Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Ed Provencher]

I'm terribly confused about when to use the following forms of grammar to give reasons:

~하니까

~해서

~하기 때문에

~하거든요

Can anyone shed some light on how to use each of these?

[PeteJB]

~ 하니까 is 100% percent. It assumes the listener already knows what your talking about. 배가 고프니까 잠 못 잤어요. 어서~ doesn't assume the listener knows that fact 배가 고파서 잠 못 잣어요. However, (으)니까 can also be used for direct statements such as 비가 올거니까 우산 가져 와요 (It's going to rain so bring an umbrella). Keep in mind this assumes 100% accuracy so you would have to be an expert on the weather or have solid evidence to know for certain it's going to rain. (을)테니까 can also be used in this instance, it's similar to 니까 but you don't need to be 100% sure to say it. Now let's try the same with 어서. 비가 와서 우산 가져 와요. No! People don't say it like this. Also, 어서 NORMALLY only gets used with present tense. (으)니까 can be used with past and future tenses.

기 때문에 is usually because of something or someone, 기 is attached to verbs in their true forms (하기, 먹기, 보기 etc) 선생님때문에 잠 못 잤어요 (Because of my teacher I couldn't sleep). 공부하기가 때문에 잠 못 잤어요 (Because of study I couldn't sleep) however you could just say 공부때문에.

거든 is not a excuse, it's just a way of ending as sentence. It can come across as sarcastic or whitty. 공부하기가 재미있거든 (Studying is fun), 공부하거든 (I'm studying! (!) )

I'm pretty sure I've missed about some information about this grammar forms, but the best way to learn them is just look at sentences and how they are structured. You'll begin to naturally get a feel for them over time. Remember that it's not 하니까, 해서 etc but (으)니까, 아/어/여 서, 기 때문에 and 거든요 ~

[Ilsanman]

Not quite, Petey.

I was told that some sentence types match better with others. 으니까 does not match with a suggestion sentence well.

으니까 also can mean 'when', as in 'When I got home, it was 9 pm.

거든 is a sentence ending and it assumes the speaker doesn't know the fact you are telling them.

[PeteJB]

Yes, I know there are such occasions however I'm pointing out the usage for 으니까 here,

제가 김밥 준비를 할거니까 음료수 좀 사 오세요.
제가 벽지를 살테니까 페인트를 사 오세요.
대통렁께서 5시에쯤 올거니까 자동차 준비를 하십시오.

While not suggestive in nature, these sentences are more like requests. Regardless 으니까 still works fine here. There are just some sentences you will never see though, and like I said it depends on the knowledge of both speaker and listener regarding the situation.

내가 김밥 준비를 해서...
내가 벽지를 사서...
5시에쯤 와서... Will never work because the meaning of the sentence changes. You'd need a whole new ending.

*거든* can be used for stating a fact the listener is unaware of, however it can be used to place emphasis on that fact even if the listener is aware of it. For example, you could ask me why I like movies, and I'd say 재미있거든! or you could ask why I can't come to the party, 공부해야 하거든! - The listener is aware of the fact but you are jogging their memory with a slightly whitty response, that, especially if used in the wrong situation can annoy some people.

[Cheonmunka]

You can jumble a fair bit with the Korean language and you can be understood in various ways grammatically but when not having come to terms with ideology that affects the make up of your words and phrases, when making a point you may only be barely understood. Further, you will truly see a culture difference in action when you go about your daily affairs using Korean language built on how you would conduct verbal expression in your native tongue.

For example if I say,"He joined the fight too and the two together beat the man up - they were cowards," ('그러면 겁쟁이들!') people won't understand what the implication of coward is in this sense, and the whole speech will just raise eyebrows as if it has no meaning. The effect and the causal relationship between the two just doesn't semantically match.
The correct and well-worn method would have been to say at the end that they fought well (bravely) and won, then the response would be a hearty, '네, 네.'

Much like if you experience an 'outrageous rip off' at the counter, your dialogue you speak would suppose that the merchant was acting shrewdly in the best interests of his store. Rather than using perceived extreme words like rip off to describe your own pecuniary disadvantage, you would have more success by giving the merchant a complimentary boost while suggesting he could have given you a better deal.
And you will be clearly understood as if you had used strong language.
'You are a good businessman trying to get the best deal for your store.' 'Me too, I would like ...'

It may have a lot to do with keeping emotions calm etc by complimenting others to get what you want. It is certainly less intrusive and abrasive, yet, it could certainly appear vague and undecided.