haru Korean › Grammar › Level 4A › A/V-았더라면/었더라면
A/V-았더라면/었더라면 — if (only) … had … — picturing a different past
If (only) … had … — picturing a different past. Korean grammar for upper intermediate learners — Level 4A, lesson 4: 그 소식 들었다면서요? (Did you hear the news? — checking what you heard, and what might have been).
What it means
-았/었더라면 pictures the past going differently: 새벽에 출발했더라면 길이 덜 막혔을 텐데요 'if we had set off at dawn, the roads would have been less jammed' — and we didn't. It always looks back at something that really did not happen. After ㅏ or ㅗ use 았더라면 (알았더라면, 봤더라면), after other vowels 었더라면 (늦었더라면, 먹었더라면, 들었더라면), 하다 becomes 했더라면 (예매했더라면), and a noun takes 이었더라면/였더라면 (휴일이었더라면). The second half says what would have happened: -았/었을 텐데(요) (Lesson 3A-3), often with a sigh, or -았/었을 거예요. Compared with -았/었다면 (Lesson 3B-2), -았/었더라면 is stronger and more clearly 'unreal', so it usually carries a regret — it goes naturally with -았/었어야 했는데 (Lesson 3B-4) — or relief at a near miss, with -(으)ㄹ 뻔했어요 (Lesson 2B-9): 조금만 더 늦었더라면 기차를 놓칠 뻔했어요. Said about yourself, it makes a soft apology: 제가 미리 말씀드렸더라면 좋았을 텐데 죄송합니다. Be careful using it about someone else's choices — 네가 일찍 일어났더라면 … can sound like blame.
Forms
| Pattern | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -았더라면 | ㅏ · ㅗ | 알다 + 았더라면 → 알았더라면 |
| -었더라면 | 그 외 · 명사 이었더라면/였더라면 | 늦다 + 었더라면 → 늦었더라면 |
| 했더라면 | 하다 | 예매하다 → 예매했더라면 |
Key points
- -았/었더라면 = if … had … (but it didn't): ㅏ · ㅗ → 았더라면 (알았더라면 · 봤더라면) · others → 었더라면 (늦었더라면 · 먹었더라면) · 하다 → 했더라면. The second half pictures the other result: -았/었을 텐데(요) (Lesson 3A-3) or -았/었을 거예요.
- Stronger than -았/었다면 (Lesson 3B-2): it is clearly about something that did not happen, so it carries a regret, like -았/었어야 했는데 (Lesson 3B-4) — or relief, with -(으)ㄹ 뻔했어요 (Lesson 2B-9).
Examples
- 지난 일을 반대로 생각해 볼 때 써요: 새벽에 출발했더라면 길이 덜 막혔을 텐데요. (그런데 늦게 출발했어요.)
- ㅏ · ㅗ → -았더라면(알았더라면 · 봤더라면), 그 외 → -었더라면(늦었더라면 · 먹었더라면), 하다 → 했더라면.
- 뒤에는 그때 생겼을 일을 말해요: -았/었을 텐데(요) · -았/었을 거예요.
- 3B 2과 -았/었다면보다 아쉬운 마음이 커요. 3B 4과 -았/었어야 했는데와 같이 자주 써요.
- 나쁜 일이 생길 뻔했을 때는 -(으)ㄹ 뻔했어요: 조금만 더 늦었더라면 기차를 놓칠 뻔했어요.
Where university textbooks teach it
This point also appears in: Seoul National University Korean 4A, lesson 9; Yonsei University Korean 4-2, lesson 14; Ewha Womans University Korean 3-2, lesson 10; Hongik University Korean 4B, lesson 8.
Also in this lesson
- A/V-다면서(요)? — I hear that … — is that right? · checking news you heard
- A/V-고(요)? — … and …? — adding one more question · N은/는요?
- V-거든 — when … (then do this) — a condition for a request, a suggestion or a promise