Lesson 25
In this lesson, we are going to look at an expression you can use to talk about something that happens all the time or has a very strong tendency to happen. The main word for this expression is 마련, and it is used in the form of “verb stem + -기 마련이다" or “verb stem + -게 마련이다.”
Conjugation
Verb stem + -기/게 마련이다
The full expression -기/게 마련이다 can be translated to “to be bound to”, “to be prone to”, “to be expected to”, or “to be natural that it happens”. Although the expression can be translated to “to be bound to”, -기/게 마련이다 does not mean that something will “definitely” happen. Rather, it means that something has the potential to happen, but also might not happen. You can use either -기 or -게 before 마련이다, but -기 is more common.
The word 마련 is also used in the verb 마련하다, which means “to prepare” or “to prepare and obtain” something, like 대책을 마련하다 (= to come up with a countermeasure), 음식을 마련하다 (= to prepare food), and 집을 마련하다 (= to buy a house to live in). Be careful not to mix up these two different ways 마련 is used. In this lesson, we will focus only on the structure -기/게 마련이다.
Examples
좋은 일이 생기기 마련이에요.
= Good things are bound to happen.
결국 진실은 드러나기 마련이에요.
= The truth is bound to come to light eventually.
그럴 때가 있기 마련이에요.
= You are bound to have such times.
Alternative expressions
To express a similar meaning, you can also say -게 되어 있어요 (= it is bound to be like that; it is designed to be that way; it is supposed to be like that) or -(으)ㄹ 가능성이 커요 (= there is a big possibility that…; it is likely that...). The structure -게 되어 있다 was also covered in Level 7 Lesson 25.
Examples
좋은 일이 생기게 마련이에요.
= Good things are bound to happen.
= 좋은 일이 생기게 되어 있어요.
= 좋은 일이 생길 가능성이 커요.
결국 진실은 드러나게 마련이에요.
= The truth is bound to come to light eventually.
= 결국 진실은 드러나게 되어 있어요.
= 결국 진실은 드러날 가능성이 커요.
Using -다 보면 with -기/게 마련이다
Since -기/게 마련이다 is used to talk about the high probably or strong tendency of something happening, the expression -다 보면 is commonly used together with it. “Verb + -다 보면" means “when you do something for a while” or “as you do something, you will experience so-and-so.”
Sample Sentences
사업을 하다 보면 어려움이 있기 마련이에요.
= When you run a business, you are bound to have difficulties (from time to time).
살다 보면 후회하는 일이 있기 마련이에요.
= As you live your life, there are certainly things you regret.
축구를 하다 보면 다치기 마련이죠.
= When you play soccer, you are bound to get hurt from time to time.
여러 사람이 같이 일을 하다 보면 오해가 있기 마련이에요.
= When several people work together, there will sometimes be misunderstandings.
The structure -(으)면 -기/게 마련이다 is also commonly used.
Sample Sentences
준비 운동을 안 하면 다치기 마련이에요.
= If you don’t warm up before exercising, you are bound to get hurt.
시간이 지나면 잊혀지기 마련이에요.
= As time passes, it is bound to be forgotten.
* 잊혀지다 is technically grammatically incorrect because two types of passive verb endings, -히- and -아/어/여지다, are being used together in one word. The correct form of the word to use is 잊히다. However, as covered in Level 6 Lesson 21, people tend to use this kind of “double passive voice” with certain verbs even though it is grammatically incorrect.