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TOPIK II · LEVEL 3

-아/어서 그런지

-아/어서 그런지 gives a possible reason the speaker isn't sure of: 'maybe because …'.

이유·원인Reason & cause

Han: -아/어서 그런지 can't lead into a request; it explains an observed fact.

Examples

어제 늦게 자서 그런지 머리가 아파요.Maybe because I went to bed late, I have a headache.
비가 와서 그런지 손님이 적어요.Maybe because of the rain, there are few customers.
주말이라서 그런지 길이 많이 막히네요.Maybe because it's the weekend, the roads are really jammed.

Don’t mix up

-아/어서 그런지vs-아/어서-아/어서 states a definite reason; -아/어서 그런지 marks it as a guess: 피곤해서 vs 피곤해서 그런지.

How to build it

V/A+아서/어서/해서 그런지
N+(이)라서 그런지

피곤하다 → 피곤해서 그런지, 주말 → 주말이라서 그런지

  1. The second clause is a fact you observed; the first is your guess at its cause.
  2. Can't be followed by a command or suggestion.

Classic mistake

Wrong: 피곤해서 그런지 일찍 주무세요.

Right: 피곤하면 일찍 주무세요.

-아/어서 그런지 can't lead into a request; it explains an observed fact.

Practise -아/어서 그런지 on real TOPIK questions

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More level 3 grammar

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