한글
GuidesSign inGet started

Grammar / Level 3 / Lesson 87

ㄹ/을걸요 and 았/었어야 했다: guessing and regret

By Daniel Buckley · 12 minute read · TOPIK 3

Vocabulary

  1. 아마 - probably
  2. 미리 - in advance
  3. 예약하다 - to book
  4. 사과 - an apology
  5. 가져오다 - to bring
  6. 출발하다 - to set off
  7. 자리 - seat, a free table
  8. 막히다 - to be blocked, to be jammed
  9. 걱정 - worry

Halfway to work it starts to rain, and your umbrella is still at home. English has "I should have brought one". Korean has 우산을 가져올걸 그랬어요, and the odd thing about that 걸 is that with your voice going up instead, it's a guess: 아마 비가 올걸요, it'll probably rain, I think.

So one ending does both. I'd learn them as a pair, since the second half of this lesson builds on the same feeling: 았/었어야 했다 for what should have happened, and 았/었어도 되다 for what you needn't have done.

ㄹ/을걸요: I'd guess

ㄹ/을걸요 offers a guess and doesn't stand behind it. It's softer than ㄹ/을 거예요, and there's often a small disagreement in it: you've heard what the other person thinks, and you suspect otherwise. Your voice rises at the end.

Making ㄹ/을걸요

  • Stem ends in a vowel: ㄹ걸요.가다 → 갈걸요비싸다 → 비쌀걸요
  • Stem ends in a consonant: 을걸요.먹다 → 먹을걸요없다 → 없을걸요
  • Stem ends in ㄹ: it already has its ㄹ, so add 걸요.살다 → 살걸요
  • Past: 았/었을걸요.갔을걸요먹었을걸요
  • Nouns: 일걸요. The negative is 아닐걸요.학생 → 학생일걸요아니다 → 아닐걸요

Pick a verb

가다가갈걸요

  1. 아마 민수 씨는 안 올걸요.

    Minsu probably won't come.

  2. 그 식당은 오늘 쉴걸요.

    I think that restaurant's closed today.

  3. 이 시간에는 길이 막힐걸요.

    The roads will probably be jammed at this time.

  4. 그 가방 꽤 비쌀걸요.

    That bag's probably pretty expensive.

  5. 민수 씨는 벌써 갔을걸요.

    Minsu's probably already gone.

  6. 아마 학생일걸요.

    He's probably a student.

  7. 아닐걸요.

    I don't think so.

Example 7 is the one to keep. Someone says something you doubt, and 아닐걸요 lets you say so without arguing. In 반말 just drop the 요: 아닐걸.

ㄹ/을걸 그랬다: I wish I had

Regret is the same ending with your voice falling. On its own, ㄹ/을걸 is what you mutter to yourself, as in 더 먹을걸. To say it to someone else, add 그랬어요, the past of 그러다, "to do so". The whole thing means "I should have done that".

Making ㄹ/을걸 그랬다

  • The first verb stays as it is. Only 그랬어요 is in the past.가다 → 갈걸 그랬어요먹다 → 먹을걸 그랬어요
  • On its own, to yourself: no 그랬어요.갈걸먹을걸
  • "I shouldn't have": 지 말걸 그랬어요.가지 말걸 그랬어요먹지 말걸

Pick a verb

가다가갈걸 그랬어요

  1. 우산을 가져올걸 그랬어요.

    I should have brought an umbrella.

  2. 표를 미리 예약할걸 그랬어요.

    I should have booked tickets in advance.

  3. 그 말은 하지 말걸 그랬어요.

    I shouldn't have said that.

  4. 아, 아까 먹을걸.

    Ah, I should have eaten earlier.

  5. 이렇게 추운데 오지 말걸.

    It's freezing. I shouldn't have come.

The regret is usually yours, or yours and your friends'. It's about what you wish you had done, so it doesn't work well for blaming someone else. For that you need the next pattern.

  1. 내일은 더 추울걸요.

  2. 옷을 더 입을걸 그랬어요.

  3. 지금 가면 자리가 없을걸요.

  4. 아, 어제 올걸.

  5. 민수 씨는 아직 안 왔을걸요.

  6. 더 일찍 출발할걸 그랬어요.

았/었어야 했다: should have

아/어야 하다 says you must, and 가야 했어요 says you had to. Put 았/었 on the first verb as well and the meaning moves: 갔어야 했어요 says going was the right thing to do, and it didn't happen. English "should have" is a good match.

  1. 어제 병원에 가야 했어요.

    I had to go to the hospital yesterday.

  2. 어제 병원에 갔어야 했어요.

    I should have gone to the hospital yesterday.

Pick a verb

가다갔어요갔어야 했어요

  1. 더 일찍 출발했어야 했어요.

    We should have set off earlier.

  2. 미리 말했어야 했어요.

    You should have said something sooner.

  3. 민수 씨가 먼저 사과했어야 했어요.

    Minsu should have apologised first.

  4. 그때 더 열심히 공부했어야 했는데요.

    I should have studied harder back then.

  5. 그 일은 하지 말았어야 했어요.

    We shouldn't have done that.

Example 4 ends on ~는데요 and trails off, which is how this often sounds in real regret. Example 5 is the negative, and like the one above it uses 말다: 지 말았어야 했어요. You'll also hear 됐어요 in place of 했어요, just as with 아/어야 돼요.

So how does this differ from ㄹ/을걸 그랬다? That one is a wish, and it's usually about you. 았/었어야 했다 is a judgement that something was the right thing to do, so it can be about anyone, and it can sting.

Three ways to look back

  • ㄹ/을걸 그랬다: I wish I had. Personal, usually about yourself.갈걸 그랬어요.
  • 았/었어야 했다: that was the right thing to do, and it didn't happen. About anyone.갔어야 했어요.
  • 아/어야 했다: it was necessary. Nothing says it failed to happen.가야 했어요.

  1. 민수 씨, 어제 회의에 ___. 다들 기다렸어요.

    Minsu, you should have come to the meeting yesterday. Everyone was waiting.

  2. 아까 ___. 지금 너무 배고파요.

    I wish I'd eaten earlier. I'm starving now.

  3. 지난주에는 일이 많아서 주말에도 ___.

    There was a lot of work last week, so I had to work at the weekend too.

Listen and type

1 / 3

Play it as often as you like.

았/었어도 되다: needn't have

아/어도 되다 gives permission. Put 았/었 on the first verb and 되다 in the past, and the permission is for something already over: that would have been fine. It usually ends in 됐어요 or 됐는데요.

With 안, it's "you didn't need to", and that's probably where you'll hear it most. Someone brings a gift or goes to some trouble, and this is how you say so kindly. Without 안, it's "you could have".

Pick a verb

가다갔어요갔어도 됐어요

  1. 이렇게 많이 안 샀어도 됐는데요.

    You didn't need to buy this much.

  2. 선물은 안 가져왔어도 됐어요.

    You needn't have brought a present.

  3. 걱정 안 했어도 됐는데요.

    You needn't have worried.

  4. 더 잤어도 됐어요.

    You could have slept longer.

  5. 그냥 전화했어도 됐는데요.

    You could have just called.

※ You'll hear this without the first 았/었 too, and to my ear just as often: 안 사도 됐는데요, with little or no change in meaning.

In a conversation

A

지금 가면 자리가 있을까요?

If go now, will seat exist?

B

아마 없을걸요. 주말이잖아요.

Probably won't exist, I'd guess. It's the weekend, you know.

A

아, 미리 예약할걸 그랬어요.

Ah, in advance should have booked.

B

네, 어제 했어야 했어요. 그래도 괜찮아요. 제가 커피를 사 왔어요.

Yes, yesterday should have done. Still it's fine. I bought and brought coffee.

A

어, 안 사 왔어도 됐는데요. 고마워요.

Oh, not bought and brought would have been fine. Thanks.

Common mistakes

  1. 어제 병원에 가야 해요.

    어제 병원에 갔어야 했어요.

    어제 can't go with a present "must". "Should have" takes 았/었 on both verbs.

  2. 아, 우산을 가져왔을걸요.

    아, 우산을 가져올걸 그랬어요.

    왔을걸요 is a past guess: "I think they'll have brought one". For regret, the first verb stays as it is.

  3. 아마 학생일 걸요.

    아마 학생일걸요.

    It's one ending, so there's no space. 걸 with a space is 것을: 먹을 걸 샀어요, I bought something to eat.

Check yourself

Quick check

1 / 6

아마 민수 씨는 안 ___. (오다, use ㄹ/을걸요) Minsu probably won't come.

A guess, with your voice going up.

Summary

ㄹ/을걸요 forms
DictionaryStemㄹ/을걸요
가다가갈걸요
먹다먹먹을걸요
살다살살걸요
듣다듣들을걸요
춥다춥추울걸요
았/었어야 했어요 forms
DictionaryPast았/었어야 했어요
가다갔어요갔어야 했어요
먹다먹었어요먹었어야 했어요
하다했어요했어야 했어요
듣다들었어요들었어야 했어요

Guessing and looking back

  • ㄹ/을걸요, voice rising: I'd guess, though I'm not sure.
  • ㄹ/을걸 그랬어요, voice falling: I wish I had. Alone, ㄹ/을걸 is said to yourself.
  • 았/었어야 했어요: that should have happened.
  • 았/었어도 됐어요: that would have been fine. With 안, you needn't have.

Now you can say

  1. 아닐걸요.

    I don't think so.

  2. 표를 미리 예약할걸 그랬어요.

    I should have booked tickets in advance.

  3. 이렇게 많이 안 샀어도 됐는데요.

    You didn't need to buy this much.

Sign in to keep track of the lessons you've finished.