TOPIK I · LEVEL 2
-기 시작하다
-기 시작하다 means 'to begin to do / start doing'.
시제·상Tense & aspectHan: With 시작하다 the natural form is -기 시작하다, not -는 것을 시작하다.
Examples
다음 주부터 운동을 하기 시작할 거예요.I'm going to start exercising next week.
갑자기 비가 오기 시작했어요.It suddenly started to rain.
작년부터 한국어를 배우기 시작했어요.I started learning Korean last year.
Don’t mix up
-기 시작하다vs-게 되다-기 시작하다 marks the start of an action; -게 되다 marks a change that came about: 좋아하게 됐어요 'came to like'.How to build it
V+기 시작하다
배우다 → 배우기 시작했어요
- Tense is shown on 시작하다: 시작했어요, 시작할 거예요.
- Also used for natural events: 비가 오기 시작했어요.
Classic mistake
Wrong: 한국어를 배우는 것을 시작했어요.
Right: 한국어를 배우기 시작했어요.
With 시작하다 the natural form is -기 시작하다, not -는 것을 시작하다.
Practise -기 시작하다 on real TOPIK questions
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All TOPIK grammar- -(으)ㄹ 것이다 (것이에요)-(으)ㄹ 거예요 talks about the future: with 'I/we' it states a plan you already have, and about others or things it gives your guess ("probably will").
- -고 있다-고 있다 shows that an action is in progress at a certain moment, or is ongoing over a period of time ("be doing").
- -겠--겠- shows the speaker's intention ('I will') or a guess based on what they see or hear ('it must be').
- -아/어 있다-아/어 있다 describes a state that continues after an action has finished, like a door that stays open after it was opened.
- -(으)면-(으)면 attaches to a verb or adjective to set a condition: "if X happens or is true, then Y," and it can also mean "whenever X" for things that regularly happen.
- -(으)ㄴ 지Shows how much time has passed since an action happened.
- -(으)ㄹ 것Ends a written instruction or rule with a noun-like command: 'do X; X is to be done'. Impersonal and firm; used in notices, exam instructions, memos and rule lists.
- -(으)ㄹ 때Attaches to a verb or adjective to say at what time or in what situation something happens: 'when …'.
- -(으)면 안 되다States that an action is not allowed or not acceptable: 'you must not… / it's not okay to…'.