haru Korean › Grammar › Level 4A › V-거든
V-거든 — when … (then do this) — a condition for a request, a suggestion or a promise
When … (then do this) — a condition for a request, a suggestion or a promise. 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
V-거든 sets a condition — 'when / if this happens' — for a request, a suggestion or a promise: 서울에 도착하거든 꼭 연락해요 'when you get to Seoul, be sure to get in touch'. 받침 makes no difference (가거든, 듣거든, 있거든), and adjectives and 있다/없다 work too: 피곤하거든 쉬세요. What comes after it must look ahead to what someone should or will do: -(으)세요 or -아/어요 for a request, -(으)ㅂ시다 or -아/어요 for a suggestion (시간이 있거든 같이 가요), -(으)ㄹ게요 for a promise (소식을 듣거든 바로 알려 줄게요). It cannot end in a plain statement or a question about facts — 눈이 오거든 길이 막혀요 ✗ — and it takes no -았/었-; for those, use -(으)면: 눈이 오면 길이 막혀요. -거든 is mostly spoken, and you often hear it from parents, grandparents and seniors seeing someone off. Don't confuse it with -거든(요) at the end of a sentence (Lesson 3A-6), which gives a reason: 내일 시험이 있거든요 'I've got an exam tomorrow, you see'.
Forms
| Pattern | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| V-거든 | 받침과 상관없이 + 거든 → 뒤에 부탁 · 제안 · 약속 | 도착하다 + 거든 → 도착하거든 |
Key points
- V-거든 = when / if … (then …): the condition, then a request, a suggestion or a promise — -(으)세요 · -아/어요 · -(으)ㅂ시다 · -(으)ㄹ게요. 받침 makes no difference: 가거든 · 듣거든 · 있거든 — and adjectives work too: 피곤하거든.
- The same shape as sentence-final -거든(요) (Lesson 3A-6 — giving a reason), but a different job. It can't end in a plain statement or a question, and takes no -았/었-: for facts, use -(으)면 — 눈이 오면 길이 막혀요.
Examples
- 어떤 일이 생기면 그때 무엇을 하라고 부탁하거나 같이 하자고 할 때 써요: 서울에 도착하거든 꼭 연락해요.
- 받침이 있어도 없어도 -거든: 가거든 · 듣거든 · 있거든 · 피곤하거든.
- 뒤에는 부탁 · 제안 · 약속이 와요: -(으)세요 · -아/어요 · -(으)ㅂ시다 · -(으)ㄹ게요.
- 그냥 있는 일을 말할 때는 -(으)면: 눈이 오면 길이 막혀요. (눈이 오거든 길이 막혀요 ✗)
- 3A 6과 -거든요는 문장 끝에서 이유를 말해요. 모양은 같지만 뜻이 달라요.
Where university textbooks teach it
This point also appears in: Ewha Womans University Korean 4, lesson 5; Yonsei University Korean 3-2, lesson 16; Seoul National University Korean 4A, lesson 9.
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?
- A/V-았더라면/었더라면 — if (only) … had … — picturing a different past