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Grammar / Level 2 / Lesson 35

~는지: questions inside sentences

By Daniel Buckley · 13 minute read · TOPIK 2

Vocabulary

  1. 모르다 - to not know
  2. 궁금하다 - to wonder, be curious
  3. 물어보다 - to ask
  4. 기억하다 - to remember
  5. 정하다 - to decide
  6. 뜻 - meaning
  7. 벌써 - already
  8. 오래되다 - to be a long time
  9. 알려 주다 - to let someone know
  10. 이기다 - to win

어디 살아요? is an easy question. But "I don't know where he lives" has a question folded inside a statement, and 어디 살아요 몰라요 doesn't work, because 요 ends a sentence and there's more sentence to come.

The fix is a small ending, 는지, which packs a question into a chunk you can hand to another verb. It's built on the forms from lesson 32, so there's little new to memorise. The hard part is remembering to reach for it, because English just reorders the words.

Building the form

Take the form that goes before a noun and add 지. The choice of 는 or ㄴ/은 follows the same split as in lesson 32: action verbs, plus 있다 and 없다, take 는, and adjectives take ㄴ/은.

Making ~는지

  • Action verbs, 있다, 없다: 는지, and that includes 맛있다. ㄹ stems drop the ㄹ.먹는지사는지있는지맛있는지
  • Adjectives: ㄴ/은지.비싼지좋은지어떤지
  • Nouns: 인지.학생인지얼마인지
  • Past: 았/었는지, on verbs and adjectives alike.먹었는지비쌌는지
  • Not yet, or a guess: ㄹ/을지.갈지먹을지

Pick a verb

먹다먹먹는지

Pick a verb

비싸다비싸비싼지

Note the past. "Whether (they) ate" is 먹었는지, and adjectives go the same way, as in 비쌌는지. Don't confuse it with 먹은 지, with a space, which is the last section of this lesson.

With a question word

Keep the question word and add 는지 to the verb. The whole chunk then goes in front of a verb about knowing, asking or wondering: 알다, 모르다, 물어보다, 궁금하다, 생각하다, 기억하다. English moves the words around, and Korean leaves the order alone.

  1. 그 사람이 어디 사는지 몰라요.

    (I) don't know where that person lives.

  2. 어제 뭐 먹었는지 기억해요?

    (Do you) remember what (you) ate yesterday?

  3. 왜 우는지 모르겠어요.

    (I) don't know why (they) are crying.

  4. 이 단어가 무슨 뜻인지 알아요?

    (Do you) know what meaning this word is?

  5. 화장실이 어디인지 아세요?

    (Do you) know where toilet is?

  6. 이게 얼마인지 물어봤어요.

    (I) asked how much this is.

  7. 어떻게 가는지 알려 주세요.

    Please tell (me) how (one) goes.

Example 7 is how you say "how to". English needs an infinitive there, and Korean just asks how one goes. And as with the clauses in lesson 32, a subject inside the chunk usually takes 이/가.

※ One idiom runs the other way. 얼마나 맛있는지 몰라요 says "(you) don't know how delicious it is", and means "it's so delicious". The speaker knows perfectly well. 모르다 here adds emphasis.

Without one: whether

Leave out the question word and the chunk is a yes-or-no question, which English calls "whether" or "if". English "if" is a trap here. (으)면 sets a condition, so it can't do this job.

  1. 밖에 비가 오는지 봐 주세요.

    Please look whether rain is coming outside.

  2. 그 식당이 맛있는지 몰라요.

    (I) don't know whether that restaurant is delicious.

  3. 오늘 문을 여는지 전화해 봤어요.

    (I) tried phoning (to see) whether (they) open today.

  4. 그 사람이 학생인지 궁금해요.

    (I) wonder whether that person is student.

To spell out both options, say the yes and the no side by side, the way English says "whether or not". It's common with 모르겠어요.

  1. 친구가 오는지 안 오는지 몰라요.

    (I) don't know whether friend comes or not.

  2. 이게 진짜인지 아닌지 모르겠어요.

    (I) don't know whether this is real or not.

ㄹ/을지: what's still open

ㄹ/을지 asks about what hasn't happened or hasn't been decided. As in lesson 32, ㄹ/을 means "not yet". 뭐 먹는지 asks what someone eats. 뭐 먹을지 asks what they're going to eat, when that's still open.

Pick a verb

먹다먹먹을지

  1. 오늘 뭐 먹을지 아직 안 정했어요.

    (I) haven't yet decided what (I) will eat today.

  2. 어떻게 해야 할지 모르겠어요.

    (I) don't know how (I) should do.

  3. 내일 날씨가 어떨지 몰라요.

    (I) don't know how weather will be tomorrow.

  4. 누가 이길지 아무도 몰라요.

    Nobody knows who will win.

ㄹ/을지도 모르다: might

Add 도 and you get "(I) don't even know whether it will". That has settled into the everyday way to say "might". It sounds less sure than ㄹ/을 거예요, which is an expectation.

Making ㄹ/을지도 몰라요

  • Stem + ㄹ/을지도 몰라요.올지도 몰라요늦을지도 몰라요
  • Past: 았/었을지도 몰라요.갔을지도 몰라요
  • Nouns: 일지도 몰라요.학생일지도 몰라요

  1. 내일 비가 올지도 몰라요.

    Tomorrow rain might come.

  2. 조금 늦을지도 몰라요.

    (I) might be a little late.

  3. 표가 없을지도 몰라요.

    Tickets might not exist.

  4. 친구는 벌써 갔을지도 몰라요.

    Friend might have already gone.

※ ㄹ/을 수도 있다, in lesson 38, is close in meaning, and the two often swap.

ㄴ/은 지: time since

This one only looks related. Here 지 is a noun for the time since something happened, so it has a space before it, and the verb in front takes ㄴ/은. A length of time follows, then 됐어요 or 넘었어요.

Time since

  • Verb + ㄴ/은 지 + time + 됐어요.온 지 삼 년 됐어요먹은 지 한 시간 됐어요

Pick a verb

오다오온 지

  1. 한국에 온 지 삼 년 됐어요.

    Since (I) came to Korea, three years have become.

  2. 밥을 먹은 지 한 시간 됐어요.

    Since (I) ate meal, one hour has become.

  3. 서울에 산 지 십 년이 넘었어요.

    Since (I) lived in Seoul, over ten years have passed.

  4. 친구를 만난 지 오래됐어요.

    Since (I) met friend, (it) has been long.

  5. 한국어를 배운 지 얼마나 됐어요?

    Since (you) learned Korean, how long has it become?

It counts from when the action began. 서울에 산 지 십 년 is ten years since moving there, and you may well still live there. 한국어를 배운 지 works the same way: the time since you started learning.

The space tells the two apart. 어디 사는지 has no space, because 지 is an ending there. 온 지 has one, because 지 is a noun, the way 온 사람 has a space before 사람.

Which form?

  1. 그 사람이 어디 ___ 몰라요.

    I don't know where that person lives.

  2. 이 옷이 ___ 모르겠어요.

    I don't know if these clothes are expensive.

  3. 어제 뭐 ___ 기억해요?

    Do you remember what you ate yesterday?

  4. 내일 뭐 ___ 아직 안 정했어요.

    I haven't decided yet what I'll do tomorrow.

  5. 한국에 ___ 일 년 됐어요.

    It's been a year since I came to Korea.

A

미나 씨가 오늘 오는지 알아요?

Do (you) know whether Mina comes today?

B

아니요, 몰라요. 바빠서 못 올지도 몰라요.

No, (I) don't know. Busy, so (she) might not be able to come.

A

그럼 미나 씨가 몇 시에 끝나는지 물어봐 주세요.

Then please ask what time Mina finishes.

B

네. 미나 씨를 만난 지 오래됐어요?

Yes. Since (you) met Mina, has it been long?

A

네, 일 년이 넘었어요.

Yes, (it) has gone over a year.

Listen and type

1 / 3

Play it as often as you like.

Common mistakes

  1. 그 사람이 어디 살아요 몰라요.

    그 사람이 어디 사는지 몰라요.

    A question inside a sentence needs 는지. 요 can only end a sentence.

  2. 이 옷이 좋는지 모르겠어요.

    이 옷이 좋은지 모르겠어요.

    Adjectives take ㄴ/은지.

  3. 한국에 오는 지 삼 년 됐어요.

    한국에 온 지 삼 년 됐어요.

    Time since counts from something that happened, so the verb takes ㄴ/은.

Check yourself

Quick check

1 / 6

그 사람이 어디 ___ 몰라요. (살다) I don't know where that person lives.

ㄹ drops before 는.

Summary

Verbs: 는지 forms
DictionaryStemVerbs: 는지
먹다먹먹는지
가다가가는지
살다살사는지
듣다듣듣는지
하다하하는지
Adjectives: ㄴ/은지 forms
DictionaryStemAdjectives: ㄴ/은지
비싸다비싸비싼지
좋다좋좋은지
춥다춥추운지
어떻다어떻어떤지
맛있다맛있맛있는지

The rest of the family

  • Past: 았/었는지.뭐 먹었는지
  • Still open: ㄹ/을지.뭐 먹을지
  • Might: ㄹ/을지도 몰라요.비가 올지도 몰라요
  • Time since, with a space: ㄴ/은 지.온 지 삼 년 됐어요

Now you can say

  1. 어떻게 가는지 알려 주세요.

    Please tell (me) how (one) goes.

  2. 조금 늦을지도 몰라요.

    (I) might be a little late.

  3. 한국에 온 지 일 년 됐어요.

    Since (I) came to Korea, one year has become.

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