TOPIK II · LEVEL 4
-는가 보다
The verb form of the evidence-based guess 'it seems that…': V + 는가 보다 (가는가 보다). Same meaning as -나 보다, slightly more careful and frequent in writing and narration.
추측·판단Guessing & judgingHan: 바쁘다 is an adjective, so it takes -(으)ㄴ가 보다; -는가 보다 is only for verbs and 있다/없다.
Examples
불이 다 꺼져 있는 걸 보니 아무도 집에 없는가 보다.All the lights are off; nobody seems to be home.
아침에 나와 보니 길이 하얗게 덮여 있었다. 밤사이 눈이 많이 왔는가 보다.When I went out in the morning, the road was covered in white. It must have snowed a lot overnight.
사람들이 우산을 쓰고 지나가는 걸 보니 비가 오는가 봐요.People are walking by with umbrellas, so it must be raining.
Don’t mix up
-는가 보다vs-나 보다/-(으)ㄴ가 보다With verbs -나 보다 and -는가 보다 mean the same; -나 is lighter and more conversational: 아이들이 밖에서 노나 봐요 ≈ 아이들이 밖에서 노는가 봐요.-는가 보다vs-는 것 같다-는 것 같다 is a general 'I think', even about your own feelings; -는가 보다 needs outside evidence, so it is not used for what you feel directly: 저 배가 고픈 것 같아요, not 저 배가 고픈가 봐요. About yourself it works only as an inference from signs: 목이 아픈 걸 보니 감기에 걸렸는가 봐요.
How to build it
V / 있다 / 없다+는가 보다 (ㄹ stem drops ㄹ)
past: V/A+았/었는가 보다
compare A+(으)ㄴ가 보다, N+인가 보다
가다 → 가는가 보다; 먹다 → 먹는가 보다; 놀다 → 노는가 보다; 맛있다 → 맛있는가 보다; 오다 → 왔는가 보다
- -는가 보다 is for action verbs and for 있다/없다 words (재미있다, 맛없다). Descriptive adjectives take -(으)ㄴ가 보다: 바쁜가 봐요, not 바쁘는가 봐요.
- The guess rests on something seen or heard, often stated with -는 걸 보니: 우산을 쓴 걸 보니 비가 오는가 봐요. Without evidence use -는 것 같다.
- In everyday talk -나 보다 is more common (가나 봐요); -는가 보다 appears more in essays, novels, inner monologue and careful speech. Past guesses: 왔나 보다 = 왔는가 보다.
- It guesses about others or a situation; about yourself only when you realise something from signs: 내가 많이 피곤했는가 보다 (I must have been really tired).
Classic mistake
Wrong: 민수 씨가 전화를 안 받네요. 요즘 많이 바쁘는가 봐요.
Right: 민수 씨가 전화를 안 받네요. 요즘 많이 바쁜가 봐요.
바쁘다 is an adjective, so it takes -(으)ㄴ가 보다; -는가 보다 is only for verbs and 있다/없다.
Practise -는가 보다 on real TOPIK questions
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All TOPIK grammar- -(으)ㄹ 리가 없다Use -(으)ㄹ 리가 없다 when you are convinced that something cannot possibly be true or happen, based on what you know.
- -(으)ㄹ 법하다-(으)ㄹ 법하다 says that something is quite plausible or would be natural to expect, given the situation or common sense.
- -(으)ㄴ/는/(으)ㄹ 게 틀림없다-(으)ㄴ/는/(으)ㄹ 게 틀림없다 expresses a confident guess: 'there's no doubt that / it must be …'.
- -(으)ㄴ/는/(으)ㄹ 듯(하다)A written-style way to guess, 'it seems / it looks like', the bookish counterpart of -(으)ㄴ/는 것 같다; used as -듯(하다) at the end, or as -(으)ㄴ/는 듯 to link a description to the next clause.
- -(으)ㄹ까 봐-(으)ㄹ까 봐 means 'worried that something bad might happen', and that worry is the reason for what you do or feel.
- -(으)ㅁ직하다It says that something is worth doing or quite likely to happen, as in food that looks good to eat (먹음직하다) or an event that could plausibly happen (있음직하다).
- -기 일쑤다-기 일쑤다 says that something undesirable happens again and again, almost as a bad habit.
- -기 마련이다-기 마련이다 says that something naturally happens as a general rule of life, so it is no surprise.
- -(으)나-(으)나 is a formal written 'but / however', linking two contrasting clauses.