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Grammar / Level 3 / Lesson 66

ㄹ/을 텐데, ㄹ/을 테니까: what I expect, and what follows

By Daniel Buckley · 11 minute read · TOPIK 3

Vocabulary

  1. 이사하다 - to move house
  2. 짐 - luggage, belongings
  3. 합격하다 - to pass (an exam)
  4. 도착하다 - to arrive
  5. 연락 - contact, getting in touch
  6. 설거지 - washing up
  7. 금방 - right away, in a moment
  8. 다녀오다 - to go and come back
  9. 막히다 - to be blocked, to be jammed
  10. 힘들다 - to be hard, to be tiring

A friend gives up a Saturday to help you move house. In English you might say "you must have had better things to do, thanks for coming". Korean packs that into one line: 바쁠 텐데 와 줘서 고마워요.

Both endings here come from 터, a small noun for what's expected or intended. Add 이다 and an ending you already know, and 터인데 shrinks to 텐데 while 터이니까 shrinks to 테니까. So ~는데 still gives the background and (으)니까 still gives the grounds. The new part is that they now rest on something you expect, not something you've checked.

Building the forms

터 only ever takes the ㄹ/을 modifier here, whatever the time. That makes these easy to build, since there's just one thing to remember. Write a space before 텐데 and 테니까.

Making ㄹ/을 텐데 and ㄹ/을 테니까

  • Verbs and adjectives: ㄹ/을, a space, then 텐데 or 테니까.가다 → 갈 텐데먹다 → 먹을 테니까춥다 → 추울 텐데살다 → 살 테니까
  • Nouns: 일 텐데, 일 테니까.학생 → 학생일 텐데
  • Past: add 을 텐데 to the 았/었 stem.갔을 텐데먹었을 텐데

Pick a verb

가다가갈 텐데

Pick a verb

가다가갈 테니까

ㄹ/을 텐데: I expect, and with that in mind

ㄹ/을 텐데 says "surely this is the case", then carries on the way ~는데 does. It's usually about something you can't check, like another person's day. Because you've stopped to think about their situation, it often sounds considerate.

  1. 바쁠 텐데 와 줘서 고마워요.

    You must be busy, so thanks for coming.

  2. 오늘 피곤할 텐데 일찍 주무세요.

    You must be tired today, so get an early night.

  3. 밖이 추울 텐데 옷을 더 입으세요.

    It must be cold outside. Put some more clothes on.

  4. 지금 가면 길이 막힐 텐데 내일 갈까요?

    The roads will be jammed if we go now. Shall we go tomorrow?

With 았/었 the guess is about the past. The second half often says what doesn't fit, as ~는데 can.

  1. 민수 씨는 벌써 도착했을 텐데 아직 연락이 없어요.

    Minsu must have arrived by now, but I haven't heard from him.

  2. 혼자 힘들었을 텐데 왜 말 안 했어요?

    That must have been hard on your own. Why didn't you say anything?

Stopping on 텐데: worry and wishes

Like ~는데요, you can stop after the background and leave the rest unsaid. 요 is optional. What's left hanging is often a worry, since you expect something and you don't like it.

  1. 시험이 많이 어려울 텐데요.

    That exam's going to be pretty hard, you know.

  2. 민수 씨가 기다리고 있을 텐데.

    Minsu will be waiting...

  3. 그거 비쌀 텐데요.

    That must be expensive, you know.

After (으)면, it becomes a wish. 좋을 텐데 is "it would be good", and saying so admits you don't have it.

  1. 같이 가면 좋을 텐데.

    It would be nice if we could go together.

  2. 오늘이 금요일이면 좋을 텐데요.

    If only it was Friday.

Put 았/었 on both halves and you're talking about what didn't happen. This is a common way of saying "would have", and it often carries regret.

  1. 일찍 왔으면 민수 씨를 만났을 텐데.

    If you'd come earlier, you would have met Minsu.

  2. 조금만 더 공부했으면 합격했을 텐데.

    With a bit more study, I would have passed.

  3. 사진을 찍었으면 좋았을 텐데.

    If only I'd taken a photo.

ㄹ/을 테니까: I will, or it will, so

테니까 has (으)니까 in it, so it hands over grounds, and the second half usually asks for something or suggests something. The first half can be one of two things.

A promise. When the subject is you, it says what you're going to do, and that's the reason the other person can do something else. It usually comes with 제가.

  1. 제가 할 테니까 좀 쉬세요.

    I'll do it. You have a rest.

  2. 제가 밥을 살 테니까 커피는 민수 씨가 사세요.

    I'll get dinner, so you get the coffee, Minsu.

  3. 제가 여기서 기다릴 테니까 다녀오세요.

    I'll wait here, so off you go.

  4. 금방 올 테니까 여기서 기다리세요.

    I'll be right back. Wait here.

A guess. With anything else as the subject, it's the same expectation as 텐데, this time offered as a reason.

  1. 길이 막힐 테니까 지하철을 타세요.

    The roads will be jammed, so take the subway.

  2. 주말에는 사람이 많을 테니까 일찍 가세요.

    There will be a crowd at the weekend, so go early.

  3. 민수 씨가 알 테니까 물어보세요.

    Minsu will know, so ask him.

※ Three becauses gave you 제가 갈 거니까 걱정하지 마세요. 제가 갈 테니까 is very close, and to my ear it sounds more like taking something on so the other person doesn't have to. In writing you'll also see 테니, without 까.

텐데 or 테니까?

When you're guessing and a request follows, they often swap: 추울 텐데 옷을 더 입으세요 and 추울 테니까 옷을 더 입으세요 are both fine. 테니까 leans on the guess as a reason, and 텐데 lays it down as background. Only 테니까 makes a promise, since 제가 할 텐데 just sets the scene and leaves people waiting for the rest, often "I would do it, but".

  1. 제가 설거지를 ___ 앉아 계세요.

    I'll do the washing up. You sit down.

  2. 일찍 출발했으면 제시간에 ___.

    If we'd left earlier, we'd have got there on time.

  3. 배가 ___ 이것 좀 드세요.

    You must be hungry. Have some of this.

Listen and type

1 / 3

Play it as often as you like.

In a conversation

A

주말에 바쁠 텐데 와 줘서 고마워요.

On weekend must be busy, thanks for coming.

B

아니에요. 혼자 이사하면 힘들 텐데요.

Not at all. If (you) move alone, surely hard.

A

점심은 제가 살 테니까 먹고 싶은 거 말해요.

Lunch I will buy, so say what (you) want to eat.

B

좋아요. 짐이 많아서 오래 걸릴 테니까 빨리 시작해요.

Good. Lots of stuff, long time will take, so start quickly.

Common mistakes

  1. 이 식당은 맛있는 텐데 왜 사람이 없어요?

    이 식당은 맛있을 텐데 왜 사람이 없어요?

    터 takes ㄹ/을 only, whatever the time.

  2. 바쁠텐데 와 줘서 고마워요.

    바쁠 텐데 와 줘서 고마워요.

    터 is a noun, so it takes a space. You'll see it run together online, but that's a spelling mistake.

  3. 어제 힘들 텐데 와 줘서 고마워요.

    어제 힘들었을 텐데 와 줘서 고마워요.

    A guess about the past needs 았/었을 텐데.

Check yourself

Quick check

1 / 6

___ 와 줘서 고마워요. (바쁘다, with 텐데) You must be busy, so thanks for coming.

Background, not a promise.

Summary

ㄹ/을 텐데 forms
DictionaryStemㄹ/을 텐데
먹다먹먹을 텐데
가다가갈 텐데
살다살살 텐데
듣다듣들을 텐데
춥다춥추울 텐데
ㄹ/을 테니까 forms
DictionaryStemㄹ/을 테니까
먹다먹먹을 테니까
가다가갈 테니까
살다살살 테니까
듣다듣들을 테니까
춥다춥추울 테니까
았/었을 텐데 forms
DictionaryPast았/었을 텐데
먹다먹었어요먹었을 텐데
가다갔어요갔을 텐데
살다살았어요살았을 텐데
듣다들었어요들었을 텐데
춥다추웠어요추웠을 텐데

The family

  • ㄹ/을 텐데: I expect this, and here's what goes with it.바쁠 텐데 고마워요
  • Stopping on 텐데: a worry, a wish, or with 았/었, a regret.같이 가면 좋을 텐데일찍 왔으면 만났을 텐데
  • ㄹ/을 테니까: I expect this, or I'll do this, so here's what you can do.제가 할 테니까 쉬세요

Now you can say

  1. 바쁠 텐데 와 줘서 고마워요.

    You must be busy, so thanks for coming.

  2. 제가 할 테니까 좀 쉬세요.

    I'll do it. You have a rest.

  3. 일찍 왔으면 민수 씨를 만났을 텐데.

    If you'd come earlier, you would have met Minsu.

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