haru Korean › Grammar › Level 1B › 못 V
못 V — can't — 'I can't …' and 'I couldn't …'
Can't — 'I can't …' and 'I couldn't …'. Korean grammar for beginner learners — Level 1B, lesson 2: 여보세요, 지금 뭐 하고 있어요? (Hello? What are you doing now? — on the phone).
What it means
못 means 'can't': put it right before the verb — 가요 → 못 가요, 'I can't go'. Like 안, it stays next to the verb even after an object or a place (전화를 못 받았어요, 파티에 못 가요), and with 하다 verbs it goes before 해요: 공부 못 해요, not 못 공부해요. Use 안 when you choose not to do something and 못 when something stops you: 안 가요 is 'I'm not going', 못 가요 is 'I can't go'. The past goes on the verb as usual: 못 갔어요. Say 못 먹어요 as [몬머거요] and 못 해요 as [모태요]. Mind the space: 노래를 못해요 (one word, Lesson 1) means 'I'm bad at singing'.
Forms
| Pattern | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 못 V | most verbs — 못 right before the verb | 가요 → 못 가요 |
| N 못 해요 | 하다 verbs — 못 before 해요 | 공부해요 → 공부 못 해요 |
Key points
- 못 V — 못 goes right before the verb: 못 가요 · 못 먹어요. With 하다 verbs it goes before 해요: 공부 못 해요
- 못 = you can't (something stops you); 안 = you don't (your choice): 바빠요. 못 가요.
Examples
- 가요 → 못 가요. 먹어요 → 못 먹어요. 갔어요 → 못 갔어요.
- 공부해요 → 공부 못 해요. 숙제했어요 → 숙제 못 했어요.
- 오늘은 바빠요. 파티에 못 가요.
- 가고 싶지만 못 가요.
Where university textbooks teach it
This point also appears in: Seoul National University Korean 1B, lesson 12; Yonsei University Korean 1-2, lesson 19; Sogang University Korean 1B, lesson 6; Ewha Womans University Korean 1-2, lesson 14; Hongik University Korean 1B, lesson 8; Hanyang University Korean 1-2, lesson 10.
Also in this lesson
- V-고 있다 — an action in progress — 'I am …ing'
- A/V-지요? · N(이)지요? — checking — '…, right?'