Lesson 17
In this lesson, we will take a look at the structure -만 아니면, which means “if only it’s not...” or “if only you were not...”. This is used in situations where you talk about something that you would be willing to do, but you cannot because of some reason. For example, you can use - 만 아니면 in sentences like, “If you were not my brother, I would not hang out with you” or, “I would totally meet you for coffee, but I have work to do.”
Structure
(1) Noun + -만 아니면 + Verb stem + -(으)ㄹ 텐데요
= If only it were not + Noun, I would + Verb
= If only it were not for + Noun, I would + Verb
= If only I did not have + Noun, I would + Verb
This is used when you want to say that you would do something only if A were not B.
Ex)
오늘이 월요일만 아니면 거기 갈 텐데요.
= If only today were not Monday, I would go there.
* This is basically saying, “I cannot go there because it is Monday today.” However, by using “-만 아니면”, you are expressing you are really sorry.
숙제만 아니면 지금 갈 텐데요.
= If only I did not have my homework, I would go.
(2) Noun + -만 아니면 + Verb stem + -았/었/였을 거예요
= If only it were not + Noun, I would have + Past participle
= If only it were not for + Noun, I would have + Past participle
= If only I did not have + Noun, I would have + Past participle
Ex)
친구만 아니면 경찰에 신고했을 거예요.
= If only she were not my friend, I would have reported her to the police.
오늘이 친구 생일만 아니면 그냥 집에 있었을 거예요.
= If only today were not my friend’s birthday, I would have just stayed home.
* In this situation, you did not really want to go out, but since it was your friend’s birthday, you felt you had to.
(3) Noun + -만 아니면...
= If only it were not + Noun...
= If only it were not for + Noun...
= If only I did not have + Noun...
When what you would have done is obvious and can be easily guessed by the listener, you can just omit the rest of the sentence.
Ex)
직장 상사만 아니면...
= If only he were not my boss at work…
Sample Sentences
그 사람이 제 친구 친척만 아니면...
= If only he were not related to my friend...
이것만 아니면...
= If only this did not exist...
공사 소리만 아니면 잘 잤을 거예요.
= If only it were not for the construction noise, I would have slept well.
여기가 친구 집만 아니면, 지금 잠들었을 거예요.
= If only I were not at a friend’s house, I would have fallen asleep.
저희 담임 선생님만 아니면, 따졌을 거예요.
= If only he were not my homeroom teacher, I would have started an argument.