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Questions & Answers about seuteureseuga manheumyeon babi masi eobseojyeo.
Why are there two -이/-가 markers in the sentence (스트레스가, 밥이, 맛이)?
Korean often marks the subject of each clause with -이/-가.
- 스트레스가 많으면: 스트레스가 is the subject of the first clause (stress is a lot → if you’re very stressed).
- 밥이 맛이 없어져: here Korean can use a double-subject pattern:
- 밥이 = the bigger topic/subject (the meal/food)
- 맛이 = the smaller/inner subject (the taste of it)
So it’s like: As for the meal, its taste disappears.
A very common alternative is to combine them: 밥맛이 없어져 (the taste of food disappears).
What does 많으면 mean grammatically, and why is it 많다 → 많으면?
-으면/면 is the conditional if/when ending.
- With adjectives like 많다 (to be 많다 = to be a lot), you attach -으면/면 to mean if it’s… / when it’s…
- 많다 ends in a consonant (ㅎ is treated as a final consonant here), so it becomes 많으면.
Is -면 closer to if or when in English here?
It can be either, depending on context. In this kind of sentence it’s usually a general/habitual when:
- When I’m very stressed, food stops tasting good. But it can also be understood as if:
- If you have a lot of stress, food won’t taste good.