Amy Jung
Professional Teacher
Expressing Reasons in Korean 1. -잖아요. -잖아요. 1. This expression is used when the speaker wants to state a reason that the listener should also be aware of or when the speaker wants to remind the listener of a reason that he or she apparently forgotten. It is used only in conversation, and not in written Korean. Also, it is not used in formal speaking situations. A/V + -았/었잖아요(past), + -잖아요(present), + -(으)ㄹ 거잖아요(future/guess) 가다(to go) : 갔잖아요(past), 가잖아요(present), 갈 거잖아요(future) N이다 + -였잖아요/이었잖아요(past), + -(이)잖아요(present) 친구이다(to be friend) : 친구였잖아요(past), 친구잖아요(present) A: 저 가수를 왜 좋아해요? (Why do you like that singer?) B: 노래도 잘하고 멋있잫아요. (He sings well and is good looking, too) 2. This expression can also be used to scold or rebuke the listener for not heeding the speaker's advice or for allowing something bad happen even after being warned about it. In such case, this expression is often used together with a statement indicating what was previously said or advised. A: 엄마, 어떻게 해요? 학교에 늦겠어요. (Mom, what should I do? I'm going to be late for school.) B: 그래서 어제 일찍 자라고 했잖아. (Now you should know that's why I told you go to go bed early last night.) * Practice your listening! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsbqArsl0F0) In that youtube video, you can listen to this sentence(0:37), "약속 있잖아요, 나랑" Woman : 강태하 씨, 가세요. Man : 약속 있잖아요, 나랑. Leave a comment if you can't understand why he used -잖아요. :)
Sep 19, 2014 4:44 PM