haru Korean › Grammar › Level 3A › V-(으)ㄹ걸 (그랬다)
V-(으)ㄹ걸 (그랬다) — I should have … · I shouldn't have … — small regrets
I should have … · I shouldn't have … — small regrets. Korean grammar for intermediate learners — Level 3A, lesson 5: 입어 보고 살걸 그랬어요 (I should have tried it on — regrets and hesitation).
What it means
-(으)ㄹ걸 그랬다 looks back at something you did not do and wishes you had: 입어 보고 살걸 그랬어요 means 'I should have tried it on before I bought it' — you didn't, and now you are sorry. After a 받침 add 을걸 (입을걸, 먹을걸); after a vowel add ㄹ걸 (살걸, 갈걸); a stem that already ends in ㄹ keeps just one ㄹ (만들다 → 만들걸). Irregular verbs change as they do before 으: 듣다 → 들을걸, 돕다 → 도울걸. For something you did and wish you hadn't, put -지 말- in front: 한꺼번에 사지 말걸 그랬어요 'I shouldn't have bought it all at once'. The situation is always over, so the past sits in 그랬어요, and -았/었- never goes before 걸. It is a light, everyday regret — the umbrella you left at home, the dress you didn't try on — often said with a sigh or a laugh. Talking to yourself or to a close friend, drop 그랬어요: 살걸! 사지 말걸! (Said with a rising tone, -(으)ㄹ걸(요) is a different ending — a guess, 'I bet …' — which you will meet later.)
Forms
| Pattern | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -을걸 그랬어요 | 받침 O | 입다 + 을걸 그랬어요 → 입을걸 그랬어요 |
| -ㄹ걸 그랬어요 | 받침 X · ㄹ (ㄹ은 하나) | 사다 + ㄹ걸 그랬어요 → 살걸 그랬어요 |
| -지 말걸 그랬어요 | 그때 한 일이 아쉬울 때 | 사다 + 지 말걸 그랬어요 → 사지 말걸 그랬어요 |
Key points
- V-(으)ㄹ걸 그랬다 = I should have … (but I didn't): 받침 → 을걸 그랬어요 (입을걸 · 먹을걸) · no 받침 or ㄹ → ㄹ걸 그랬어요 (살걸 · 만들걸)
- For something you did and are sorry about: -지 말걸 그랬어요 (사지 말걸). To yourself or a close friend, just 살걸! · 사지 말걸!
Examples
- 그때 안 한 일이 지금 아쉬울 때 써요: 입어 보고 살걸 그랬어요. (그때 입어 보지 않았어요.)
- 받침 O → -을걸 그랬어요: 입을걸 · 먹을걸 · 들을걸(ㄷ).
- 받침 X · ㄹ → -ㄹ걸 그랬어요: 살걸 · 갈걸 · 만들걸(ㄹ은 하나만).
- 그때 한 일이 아쉬울 때 → -지 말걸 그랬어요: 한꺼번에 사지 말걸 그랬어요.
- 혼자 하는 말 · 친한 친구한테는 짧게: 살걸! · 사지 말걸!
Where university textbooks teach it
This point also appears in: Seoul National University Korean 3A, lesson 5; Seoul National University Korean 3B, lesson 15; Yonsei University Korean 4-2, lesson 12; Hongik University Korean 3A, lesson 5.
Also in this lesson
- V-(으)ㄹ까 말까 (하다) — should I or shouldn't I? — saying you can't decide
- V-지 그래(요)? — why don't you …? — friendly advice
- N(이)라도 — … will do · at least … — the second-best choice