How to use "When / If ... ~ (으) 면" in Korean Phrase

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The use of the "When/If... ~(으)면" construction in Korean grammar is used to provide an effective way to express a specific condition or time in a sentence. 

First, we can use "만약" before "~(으)면" to express "if". For example, "만약 비가 오면 집에 있을 거예요" which means "If it rains, I will be at home." 

Furthermore, we can replace "만약" with "언제", which means "when". For example, "언제 한국에 가면 저에게 알려 주세요" which means "When you go to Korea, please let me know." 

By mastering this construction, we can be more fluent and clear in expressing conditions or time in Korean.

(으) 면

Upon appending ~ (으) 면 to the conclusion of a verb/adjective, you can establish the sense of "when..." as you acquired in the previous lesson with ~ ㄹ / 을 때. ~ 으면 is employed with words ending in a consonant, while ~ 면 is employed with words ending in a vowel. The meaning closely resembles, if not entirely matches, that of ~ ㄹ / 을 때.

Examples:

> 라면을 먹으면 나는 주스를 보통 마시다

   (When/if I eat ramyeon, I usually drink juice)

> 컴퓨터가 고장 나면 과제를 수행할 수 없습니다

   (If my computer crashes, you won't be able to do your assignments)

Read Also: How to say 'when I' in Korean

Beyond denoting "when," (으) 면 can also function to express "if." This is due to the fact that in English, "When I..." and "If I..." might seem to convey distinct ideas. However, when we juxtapose these two sentences, we realize that their meanings are quite akin. 

Let's see the following!

1st phrase:

제가 이 수업을 설명한다

2nd phrase:

저는 학생들은 잠이 듭니다

Full phrases:

1st phrase + 2nd phrase

제가 이 수업을 설명을 하면 학생들은 잠이 듭니다.

From the example, we can see that the change occurs only in the verb in the first sentence.

Verbs:

설명한다 > 설명을 하면

공부하다 > 공부를 하면

In each example, the meanings are quite similar in English, and this is why the ending ~ (으) 면 can have both meanings in Korean. Other examples:

1. 슬픈 영화 를 보면 나는 보통 울어
    When / If I watch sad movies, I usually cry
2. 피곤 을 하면 나는 아주 푹 자요
    When / If I'm tired, I sleep very soundly

~ (으) 면 can also be added to adjectives and 이다 simply by adding it at the end of the adjective:

> 작가 가 되었을 때 솔직히 이야기 를 썼 어요 

   (If/ When I become a writer, I will write stories honestly)

Notice the use of 'will' in this example. In English, when something is not 100% certain in the future (usually begins with "if") we need to use the word "desire" to show this hypothetical situation. However, this is not done in Korean, and a simple future form is sufficient.

Read Also: The difference between 데 and 때

If… ~ ㄴ / 는다 면

If you want to convey the "if" specifically without the "when", you can simply add ~ ㄴ / 는다 면 to the verb/adjective. ~ 는다 면 is added to verbs which ends in a consonant. ~ ㄴ 다면 is appended right to the verb that ends in vowels. A convenient way to keep in mind how to add these words is to remember conjugations that end in moderate levels of formal politeness such as the following examples:

• 먹다 = 먹는다
• 초대 하다 = 초대 한다
• 지다 = 진다

All you need to do in order to add ~ ㄴ / 는다 to the verb is combine the verb in this present tense and add '다 면' to the end of the verb. Example:

먹다            > 먹 + 는다 면                > 먹는 다면 (eat)
초대 하다    > 초대 하 + ㄴ다 면      > 초대 한다면 (invite)
지다             > 지 + ㄴ다 면               > 진다면 (lose)
This can then replace the following:
1. 먹으면 ...
2. 초대 하면 ...
3. 지면 ...

… To explicitly express the meaning of "if" not "moment." For example:

> 네가 안 먹는 다면 아플 것 같아 

   (If you don't eat, you might be hungry)

만약 (에)

This word is often used in Korean society in this grammar, although it does not have a clear meaning in English. Let's take a look at the example below:

> (만약) 올 심히 연습 한다면 성공할 거야
   (If you try, you will succeed)

Adjectives ~ ㄴ / 는다 면

When you add ~ ㄴ / 는다 면 to adjectives, you have to remember how intermediate formal conjunctions work. So, we can't write this:
> 행복 한다
> 슬픈 다

On the other hand, the proper conjugation for an adjective (in this form) is not changing the original form:

> 행복 하다
> 슬프다

This has a close relationship with what we learn today. When adding ~ ㄴ / 는다 면 to adjectives, you really only need to add ~ 면 after the original form of each adjective.
Some examples:

> 제가 행복 하다면 일 을 더 잘 할 거에요 
   (If I am happy, I will work harder)
> 제가 슬프다 면 친구 를 만나지 않을 거에요
   (If I'm sad, I won't see my friends)

Don't and Do when you make a sentence with 는다면

If you want to add ~ ㄴ / 는다 면 to 이다, you need to do the following:
>  Add ~ 라면 to nouns that end with a vowel: 의사 라면
> Add ~ 이라면 to nous that ends with a consonant: 선생님 이라면

Example:

> 만약 제가 의사 라면 돈 을 많이 벌 것 같아요
    (If I were a doctor, I would make a lot of money)
> 만약 제가 선생님 이라면 학생들 에게 존경 을 받고 싶을 거에요
    (If I am a teacher, I want to be respected by students)

Also  Read: The Use of 'When I' in Korean Phrase

We have used "if" in the present tense in all of the examples so far in this lesson, but there was no mention of how to say it in the past tense or the future tense.

Saying "when" in Korean is possible, but not usual. Saying "if" automatically makes an assumption-and usually an assumption about the future. Therefore, in Korean, it is rare to conjugate "that" to the future. The same effect happens in English. For example:

• 내가 먹겠다 면 ...
• 내가 먹겠다 면… or
• 내가 먹을 거 라면… or technically:
• 내가 먹을 것이라면…

When this grammar is used in the future tense, the example above is an example. But frankly, you don't need to worry about the situations where you might need to use them... yet.

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