comments
Post a Comment