TOPIK II · LEVEL 3

-기만 하다

-기만 하다 means 'only / just keep doing A' (and nothing else), often with a complaining tone.

경험·시도Trying & experience

Han: Conjugate 하다 normally: 했어요.

Examples

그 식당은 비싸기만 하고 맛은 별로예요.That restaurant is just expensive; the taste isn't great.
질문을 해도 그 사람은 웃기만 했어요.Even when I asked, he just smiled.
동생은 주말에 게임을 하기만 해요.My younger sibling does nothing but play games at weekends.

Don’t mix up

-기만 하다vs-만N만 limits a noun ('only N'); -기만 하다 limits an action: 물만 마셔요 vs 물을 마시기만 해요 (just drinks, does nothing else).

How to build it

V/A+기만 하다

자다 → 자기만 해요, 웃다 → 웃기만 했어요

  1. Tense goes on 하다: 놀기만 했어요.
  2. With adjectives it means 'only/just so': 비싸기만 하고 맛없어요 'just expensive and not tasty'.

Classic mistake

Wrong: 공부하기만 했다요.

Right: 공부하기만 했어요.

Conjugate 하다 normally: 했어요.

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More level 3 grammar

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