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Grammar / Level 3 / Lesson 71

아/어 버리다, 고 말다, 아/어 놓다: finishing and leaving

By Daniel Buckley · 13 minute read · TOPIK 3

Vocabulary

  1. 버리다 - to throw away
  2. 놓다 - to put, to put down
  3. 두다 - to put, to keep
  4. 치우다 - to clear away
  5. 결국 - in the end
  6. 창문 - window
  7. 예약하다 - to book, to reserve
  8. 저장하다 - to save, to store
  9. 참다 - to hold back, to put up with
  10. 끊다 - to cut off, to hang up

You already know 잃어버리다, to lose. It's 잃다, also "to lose", with 버리다, "to throw away", stuck on the end. That second verb adds something 잃다 doesn't have: it's gone, and you're not getting it back.

Korean has a small family of verbs like this. They follow another verb and say how things stand once the action is over: gone for good, or left in place, ready for later. English does some of this with "up", "off" and "away", and Korean does it with a second verb.

아/어 버리다: over and gone

아/어 버리다 says the action is finished and there's no undoing it. That's the whole of the grammar. What the speaker feels about it comes from the situation, and it's usually regret or relief.

Making 아/어 버리다

  • Take the 해요 form, drop 요, and add 버리다.먹어요 → 먹어 버리다가요 → 가 버리다말해요 → 말해 버리다

Pick a verb

먹다먹어요먹어 버렸어요

  1. 친구가 제 케이크를 다 먹어 버렸어요.

    My friend went and ate all my cake.

  2. 버스가 벌써 가 버렸어요.

    The bus has already gone.

  3. 화가 나서 전화를 끊어 버렸어요.

    I got angry and just hung up.

  4. 숙제를 벌써 다 해 버렸어요.

    I've got my homework out of the way already.

  5. 오늘 안에 다 끝내 버릴게요.

    I'll get it all done with today.

Examples 1 and 2 sting, and examples 4 and 5 are a relief. The form is identical, so you read the feeling from what's being said and how. Example 3 could be either.

※ 잃어버리다 and 잊어버리다 have become single words, so they're written with no space. 잊어버렸어요 is the everyday way to say "I forgot".

고 말다: despite everything

말다 means to stop, the verb behind 지 마세요. ~고 말다 says something ran on to this end, in spite of what you hoped or tried. It's usually past, usually unwanted, and it often comes with 결국.

Making 고 말다

  • Add 고 말다 to the stem. Tense goes on 말다.울다 → 울고 말았어요먹다 → 먹고 말았어요

  1. 참으려고 했지만 결국 울고 말았어요.

    I tried to hold it in, but in the end I couldn't stop myself crying.

  2. 다이어트 중이었는데 치킨을 먹고 말았어요.

    I was on a diet, but I gave in and ate chicken.

  3. 열심히 뛰었지만 기차를 놓치고 말았어요.

    I ran hard, but I still missed the train.

  4. 조심했는데 컵을 깨고 말았어요.

    I was being careful, but I ended up breaking the cup.

What can 고 말다 add that 아/어 버리다 doesn't? 아/어 버리다 can be something you chose, as in 전화를 끊어 버렸어요. 고 말다 usually means you'd been trying not to, so 결국 전화를 끊고 말았어요 suggests you'd been holding back for a while.

※ With 겠, as in 고 말겠다, the same pattern turns into a vow: I will do this, whatever it takes. That one comes in Level 4.

아/어 놓다: done, and left that way

놓다 means to put down. 아/어 놓다 says do it, then leave the result where it is. Often that's preparation, with the thing done ahead of time. Sometimes it's only that the result is still there, like a light left on.

Making 아/어 놓다

  • Take the 해요 form, drop 요, and add 놓다.열어요 → 열어 놓다예약해요 → 예약해 놓다
  • In speech, 놓아 usually shrinks to 놔.열어 놓았어요 → 열어 놨어요열어 놓아요 → 열어 놔요

Pick a verb

열다열어요열어 놨어요

  1. 식당을 미리 예약해 놨어요.

    I've got the restaurant booked in advance.

  2. 창문을 열어 놨어요.

    I've left the window open.

  3. 저녁을 만들어 놓았어요.

    I've got dinner ready.

  4. 불을 켜 놓고 나갔어요.

    I went out and left the light on.

  5. 문을 닫아 놓으세요.

    Please keep the door closed.

Compare 아/어 있다. 창문이 열려 있어요 only describes the window. 창문을 열어 놨어요 says somebody opened it and left it that way, and it keeps the object.

아/어 두다: put away for later

두다 means to put something somewhere and keep it there. 아/어 두다 is very close to 아/어 놓다, and you can often swap them. 두다 leans more towards getting ready for something later, and 놓다 is probably the one you'll hear more in speech.

  1. 이 표현은 꼭 알아 두세요.

    Do keep this expression in mind.

  2. 중요한 파일은 꼭 저장해 두세요.

    Make sure you save important files.

  3. 여행 전에 돈을 좀 바꿔 두었어요.

    I got some money changed before the trip.

  4. 겨울옷은 상자에 넣어 두었어요.

    I put the winter clothes away in a box.

알아 두세요 and 기억해 두세요 are the usual forms for "keep this in mind". 놓다 has a use of its own, too: you can complain about a mess someone left. 동생이 방을 어질러 놨어요 says my sibling messed up the room and left it like that.

아/어 치우다: get rid of it

치우다 means to clear away. After another verb, it says you did the thing quickly and easily, and now it's out of the way. The tone is casual. Eating is the classic case, and 해치우다 is common enough to be one word.

  1. 냉장고에 있는 음식을 다 먹어 치웠어요.

    I polished off everything in the fridge.

  2. 안 입는 옷을 다 팔아 치웠어요.

    I sold off all the clothes I don't wear.

  3. 숙제를 빨리 해치우고 놀러 갔어요.

    I got my homework over with and went out.

ㄴ/은 채로: still like that

채 is a noun for the state something stays in. Put a verb in the past modifier in front of it and add 로, which is optional, and you're saying that state carried on while something else happened. It often marks a state you'd expect to have ended first, like sleeping in your clothes.

Making ㄴ/은 채로

  • The past modifier, then 채로. It goes on verbs.입다 → 입은 채로켜다 → 켠 채로열다 → 연 채로
  • 모르다 is the exception to learn, because it takes 는.모르다 → 모르는 채로

Pick a verb

입다입입은 채로

  1. 옷을 입은 채로 잤어요.

    I slept with my clothes on.

  2. 신발을 신은 채로 들어가면 안 돼요.

    You can't go in with your shoes on.

  3. 창문을 연 채로 나왔어요.

    I came out leaving the window open.

  4. 불을 켠 채 잠이 들었어요.

    I fell asleep with the light on.

  5. 아무것도 먹지 않은 채로 출근했어요.

    I went to work without eating anything.

옷을 입고 잤어요 is a neutral fact: I wore clothes to bed. 옷을 입은 채로 잤어요 suggests you'd normally have taken them off.

Telling them apart

  1. 손님이 오니까 방을 미리 ___.

    Guests are coming, so I've cleaned the room in advance.

  2. 참으려고 했지만 결국 ___.

    I tried to hold it in, but in the end I cried.

  3. 너무 피곤해서 옷을 ___ 잤어요.

    I was so tired that I slept with my clothes on.

  4. 이 단어는 중요하니까 꼭 ___.

    This word is important, so make sure you remember it.

  5. 배가 고파서 피자 한 판을 다 ___.

    I was hungry, so I polished off a whole pizza.

Listen and type

1 / 3

Play it as often as you like.

In a conversation

A

여행 준비 다 했어요?

Trip preparation all did?

B

네, 호텔도 예약해 놨어요.

Yes, hotel too booked and left it.

A

여권은요?

Passport?

B

가방에 넣어 뒀어요.

In bag put in and kept.

A

냉장고에 있는 음식은요?

In fridge food?

B

어제 다 먹어 치웠어요.

Yesterday all ate and cleared away.

A

그런데 왜 불을 켜 놓고 나왔어요?

But why light turned on and left came out?

Common mistakes

  1. 옷을 입는 채로 잤어요.

    옷을 입은 채로 잤어요.

    The state comes from an action that's already over, so 입다 takes the past modifier here.

  2. 결국 울었고 말았어요.

    결국 울고 말았어요.

    No 았/었 before 고 here. The tense goes on 말다.

  3. 창문이 열어 놨어요.

    창문을 열어 놨어요.

    열다 keeps its object in this pattern, so the window takes 을/를.

One sentence in each group is wrong. Tap it.

Check yourself

Quick check

1 / 6

버스가 벌써 ___. (가다, use 아/어 버리다, past) The bus has already gone.

가요 loses its 요.

Summary

아/어 버렸어요 forms
Dictionary해요아/어 버렸어요
먹다먹어요먹어 버렸어요
가다가요가 버렸어요
말하다말해요말해 버렸어요
끊다끊어요끊어 버렸어요
아/어 놨어요 forms
Dictionary해요아/어 놨어요
열다열어요열어 놨어요
만들다만들어요만들어 놨어요
예약하다예약해요예약해 놨어요
켜다켜요켜 놨어요

How it ends

  • 아/어 버리다: over and gone, with regret or relief.
  • 고 말다: it happened in spite of you.
  • 아/어 놓다: done and left that way.
  • 아/어 두다: done and kept for later.
  • 아/어 치우다: done fast and out of the way.
  • ㄴ/은 채로: the state carried on while something else happened.

Now you can say

  1. 버스가 벌써 가 버렸어요.

    The bus has already gone.

  2. 식당을 미리 예약해 놨어요.

    I've got the restaurant booked in advance.

  3. 옷을 입은 채로 잤어요.

    I slept with my clothes on.

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