2 · Linking clauses, first steps · about 6 minutes
If and when: -(으)면
the conditional connective
-(으)면 turns the first clause into a condition: if it rains, when spring comes.
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“New to me”: the explanation first, then practice. “Test myself”: 3 short questions – get at least two right and you go straight to the harder exercises.
Words you will need16
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- 만약if; supposing
- 물어보다to ask (a question)
- 봄spring
- 피다to bloom, come out (of flowers)
- 버튼button
- 누르다to press
- 열리다to open; to be opened
- 세years of age (formal)
- 기분mood; how one feels
- 좋아지다to get better, improve
- 주무시다to sleep (honorific)
- 길road, way
- 쭉straight on, all the way
- 지하철역subway station
- 나오다to come out
- 맑다to be clear, sunny
Understand
RememberMyeon is "if" and "whenever"; for one past "when", use ttae.
- Signal words
- -(으)면
- 만약
- 만일
- -았/었으면 좋겠다
The form
From the base form to the new form
Each row first says what the form expresses, then shows it in Korean: the base form before the arrow, the result after it.
| after a vowel | 가다 → 가면 |
| after a consonant | 먹다 → 먹으면 |
| stem ending in l | 살다 → 살면 |
| with a noun and 이다 | 학생이면, 친구면 |
| a wish | 왔으면 좋겠어요 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
-면 after a vowel or l, -으면 after any other consonant.
시간이 있으면 같이 영화 봐요.If you have time, let's watch a film together.
The condition stays in the present even when it lies in the future.
만약 내일 비가 오면 집에 있을 거예요.If it rains tomorrow, I will stay at home.
The main clause may be a request or a question.
모르면 선생님께 물어보세요.If you do not know, ask the teacher.
-(으)면 also says what always happens when something occurs.
봄이 되면 꽃이 피어요.When spring comes, the flowers bloom.
-았/었으면 좋겠어요 expresses a hope or a wish.
주말에 날씨가 좋았으면 좋겠어요.I hope the weather is nice at the weekend.
Example sentences
이 버튼을 누르면 문이 열려요.If you press this button, the door opens.
피곤하면 좀 쉬세요.If you are tired, have a rest.
돈이 많으면 세계 여행을 하고 싶어요.If I had a lot of money, I would like to travel round the world.
11 more example sentences
집에 도착하면 전화해 주세요.Please ring me when you get home.
만약 버스가 안 오면 택시를 탈 거예요.If the bus does not come, I will take a taxi.
음악을 들으면 기분이 좋아져요.When I listen to music, I feel better.
날씨가 추우면 따뜻한 차를 마셔요.When it is cold, I drink hot tea.
이 약을 먹으면 금방 나을 거예요.If you take this medicine, you will soon get better.
질문이 있으면 언제든지 물어보세요.If you have a question, ask at any time.
저는 시간이 나면 책을 읽어요.When I have some spare time, I read.
여기에서 오른쪽으로 가면 은행이 있어요.If you go right from here, there is a bank.
창문을 열면 시원할 거예요.If you open the window, it will be cooler.
학생이면 입장료가 무료예요.If you are a student, admission is free.
내일 시간이 있었으면 좋겠어요.I hope I have time tomorrow.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
-(으)면 is for conditions, for what lies ahead and for what happens repeatedly. For one particular moment in the past, English “when” is 올 때 or 왔을 때 in Korean.
Quick check
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Practise
8 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
Now write it yourself7 sentences on this topic, typed and checked instantly.
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Next on the path: 47 · Leaving out what is knownBack to the learning path
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
After a vowel the ending is -면 (가면, 비싸면), after a consonant -으면 (먹으면, 작으면). Stems ending in l count as if they ended in a vowel and take plain -면: 살면, 만들면, 멀면. Irregular stems change as they do before any ending with 으: 들으면, 추우면. With a noun: 학생이면, 친구면.
-(으)면 covers both English “if” and “when”, as long as the event lies ahead or happens again and again: 시간이 있으면 같이 가요, “if you have time, let’s go together”; 봄이 되면 꽃이 피어요, “when spring comes, the flowers bloom”. 만약 at the start of the sentence makes the “if” explicit.
The condition stays in the present even when it refers to the future: 내일 비가 오면 집에 있을 거예요. The future belongs to the main clause. And the main clause can be anything — a statement, a question, a request: 모르면 물어보세요.
The trap for English speakers is a single “when” in the past. -(으)면 looks forward or speaks of habits, so “when I came home yesterday, it was raining” cannot use it; Korean says 어제 집에 올 때 or 집에 왔을 때. Finally, -았/었으면 좋겠어요, literally “if it had …, it would be good”, is the everyday way to say “I hope” or “I wish”.
A closer look
Hypothetical and past conditions
만약 or the more formal 만일 at the start of a sentence announces a hypothesis, and the hearer knows from the first word that a -(으)면 is coming. They are optional: the ending alone already says “if”.
A condition that did not come true takes -았/었으면, usually with a guess at the end: 일찍 출발했으면 안 늦었을 거예요, “if we had left early, we would not have been late”. Several patterns are built from -(으)면 as well, such as -(으)면 안 되다, “must not”.
Exceptions and special cases1
Exception
When the stem ends in l, as in 살다, 만들다 or 멀다
then the ending is -면, never -으면: 살면, 만들면, 멀면.
집이 학교에서 멀면 버스를 타세요.If your home is far from school, take the bus.
Why? A stem in l never takes the linking vowel 으; the same happens with -(으)러 and -(으)려고.
Worth knowing1
Worth knowing
Wishing with -았/었으면 좋겠어요
The past form inside the condition does not refer to the past here: it makes the wish sound less certain and more polite. -(으)면 좋겠어요 without the past is also heard, but -았/었으면 좋겠어요 is the usual form.
빨리 방학이 왔으면 좋겠어요.I wish the holidays would come soon.