49. Korean Conjunctive Conjugations

Conjunctive Conjugations

Some Korean conjugations have only a conjunctive conjugation form. You can’t be use them alone. It must be attached to a verb or a noun. It doesn’t make any meaning alone.

– 때문에

Conjugation 때문에 is exactly same to English preposition ‘because of’ and ‘because’. It’s used to describe a reason with a noun or a phrase. 때문에 sounds slightly negative or neutral. Not always, but it sounds weird sometimes to use for a positive reason.

Actually this is a conjunctive adverb, not conjunctive conjugations.

쓰레기 때문에 냄새가 나요
It stinks because of garbage
= Because of

건강 때문에 먹는거예요
I eat this because of my health
= Because of

그 식당이 사라졌기 때문에 슬퍼요
I’m sad because the restaurant is gone
= Because
= 때문에 with a phrase sounds formal

-와 / -과 /

와 and 과 means ‘with’ or ‘and’. It can be used only with nouns or gerund phrases and links 2 different nouns as a conjunction ‘and’ or someone who accompanies as ‘with’. It sounds a bit formal.

It’s very different than English ‘with’ since it has only one of so many meanings that English ‘with’ has. It can be used for only who or what the subject is accompanied by.

와 follows a noun without a batchim at the end of word. 과 follows a noun with a batchim.

소금과 후추 주세요
Give me salt and pepper
Pass me salt and pepper
= And

준씨와 공원에 갔어요
I went to a park with Jun
= With + Person

나이와 함께 변하는 모습
The look that changes along with age
= With + Thing

Postpositions & Conjunctions

This is something you can see that Korean grammar doesn’t have conjunctions or prepositions that English has. Korean grammar has only one part of speech for both called 조사 (helping word, linguistically, it’s postposition). You have to try to forget about English parts of speech to understand Korean better.

Oh and markers are also 조사. Markers, particles, they all are English stuffs.

-랑 / -이랑

랑 and 이랑 are informal versions of 와/과. It can be translated as ‘and’ and ‘with’ in English.

랑 follows a noun without a batchim at the end of word. 이랑 follows a noun with a batchim.

소금이랑 후추 주세요
Give me salt and pepper
Pass me salt and pepper
= And

먹는 거랑 먹는 거
Eating and eating

준씨랑 공원에 갔어요
I went to a park with Jun
= With

-하고

하고 is also perfectly same to 와/과. It’s less formal than 와/과, more formal than 랑/이랑. Native Koreans still use it quite casually. 하고 is very similar to a short form of 그리고 with 하다 but they are different words. Check 그리고 in common postposition lesson and see how different it is.

사과하고 오렌지 주세요
Give me an apple and an orange
= Noun and noun

나탈리아씨하고 노래방에 갔어요
I went to a karaoke with Natalia
= With

-면서

Korean conjunction 면서 is used to describe 2 different actions or things that are happening at same time. It can be translated as ‘while’ or ‘and’. You will use 면서(while) a lot since you can’t use Korean ‘and(그리고)’ to describe ‘at same time’.

Do you remember Korean conjunction 면? It describes a conditional conjugation which means ‘when’ or ‘if’. 면서 is a combination of 2 postpositions 면 and 서.

저는 자면서 걸어다녀요
I walk while I’m sleeping
= While

문자하면서 TV 봐요
I’m texting and watching TV
= While

차 마시면서 친구랑 이야기하고 있어요
I’m having and talking to my friend
= While

Complex Conjunctive Conjugations

Korean grammar can combine even conjunctive conjugations to make new meanings. Seriously, they can combine anything LOL. Maybe I told you this so many times: Try not to memorize all conjugations without understanding. You can’t understand really what it means or how to use it by just memorizing words.

I know, it won’t be possible to use them when you speak Korean if you don’t memorize them. But you won’t be confused when you hear new complex conjunctions or postpositions as long as you understand how it works.

-려 is a prefix that describes a desire or an intention to do something or that something will happen in the future.

려 + 고 (Indirect quote)
비가 오려고 해요
It seems like it’ll rain

려 + 나 (Question oneself, Guess)
비가 오려나 봐요
I guess it will rain

려 + 면 (Conditional)
비를 멈추려면 치킨을 먹여야 돼요
We have to eat fried chicken to stop raining