TOPIK II · LEVEL 5
-(으)ㄹ 테다
Declares the speaker's firm will or determination: 'I will … (no matter what)'. In a question to the listener it asks about their intention, often bluntly. Plain style: -(으)ㄹ 테야 in speech, -(으)ㄹ 테다 in self-talk and narration.
목적·의도Purpose, plans & wishesHan: -(으)ㄹ 테다 is plain style and sounds rude to a teacher; use -겠습니다.
Examples
너 정말 이 좋은 기회를 포기할 테야?Are you really going to give up this great opportunity?
두고 봐, 다음 시합에서는 반드시 이기고 말 테다.Just watch: I'm going to win the next match, whatever it takes.
올해는 기필코 담배를 끊을 테다.This year I'm going to quit smoking no matter what.
Don’t mix up
-(으)ㄹ 테다vs-(으)ㄹ 텐데-(으)ㄹ 텐데 is a guess or expectation (비가 올 텐데 우산 가져가); -(으)ㄹ 테다 is the speaker's will (내일은 꼭 일찍 일어날 테다).-(으)ㄹ 테다vs-겠다-겠다 also states intention but is neutral and can be formal; -(으)ㄹ 테다 sounds emotional and defiant: 열심히 하겠습니다 (to a boss) vs 두고 봐, 꼭 성공할 테다.
How to build it
V+(으)ㄹ 테다 / 테야
ㄹ-stems: V+ㄹ 테다
가다 → 갈 테다; 먹다 → 먹을 테다; 만들다 → 만들 테다; 듣다 → 들을 테다; 이기다 → 이기고 말 테다; 그만두다 → 그만둘 테야?
- In statements it expresses the speaker's own will, so the subject is 나/우리: 꼭 합격할 테다. It cannot state a third person's intention: 그는 갈 테다 (X).
- In questions it asks the listener's intention: 너 정말 그만둘 테야? / 어떻게 할 테야?
- Plain style only, for friends, younger people or yourself; to seniors use -겠습니다 or -(으)ㄹ 거예요.
- It is often strengthened with 꼭, 반드시, 기필코 or -고 말 테다: 이번엔 꼭 이기고 말 테다.
Classic mistake
Wrong: 선생님, 다음에는 꼭 숙제를 해 올 테다.
Right: 선생님, 다음에는 꼭 숙제를 해 오겠습니다.
-(으)ㄹ 테다 is plain style and sounds rude to a teacher; use -겠습니다.
Practise -(으)ㄹ 테다 on real TOPIK questions
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All TOPIK grammar- -고자-고자 states the purpose or intention behind an action in a formal, written style, like 'in order to' or 'with the aim of'.
- -(이)란N(이)란 picks out a concept that you are about to define or explain the essence of: "N is (by its nature)…", "what we call N is…".
- -(으)ㄹ 게 뻔하다Use -(으)ㄹ 게 뻔하다 when the situation makes it plain to you that something, usually something bad, will happen or has happened.
- -(으)ㄴ 끝에Shows that a result was finally reached after a long or difficult process of doing something.
- -(으)ㄹ 망정-(으)ㄹ망정 means 'even if I have to accept this bad situation, I still won't give up something more important,' or 'although X is true, Y still holds.'
- -(으)ㄹ 즈음-(으)ㄹ 즈음 means "around the time when something happens": it marks an approximate time, not an exact moment.
- -(으)ㄹ 테면From -(으)ㄹ 터이면 'if you intend to': makes someone's intention the condition. Mostly met in the blunt set phrase -(으)ㄹ 테면 -아/어 봐(라) 'go ahead, if you dare' or the indifferent -(으)ㄹ 테면 -아/어라 'do it if you want, I don't care'; plain-style speech.
- -(으)ㄹ 길이 없다It says there is simply no way or means to do something, so it cannot be done even if you want to.
- -(으)ㄹ 만도 하다Use -(으)ㄹ 만도 하다 to say that, given the circumstances, a reaction or result is understandable and not surprising.
