LEARN + KOREAN / 95 of 125 TOPIK II

Back Then, Should Have -걸 그랬다

You used to live near a good friend, but now you rarely meet. Looking back can simply mark a past situation as separate from now, or turn into regret about what you should have done.

A Past Situation Set Apart From Now

Build -았었/었었- from the past form plus another 었: 살았었어요, 배웠었어요, 했었어요. It often presents a former situation that no longer holds, or a past episode viewed as separate from the present. Ordinary -았/었- remains enough for many past statements.

yejeoneneun busane sarasseosseoyo.

I used to live in Busan.

eoryeosseul ttaeneun maeun eumsigeul mot meogeosseosseoyo.

When I was young, I couldn’t eat spicy food.

Regret a Choice

Use -ㄹ걸 그랬다 after a vowel or ㄹ and -을걸 그랬다 after another consonant: 갈걸 그랬어요, 먹을걸 그랬어요. For regretting something you did, use -지 말걸 그랬어요. The usual subject is the speaker looking back on their own choice.

chinguege meonjeo yeollakhalgeol geuraesseoyo.

I should have contacted my friend first.

geureon mareul haji malgeol geuraesseoyo.

I shouldn’t have said that.

Hint · 힌트

Write 연락할걸 as one word in this regret ending, with a space before 그랬어요. It is a missed better choice, rather than an obligation that still lies ahead.

Vocabulary

Korean	English
예전 yejeon	the past
어리다 eorida	to be young
먼저 meonjeo	first
연락하다 yeollakhada	to contact
후회하다 huhoehada	to regret
그런 말 geureon mal	that kind of remark
지금 jigeum	now
처음 cheoeum	the beginning
나중 najung	later
요즘 yojeum	these days
자라다 jarada	to grow up
변하다 byeonhada	to change
달라지다 dallajida	to change or become different
기억 gieok	memory
추억 chueok	recollection
경험 gyeongheom	experience
실수 silsu	mistake
아쉽다 aswipda	to feel regret or disappointment
기회 gihoe	opportunity
놓치다 nochida	to miss

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