곤 하다, 기 마련이다 and 는 법이다: habits and inevitability
By Daniel Buckley · 9 minute read · TOPIK 4
Vocabulary
- 가끔 - sometimes
- 실수 - a mistake
- 지나다 - to pass (of time)
- 잊다 - to forget
- 거짓말 - a lie
- 들키다 - to get found out
- 노력하다 - to make an effort
- 공짜 - something free
- 세상 - the world
- 긴장하다 - to be nervous
- 발표 - presentation
A friend has just made a mistake at work and feels awful. 누구나 실수해요 is true, but it's only a fact. 누구나 실수하기 마련이에요 is what you'd say to them: everyone's bound to, that's how it goes.
Two of the forms here say how the world keeps going, and one says what a person kept doing. They're together because they're all about things that happen again and again. All three sound a step more reflective than a plain sentence.
곤 하다: what kept happening
곤 하다 is a short form of 고는 하다. It says something happened again and again, and it's usually in the past, looking back on a stretch of life. English says "would" or "used to".
Making 곤 하다
- Verbs: drop 다, add 곤 했어요, or 곤 해요 for now.가다 → 가곤 했어요듣다 → 듣곤 해요
Pick a verb
가다가가곤 했어요
어렸을 때 할머니 집에 자주 가곤 했어요.
As a kid I used to go to my grandmother's a lot.
학생 때는 친구들과 밤새 이야기하곤 했어요.
When I was a student, my friends and I would talk all night.
비가 오면 창밖을 보곤 했어요.
When it rained, I would look out of the window.
요즘도 가끔 그 노래를 듣곤 해요.
I still listen to that song now and then.
주말이면 혼자 산에 가곤 해요.
At weekends I'll often go up a mountain on my own.
It wants actions that come and go. It doesn't suit one-off events, and it doesn't normally go on adjectives, since a state like being short isn't something you do repeatedly. For a fixed everyday routine, a plain sentence usually sounds better: 매일 학교에 가요.
Set it next to the forms from the finer past. 았/었었 says something is over and doesn't say it repeated. 곤 했다 says it repeated and doesn't stress that it's over. Before a noun, 던 can carry the same idea, as in 자주 가던 식당.
기 마련이다: it's bound to happen
기 마련이다 says this is simply how things go, so don't be surprised. It states a general truth and not a forecast. Verbs and adjectives both take it, and you may also see 게 마련이다, which means the same.
Making 기 마련이다
- Verbs and adjectives: drop 다, add 기 마련이에요.잊다 → 잊기 마련이에요어렵다 → 어렵기 마련이에요
Pick a verb
잊다잊잊기 마련이에요
시간이 지나면 잊기 마련이에요.
Given time, you're bound to forget.
누구나 실수를 하기 마련이에요.
Everyone's bound to make mistakes.
처음에는 다 어렵기 마련이에요.
Everything's bound to be hard at first.
거짓말은 언젠가 들키기 마련이에요.
Lies always come out in the end.
사람은 나이가 들면 변하기 마련이에요.
People are bound to change as they get older.
You'll often hear it as comfort: don't feel bad, it happens to everyone. It doesn't work for one particular event. 내일 비가 오기 마련이에요 is wrong, because tomorrow's weather isn't a law of nature, and that's what ㄹ/을 거예요 is for.
는 법이다: that's the way of the world
법 means law, and 는 법이다 states a law of life. It's very close to 기 마련이다, and in many sentences you could swap them. To me it sounds weightier, though, more like a proverb or something an older relative tells you.
Making 는 법이다
- Verbs, 있다 and 없다: 는 법이에요.먹다 → 먹는 법이에요없다 → 없는 법이에요
- Adjectives: ㄴ/은 법이에요.비싸다 → 비싼 법이에요어렵다 → 어려운 법이에요
Pick a verb
가다가가는 법이에요
Pick a verb
비싸다비싸비싼 법이에요
노력하면 결국 좋아지는 법이에요.
If you put in the effort, things always get better in the end.
세상에 공짜는 없는 법이에요.
There's no such thing as a free lunch.
부모는 자식을 걱정하는 법이에요.
Parents always worry about their children.
좋은 약은 입에 쓴 법이에요.
Good medicine always tastes bitter.
처음에는 다 어려운 법이에요.
Everything's always hard at first.
※ Don't confuse this with 법 meaning "how to": 김치 만드는 법 is how to make kimchi. And 는 법이 없다 means something never happens: 민수 씨는 늦는 법이 없어요, Minsu is never late.
어렸을 때 아버지와 자주 낚시를 ___.
When I was a kid, I'd often go fishing with my father.
시험 전에는 누구나 ___.
Everyone's bound to get nervous before an exam.
내일은 비가 ___.
It'll probably rain tomorrow.
어렸을 때 저는 키가 ___.
I was short as a kid.
Listen and type
1 / 3
Play it as often as you like.
In a conversation
- A
오늘 발표에서 실수를 너무 많이 했어요.
Today in presentation mistakes too many made.
- B
괜찮아요. 처음에는 누구나 긴장하기 마련이에요.
It's fine. At first everyone is bound to be nervous.
- A
저는 학생 때도 발표 전에 울곤 했어요.
I, student time also, before presentation would cry.
- B
정말요? 저는 화장실에 숨곤 했어요.
Really? I in bathroom would hide.
- A
언제쯤 괜찮아질까요?
Around when will become OK?
- B
자주 하다 보면 좋아지는 법이에요.
If you keep doing it often, it's the way that it gets better.
Common mistakes
어렸을 때 키가 작곤 했어요.
어렸을 때 키가 작았어요.
곤 하다 needs something that repeats. A lasting state takes the plain past.
내일 비가 오기 마련이에요.
내일 비가 올 거예요.
기 마련이다 states a general truth, so it doesn't fit one particular day.
처음에는 어렵는 법이에요.
처음에는 어려운 법이에요.
어렵다 is an adjective, so it takes ㄴ/은, not 는.
One sentence in each group is wrong. Tap it.
Check yourself
Quick check
1 / 6
어렸을 때 바다에 자주 ___. (가다, use 곤 하다, past) As a kid I used to go to the beach a lot.
Straight on the stem.
Summary
| Dictionary | Stem | 곤 했어요 |
|---|---|---|
| 가다 | 가 | 가곤 했어요 |
| 먹다 | 먹 | 먹곤 했어요 |
| 듣다 | 듣 | 듣곤 했어요 |
| 만들다 | 만들 | 만들곤 했어요 |
| Dictionary | Stem | 기 마련이에요 |
|---|---|---|
| 잊다 | 잊 | 잊기 마련이에요 |
| 하다 | 하 | 하기 마련이에요 |
| 어렵다 | 어렵 | 어렵기 마련이에요 |
| 있다 | 있 | 있기 마련이에요 |
| Dictionary | Stem | 는 법이에요 |
|---|---|---|
| 가다 | 가 | 가는 법이에요 |
| 먹다 | 먹 | 먹는 법이에요 |
| 있다 | 있 | 있는 법이에요 |
Which one
- 곤 하다: someone kept doing this. Verbs, and mostly in the past.
- 기 마련이다: it's bound to happen. General truths, and often comforting.
- 는 법이다: that's the way of the world. The same idea, with the weight of a proverb.
Now you can say
어렸을 때 할머니 집에 자주 가곤 했어요.
As a kid I used to go to my grandmother's a lot.
누구나 실수를 하기 마련이에요.
Everyone's bound to make mistakes.
세상에 공짜는 없는 법이에요.
There's no such thing as a free lunch.
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