Lesson 26
In this lesson, let’s take a look at how to say things like, “I thought you would do it”, “I did not think you would do it”, “I thought I was...”, etc.
The key structure used for this is -(으)ㄴ/ㄹ 줄 알다.
-(으)ㄴ 줄 알다 = to know/think that someone has done something
-(으)ㄹ 줄 알다 = to know/think that someone will do something
* Note that -(으)ㄴ is usually associated with the past tense and -(으)ㄹ is usually used associated with the future tense.
Even though -(으)ㄴ/ㄹ 줄 알다 could be used in present tense or future tense sentences, this grammar point is mostly used in the past tense. That means the verb 알다 is mostly used in the form, 알았어요.
Ex)
비가 올 줄 알았어요.
= I knew it was going to rain.
= I thought it was going to rain.
사람이 많을 줄 알았어요.
= I knew there would be a lot of people.
= I thought there would be a lot of people.
How to Tell Whether It Means “I knew” or “I thought”?
The meanings can be very different between, “I knew you would like it” and “I thought you would like it.” The written form for both of these in Korean is the same, but the intonation in spoken Korean is different. When you have more stress on the verb 알다, it means “I knew” and when the stress is on the -(으)ㄴ/ㄹ 줄 part, it means “I thought”.
Ex)
제가 말할 줄 알았어요?
(with emphasis on 알았어요?) = Did you know that I would tell you?
(with emphasis on 말할 줄) = Did you think that I would tell you?
Ex)
어디로 갈 줄 알았어요?
(with emphasis on 알았어요?) = Did you know where he/she/they would go?
(with emphasis on 어디로) = Where did you think he/she/they would go?
Difference Between -(으)ㄴ 줄 알다 and -(으)ㄹ 줄 알다
Basically -(으)ㄴ 줄 알다 expresses your knowledge or assumption about a PAST ACTION or a PRESENT STATE, whereas -(으)ㄹ 줄 알다 expresses your knowledge or assumption about a FUTURE action or state. To express your knowledge or assumption about a PRESENT ACTION, you need to use -는 줄 알다.
예쁜 줄 알다
= (with emphasis on 알다) to know that something/someone is pretty
= (with emphasis on 예쁜 줄) to think that something/someone is pretty
Ex)
제 친구는 자기가 세상에서 제일 예쁜 줄 알아요.
= My friend thinks that she is the prettiest in the world.
간 줄 알다
= (with emphasis on 알다) = to know that someone has gone somewhere
= (with emphasis on 간 줄) = to think that someone has gone somewhere
Ex)
제가 학교에 간 줄 알았어요?
= (with emphasis on 알았어요?) = Did you know that I had gone to school?
= (with emphasis on 간 줄) = Did you think that I had gone to school?
How to Say “I did not know I would...” and “I did not think I would...”
There are two ways to make the -(으)ㄹ 줄 알았어요 a negative sentence. One is to change 알았어요 to 몰랐어요. The other is to add 안 to the verb that comes before -(으)ㄹ 줄 알았어요.
Ex)
오늘 눈이 올 줄 알았어요.
= I knew it would snow today.
= I thought it would snow today.
→ 오늘 눈이 올 줄 몰랐어요.
= I did not know it would snow today.
→ 오늘 눈이 안 올 줄 알았어요.
= I thought it would not snow today.
Sample Sentences
이게 여기 있을 줄 몰랐어요.
= I did not know it would be here.
저는 경화 씨도 온 줄 알았어요.
= I thought Kyung-hwa also came. / I knew Kyung-hwa also came.
이렇게 비싼 줄 몰랐어요.
= I did not know it was this expensive.
저는 안 어려울 줄 알았어요.
= I thought it would not be difficult. / I knew it would not be difficult.
제가 뭐라고 할 줄 알았어요?
= What did you think I would say? / Did you know what I would say?