Example Sentences#

1. 앨리스: “제가 미쳤다는 걸 어떻게 아세요?” 앨리스가 말했다.¹
   Alice: “How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice.

   • 미치다 means ‘to go mad’ or ‘to become insane’.
   • 었 is a past tense marker.
   • -다는 is derived from the structure -다고 하는, where -다고 is a quotative marker, 하다 means ‘to say’, and 는 is a present tense noun modifier used to describe the following noun. This structure suggests that something is being reported, quoted, or discussed rather than directly stated.

2. 하지만, 변할 때마다 그의 삶에서 시간이 줄어든다는 조건이 있었습니다.²
   However, there was a condition that every time he changed, time in his life would decrease.

   • 줄어들다 is a compound verb made up of 줄다 (to decrease) and 들다 (to enter or become), meaning ‘to decrease’ or ‘to diminish’.
   • -ㄴ다는 is derived from the structure -ㄴ다고 하는, where -ㄴ다고 is a quotative marker, 하다 means ‘to say’, and 는 is a present tense noun modifier used to describe the following noun. This structure suggests that something is being reported, quoted, or discussed rather than directly stated.

3. “그렇다면 당신은 어떻게 자신이 미쳤다는 걸 아세요?”¹
   “If so, how do you know that you are mad?”

   • 미치다 means ‘to go mad’ or ‘to be crazy’.
   • 었 is a past tense marker.
   • -다는 is derived from the structure -다고 하는, where -다고 is a quotative marker, 하다 means ‘to say’, and 는 is a present tense noun modifier used to describe the following noun. This structure suggests that the fact of being mad is something that is being reported, quoted, or discussed rather than directly stated.