TOPIK II · LEVEL 3
-(으)ㄹ 걸 그랬다
-(으)ㄹ 걸 그랬다 expresses regret: 'I should have done …' (but didn't).
감정·희망Feelings, hopes & regretsHan: For 'I shouldn't have', the pattern uses -지 말다, not 안.
Examples
시험 공부를 좀 더 일찍 시작할걸.I should have started studying for the exam a bit earlier.
어제 그렇게 많이 먹지 말 걸 그랬어요.I shouldn't have eaten so much yesterday.
우산을 가져올 걸 그랬어요.I should have brought an umbrella.
Don’t mix up
-(으)ㄹ 걸 그랬다vs-(으)ㄹ걸요-(으)ㄹ걸요 (rising tone) is a guess about someone else; -(으)ㄹ 걸 그랬다 is regret about your own past choice.How to build it
V+(으)ㄹ 걸 (그랬다)
V+지 말 걸 (그랬다)
가다 → 갈 걸 그랬어요, 먹다 → 먹지 말 걸 그랬어요
- 'I shouldn't have' = -지 말 걸 그랬다.
- In casual speech just -(으)ㄹ걸 with falling intonation: 일찍 올걸.
Classic mistake
Wrong: 어제 안 갈 걸 그랬어요.
Right: 어제 가지 말 걸 그랬어요.
For 'I shouldn't have', the pattern uses -지 말다, not 안.
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All TOPIK grammar- -(으)면 좋겠다Expresses a wish or hope: 'it would be nice if…, I hope…'. With -아/어 주시면 좋겠다 it also makes a soft, polite request.
- -기 바라다-기(를) 바라다 expresses a hope or wish, often for someone else: 'I hope (that you) …'.
- -더니-더니 links something the speaker saw in the past with what happened next — a change, a result or a contrast.
- -(으)ㅁ-(으)ㅁ turns a verb or adjective into a noun; it is used in notes, notices, memos and written records.
- -(으)며-(으)며 is a formal, written 'and' (listing) or 'while' (two actions at once).
- -(이)야-(이)야 emphasizes a topic as obvious or as the only one meant: 'as for N, of course …'.
- -(으)ㄹ 겸-(으)ㄹ 겸 gives one of two or more purposes for a single action: 'partly to …, and also to …'.
- -(으)ㄴ 채(로)-(으)ㄴ 채(로) means doing something while a previous state is still kept: 'with … still on / still …ing'.
- -(으)ㄴ 결과Presents what came out of a completed action or process: 'as a result of doing A, B'. Formal; common in reports, news and essays.