3.8 Negation — Three Ways of Saying No — Epoché
What you will be able to do Negate any verb in two ways and say that they mean the same thing: 기억이 안 나요. and 기억이 나지 않아요. Put the short negative in front of the verb and the long one behind the stem, and get the spacing right in both. Deny an ability rather than a fact with the third negative: 영어를 못해요. is not the same claim as 당신을 좋아하지 않아요! Know the two common verbs that refuse all three, because they have negatives of their own: 돈이 없어요. and 나는 몰라요. Choose the long form when the verb is long, which is the only rule of style you need in this lesson. Prerequisites : 3.7, which gave you the polite ending and the stem it attaches to. The long negative in this lesson attaches to the same stem, so if stripping a dictionary form is not yet automatic, do that lesson's second task again before starting here. English negates with one word, placed after the first auxiliary, and invents an auxiliary when there is none to place it after. Korean has three negatives and no auxiliaries. Two of the three mean the same thing and differ only in where they stand and how formal they feel; the third means something different, and confusing it with the other two produces sentences that are grammatical and untrue. The pattern The short negative is a single syllable standing as its own block immediately before the verb. Nothing goes between them. Korean Block by block English 이해가 안 돼요. [1] 이해가 understanding · 안 not · 돼요 comes about I don't understand. 기억이 안 나요. [2] 기억이 memory · 안 not · 나요 arises I don't remember. 오늘 기분이 너무 안 좋아요. [3] 오늘 today · 기분이 mood · 너무 too · 안 not · 좋아요 is good I feel so bad today. 아버지는 지금 집에 안 계세요. [4] 아버지는 as for father · 지금 now · 집에 at home · 안 not · 계세요 is My dad is not home at the moment. 안 돼요. [5] 안 not · 돼요 will do No, you can't do that. 나가면 안 돼요. [6] 나가면 if you go out · 안 not · 돼요 will do You can't go out. The long negative attaches a syllable to the verb stem and then supplies a second verb which carries the polite ending. Two blocks instead of one, and the negation is at the end where all Korean grammar lives. Korean Block by block English 쉽지 않아요. [9] 쉽지 being easy · 않아요 is not so It's not easy. 신을 믿지 않아요. [7] 신을 God · 믿지 believing · 않아요 is not so I don't believe in God. 영어는 어렵지 않아요. [8] 영어는 as for English · 어렵지 being difficult · 않아요 is not so English isn't difficult. 기억이 나지 않아요. [10] 기억이 memory · 나지 arising · 않아요 is not so I don't remember. 담배를 피우지 않아요. [12] 담배를 tobacco · 피우지 smoking · 않아요 is not so I don't smoke. 당신을 좋아하지 않아요! [13] 당신을 you · 좋아하지 liking · 않아요 is not so I don't like you! 우리는 거짓말을 하지 않아요. [14] 우리는 as for us · 거짓말을 lies · 하지 doing · 않아요 is not so We don't lie. 더 이상 걱정하지 않아요. [15] 더 이상 any longer · 걱정하지 worrying · 않아요 is not so I'm no longer worried. The two forms mean the same thing, and the corpus this course draws on contains pairs that prove it: two sentences with the same English translation, one built each way. Short negative Long negative English 기억이 안 나요. [2] 기억이 나지 않아요. [10] I don't remember. 나는 잠이 많지 않아요. [11] 나는 많이 자지 않아요. [16] I don't sleep a lot. The third negative denies that something can be done, or is done well. It stands in front of the verb like the short one, and it says something the other two do not. Korean What it denies English 영어를 못해요. [18] the ability I don't speak English. 저는 일본어를 못 해요. [17] the ability I don't speak Japanese. 운동을 잘 못해요. [19] doing it well I am not good at sports. 잘 못 들었어요. [20] succeeding in hearing Sorry? 제 문자 못 받았어요? [21] the receiving having happened Did you not get my text? 죄송하지만 못하겠어요. [22] the ability, politely I'm sorry, but I can't. How This Differs from English English has one negative and Korean has two that are interchangeable. The choice between them is a matter of length and register rather than of meaning. The short one is quicker and belongs to speech; the long one is the only option when the verb is long, and it is the one writing prefers. A rough rule that works: if the verb is a single short stem, either will do; if the verb is built from a noun plus the verb for doing, or is more than two syllables, use the long one. 우리는 거짓말을 하지 않아요. and 더 이상 걱정하지 않아요. are both of that kind. There is also a spacing trap, and it is one of the places where Korean writing is genuinely hard. The short negative is written as a separate block, so there is a space before the verb. With verbs built from a noun plus "do", the negative goes inside, between the noun and the verb, which splits a word that is otherwise written joined. This is why 저는 일본어를 못 해요. is written with a space and 영어를 못해요. without one, in two sentences that mean the same thing. Both spellings occur in print. Lesson 3.30 of the second phase treats the spacing rules properly; for now, notice the variation rather than trying to resolve it. English "cannot" covers ability and permission, and Korean splits them. The third negative of this lesson is about ability and about success: not being able, not managing, not doing well. Permission is denied by a different construction altogether, the one in 나가면 안 돼요. , which is literally "if you go out it will not do". An English speaker who uses the ability negative to refuse permission has said that the person is incapable rather than not allowed, which in Korean is both wrong and rude. The difference between not doing and not being able is compulsory. English can say "I don't speak Japanese" and leave it open whether that is a choice or an inability. Korean cannot. 영어를 못해요. says that you are unable; the long negative on the same verb would say that you choose not to. Beginners reach for the ability negative for everything, which produces an oddly helpless-sounding speaker, and advanced learners reach for it too rarely, which sounds arrogant. The honest use of it, as in 운동을 잘 못해요. , is also a standard piece of modesty. Two very common verbs take none of the three. The verb for existing has its own negative, which you met in lesson 3.6, and the verb for knowing has one too. Neither can be negated with the short or the long