Example Sentences#

1. 오른쪽과 왼쪽 멀리서 벽이 보이기 시작했을 때 기뻤어.¹
   I was glad when I saw walls far away to the right and left.
   • 기쁘다 means ‘to be glad’.
   • 었 is a past tense marker.
   • 어 is a casual ending used in informal speech.
2. “개는 화가 나면 으르렁거리고, 기쁘면 꼬리를 흔들어.²
   “When a dog gets angry, it growls, and when it’s happy, it wags its tail.
   • 기쁘다 means ‘to be happy’.
   • 면 is a conditional ending meaning ‘if’ or ‘when’.
3. 네 시가 가까워질수록 나는 점점 더 기뻐질 거야.³
   As four o’clock draws nearer, I shall grow happier and happier.
   • 기쁘다 means ‘to be happy’.
   • -어지다 is a grammar pattern used to indicate that someone or something gradually becomes the state mentioned in the preceding statement. When attached to transitive verbs, it converts them into intransitive passive forms.
   • -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.
4. 그런데 나는 기쁠 때 으르렁거리고, 화가 나면 꼬리를 흔들어.²
   But I growl when I’m happy, and I wag my tail when I’m angry.
   • 기쁘다 means ‘to be happy’.
   • -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.