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Questions & Answers about iljeongi bappaseo eoje hoesige mos gasseo.
Who is the subject here? There’s no “I.”
Korean often omits obvious subjects. In this context, the speaker is clearly talking about themselves, so “I” is understood. If you want to make it explicit, you can add:
- Casual: 나는/내가
- Polite: 저는/제가 Example: 제가 일정이 바빠서 어제 회식에 못 갔어요.
Is it natural to say “일정이 바빠서”? Can a schedule be “busy”?
Yes, it’s idiomatic. It literally means “the schedule is busy,” which corresponds to “my schedule is full.” Alternatives with slightly different nuances:
- 일정이 많아서 (I had many things scheduled)
- 일정이 빡빡해서 (my schedule was tight/packed)
- 스케줄이 꽉 차서 (loanword; schedule was full)
- If you want a noun-based reason: 일정 때문에
Why use the connector -아서/어서 in 바빠서? How is it different from -니까 or 때문에?
- -아서/어서: neutral, factual cause-and-effect. Very natural here: 일정이 바빠서 …
- -니까: often used to justify a claim or for giving reasons before a request/command. Also fine: 일정이 바쁘니까 …
- -기 때문에 / 때문에: a bit more formal/explanatory. With a verb/adjective, use -기 때문에; with a noun, 때문에. E.g., 바빴기 때문에, 일정 때문에.
Can I say 바빴어서 since the event was yesterday?
Avoid it. With -아서/어서, you typically don’t mark past in the reason clause. Use:
- Natural: 일정이 바빠서 어제 회식에 못 갔어.
- If you want explicit past in the reason, switch pattern: 일정이 바빴기 때문에 어제 회식에 못 갔어.
Why 회식에 and not 회식에서?
- 에 marks destination/attendance at an event: “go to the company dinner” → 회식에 가다.
- 에서 marks the location where an action happens. 회식에서 would mean “at the dinner,” which doesn’t fit “couldn’t go.”
What’s the difference between 못 갔어 and 안 갔어?
- 못 갔어: couldn’t go (inability due to circumstances; lack of opportunity/ability).
- 안 갔어: didn’t go (choice/intention; you decided not to go). If you missed it because you were busy, 못 갔어 is the natural choice.
How about 갈 수 없었어 or 가지 못했어?
All are correct but differ in tone:
- 못 갔어: most colloquial and common.
- 갈 수 없었어: “was not able to go”; a bit more objective/explanatory.
- 가지 못했어: uses the long negation -지 못하다; slightly more formal/literary. Formal/polite equivalents:
- 못 갔어요 / 못 갔습니다
- 갈 수 없었어요 / 갈 수 없었습니다
- 가지 못했어요 / 가지 못했습니다
What politeness level is … 못 갔어? How do I say this to a boss?
… 못 갔어 is casual (banmal). More polite:
- Standard polite: 일정이 바빠서 어제 회식에 못 갔어요.
- Formal/business: 일정이 바빠서 어제 회식에 참석하지 못했습니다. (참석하다 “to attend” sounds more formal than 가다.)
Can I change the word order, especially with 어제?
Yes, Korean word order is flexible, but some orders sound more natural:
- Natural: 어제 회식에 못 갔어.
- Also fine: 일정이 바빠서 회식에 어제 못 갔어 (less common), 어제 일정이 바빠서 회식에 못 갔어.
- To contrast yesterday, add a topic marker: 어제는 회식에 못 갔어. Keep reason-before-result: 일정이 바빠서 … 못 갔어 feels most natural.
What about particles on 일정? Why 일정이 and not 일정은?
- 이/가 marks the subject/new information: “(my) schedule is busy,” introducing the cause.
- 은/는 adds a topical/contrastive nuance: 일정은 바빠서… (“As for the schedule, [it] was busy, so…”), implying contrast with something else. Use 이/가 by default here.
Is the spacing correct in 못 갔어? I’ve seen 못갔어.
The correct spacing is two words: 못 갔어. 못 is an adverb meaning “cannot,” so it stands separate from the verb. Writing 못갔어 is a common mistake.
How do I pronounce this naturally?
- 일정이 바빠서: sounds like [일쩡이 바빠서]. Note the double consonant feel in 바빠-.
- 못 갔어: due to consonant effects, it’s [몯 까써] in fast speech (final ㅅ in 못 makes the following ㄱ in 갔어 sound tense like ㄲ). A safe romanization is “mot gasseo.”
- Full sentence (approx.): “il-jeong-i bappa-seo eo-je hoe-sig-e mot ga-sseo.”
Is the spelling 바뻐서 okay?
Standard spelling is 바빠서 (and 바빠요), not 바뻐서/바뻐요. The older spelling with ㅃ in the second syllable is now nonstandard.
Can I drop the particle and say 회식 못 갔어?
In casual speech, particles are sometimes dropped and people will understand 회식 못 갔어. For correct/neutral usage, keep 에: 회식에 못 갔어. In formal contexts, don’t drop it.
Should I use 가다 or 참석하다 with 회식?
Both are used, with different tones:
- Casual/natural: 회식에 가다 (to go to the company dinner)
- Formal/business: 회식에 참석하다 (to attend the company dinner) So: 회식에 못 갔어 vs 회식에 참석하지 못했습니다.
What exactly is 회식? Is it just “dinner”?
회식 is a work-related group meal (often with drinks) meant for team bonding. It’s more specific than a generic 모임 (gathering) and different from 회의 (meeting). Saying you missed 회식 refers to that company social event.