Example Sentences#

1. “그렇지 않으면 여기에 오지 않았을 테니까.”¹
   “Otherwise, you wouldn’t have come.”
   • 그렇다 means ‘to be so’ or ‘to be like that’.
   • -지 않다 is a negation pattern, with 지 attached to the verb stem and 않다 as an auxiliary verb for negation.
2. 하지만 특정 사람을 미워할수록 인류 전체를 더욱 사랑하게 되는 것은 언제나 그래왔습니다.²
   But the more I hate any particular person, the more I come to love humanity as a whole, and it has always been so.
   • 그렇다 means ‘to be so’ or ‘to be like that’.
   • -어 오다 is a grammatical construction where 오다 (to come) is used as an auxiliary verb to indicate that an action or state has been continuing up to the present.
   • 았 is a past tense marker.
   • 습니다 is a formal polite ending used in declarative sentences.
3. 그런데 왜 그렇게 생각하시나요?”³
   Why do you think so?”
   • 그렇게 is an adverb formed from 그렇다 (to be like that) and the adverbial suffix -게, meaning ‘like that’ or ‘in that way’.
4. 그렇게 생각하며 호랑이는 산속으로 도망쳤습니다.⁴
   Thinking so, the tiger fled deep into the mountains.
   • 그렇게 is an adverb formed from 그렇다 (to be like that) and the adverbial suffix -게, meaning ‘like that’ or ‘in that way’.
5. “그렇다면 당신은 어떻게 자신이 미쳤다는 걸 아세요?”¹
   “If so, how do you know that you are mad?”
   • 그렇다 means ‘to be so’ or ‘to be like that’.
   • -다면 is a speculative conditional expression. It is a contracted form of -다고 하면, where -다고 is a quotative marker indicating reported speech or thoughts, and 하면 combines 하다 (to say) with 면 (if). This structure implies ‘if it were the case’ or ‘suppose that,’ adding a hypothetical nuance to the statement.
6. 앨리스: “그럴 것 같아요,” 앨리스가 말했다.¹
   Alice: “I suppose so,” said Alice.
   • 그렇다 means ‘to be so’ or ‘to be like that’.
   • -ㄹ is a modifier that turns the preceding statement into a phrase describing the following noun, conveying assumption, intention, or possibility and including future, potential, or unrealized actions and states.
7. 체셔 고양이: “그렇다면,” 고양이는 계속했다.¹
   Cheshire Cat: “If so,” the Cat continued.
   • 그렇다 means ‘to be so’ or ‘to be like that’.
   • -다면 is a speculative conditional expression. It is a contracted form of -다고 하면, where -다고 is a quotative marker indicating reported speech or thoughts, and 하면 combines 하다 (to say) with 면 (if). This structure implies ‘if it were the case’ or ‘suppose that,’ adding a hypothetical nuance to the statement.