Korean -(으)면 and -거든 can both introduce a condition translated as if or when in English, but they do not serve every sentence equally. -(으)면 is a broad conditional used in general truths, ordinary plans, requests and hypothetical situations. Connective -거든 is narrower and commonly prepares the listener for a request, suggestion, invitation or future response.
If you are searching Korean 면 vs 거든, the difference between if and when in Korean, how to use 거든 with commands, or why sentence-final 거든요 means something different, start by examining the second clause. What follows the condition tells you whether the Korean is making a general observation or directing someone to act when an event occurs.
This reader-friendly guide explains the forms from first principles and then works through everyday messages, travel plans, classroom advice, short conversations and contrasting clauses. You will practise translating accurately without adding certainty, certainty about timing or commands that the original did not contain.
- -(으)면 is the broad everyday if/when conditional and works in many sentence types.
- Connective -거든 often introduces a possible future event followed by a request, advice, invitation or intention.
- Do not confuse clause-connecting -거든 with sentence-final -거든요, which can offer background or a reason.
- After vowel or ㄹ stems, -(으)면 commonly takes 면; after other consonant stems it takes 으면.
- Translate if or when according to how likely, expected or habitual the event is in context, not a fixed one-to-one dictionary rule.
The visible translation problem
Compare 비가 오면 길이 미끄러워요 with 비가 오거든 우산을 가져가세요. The first states a general relationship: when it rains, the road is slippery. The second gives advice for a possible event: if it rains, take an umbrella. Translating both as the same kind of if-statement hides their different conversational jobs.
Another trap is confusing clause-internal 거든 with sentence-final 거든요. 오늘은 못 가요. 일이 있거든요 may explain a previous statement: I can’t go today. I have work, you see. That final ending is not the same as an unfinished if-clause.
The task is to recognise the condition, classify the following action and choose an English sentence that preserves the speaker’s purpose.
First principles: what the construction really contributes
1. -(으)면 marks a general condition
This connective can describe real possibilities, habitual patterns, future triggers and imagined situations. 시간이 있으면 같이 가요 means If you have time, let’s go together. 비가 오면 집에 있어요 can be interpreted in a habitual setting as When it rains, I stay home. The English choice depends on the described event, not a unique Korean word for each English conjunction.
2. The form depends on the stem
After a vowel stem, use -면, as in 가면. After many consonant stems, use -으면, as in 먹으면 or 좋으면. After a ㄹ-ending stem, the ㄹ remains and 면 follows, as in 살면. A learner who simply adds 으면 after every consonant will create errors.
3. Connective -거든 narrows the discourse job
In a clause such as 시간이 나거든 연락해 주세요, the condition sets up a specific response: contact me when you have time. This form commonly appears before an instruction, invitation, promise or speaker’s intention. It is not the usual way to state a neutral natural law.
4. The form of -거든 is not -으거든
The conditional ending is attached as -거든 without inserting the buffer 으 used in -(으)면. 먹거든 is the relevant shape, not 먹으거든. Learners should recognise that visually similar conditionals have different formation rules.
5. Sentence-final -거든요 is a different construction
Korean can use -거든요 at the end of a sentence to explain or supply background. 제가 먼저 가야 해요. 약속이 있거든요 can mean I need to leave first. I have an appointment, you see. Do not translate the final sentence as If I have an appointment unless a different grammatical structure actually creates a condition.
6. English if and when divide certainty differently
An anticipated future trigger may be translated as when: 집에 도착하면 연락할게요, When I get home, I’ll get in touch. An open possibility may use if: 시간이 있으면 도와주세요, If you have time, please help. Korean -(으)면 does not encode an English if/when division by itself.
7. The second clause matters
A neutral consequence such as winter becoming cold fits the broad conditional. A request such as Please call me supplies an action that is especially compatible with connective -거든. The translator must read both clauses before selecting an English conjunction or punctuation.
8. Politeness and real-world messages
Please, come by, call when free and notify me after completion can all sound natural in English, but one should not erase a polite request as a factual prediction. The Korean ending and the final verb together help establish whether the speaker is advising, inviting or merely describing.
A repeatable, nine-step translation method
Step 1: Read before replacing words
Read at least the full clause and, where possible, the surrounding exchange. Note who is speaking, to whom, and for what purpose. Mark names, time expressions, negatives and obligations separately. This early inventory prevents a quick dictionary match from taking charge of the sentence. Find the conditional ending and identify whether the grammar is -(으)면, connective -거든 or sentence-final -거든요.
Step 2: State the plain meaning
Write a short English note about what happened, who did it and how the speaker knows it. This note is not the final translation. It is the control sample against which every polished version is checked. Resist the impulse to imitate source-language word order. State the proposed condition in plain English without yet committing to if or when.
Step 3: Find the hinge
Locate the grammatical word or construction that changes the interpretation. Ask whether it introduces a person, condition, degree of certainty, time relationship or social stance. If two source expressions differ, make a two-column comparison before deciding whether one English phrase fits both. Read the main clause: is it an instruction, an outcome, a habit, a proposal or an explanation?
Step 4: Separate content from effect
Record the factual message and the way it is presented. A translation should not turn a request into a promise or an inference into a confirmed event. It should also not erase useful warmth, tact or distance just because English expresses that nuance differently. For -거든, inspect whether the following verb gives a response the listener is asked or invited to make.
Step 5: Draft natural English
Choose the shortest ordinary English sentence that preserves the identified relationship. You are allowed to change clause order, replace an impersonal expression with a passive, or supply an explicit subject where English requires one. You are not allowed to invent people, certainty, events or permissions. Decide if the event is expected, possible or recurrent; choose if, when or whenever accordingly.
Step 6: Check the alternative
Write a second plausible English version and explain the difference. Which one suits the speaker’s purpose better? If both are justified, say so. If they imply different facts, consult context rather than pretending the variants are stylistically identical. Check the Korean ending’s form and preserve the speech-level politeness in the English tone.
Step 7: Run the reversal test
Read your English without looking at the original and ask what source-language distinction a competent reader would reconstruct. A reversible word-by-word translation is not required, but major roles, conditions, quantities and evidential limits should survive. Contrast a general truth with a specific request to see when a swap would change the sentence.
Step 8: Read for the audience
For a learner’s dialogue, conversational English may be right. For instructions, public notices, school communications or research prose, a more explicit phrasing may be necessary. State the audience and keep it constant across the paragraph. Do not append an English if to sentence-final 거든요, which may be explanatory.
Step 9: Record and revisit errors
Save one problem sentence, the tempting wrong version, the corrected rendering and the rule that distinguishes them. Revisit it later with a different subject or setting. This creates transferable judgement rather than memorising one example. Practise with invitations, ordinary rules and explanatory final statements as separate categories.
Worked translations: read the evidence, not just the gloss
Each example shows a condition in action or a nearby form that learners easily confuse with it. The most productive question is: what does the second clause ask the reader to believe or do?
Worked example 1: A possible meeting
Original: 시간이 있으면 같이 가요. Natural English: If you have time, let’s go together.
The broad conditional introduces availability as the condition for joining the plan. The main clause is a proposal, which -(으)면 readily supports. Identify the human referent and the event before trying to keep the original word order. A translation can be fluent while assigning the action to the wrong person, and readers will act on that error.
Tempting mistake: When you definitely have time overstates certainty if availability is unknown. Better decision: Keep the invitation and leave time availability open.
To transfer this skill, change the participant, time or audience and justify the new wording. Look at the second clause to see whether it is advice, an invitation or a general observation. Change the scene to a fixed appointment before choosing when.
Worked example 2: A friendly invitation
Original: 시간 나거든 놀러 오세요. Natural English: If you get some free time, come and visit.
Connective 거든 presents a future opportunity and leads to an invitation. The English should sound hospitable rather than like a statement of a repeated natural law. Check what the sentence actually asserts rather than what a reader might infer from the situation. The translator must distinguish stated information from an attractive but unsupported interpretation.
Tempting mistake: Whenever time exists, a visit occurs removes the speaker’s invitation. Better decision: Use a friendly conditional plus an imperative or invitation.
To transfer this skill, change the participant, time or audience and justify the new wording. Decide whether the English audience expects if, when or whenever. For a formal invitation, a more neutral -(으)면 may be preferable.
Worked example 3: General rainy weather
Original: 비가 오면 길이 미끄러워요. Natural English: When it rains, the roads are slippery.
The sentence describes a general relationship between rain and slippery roads. There is no requested action in the main clause. Notice whether the speaker is making a general claim, reporting a particular incident, or giving a request. That communicative job determines what counts as a natural English sentence.
Tempting mistake: If it rains, take the road cautiously adds advice not present in the source. Better decision: Preserve the observation rather than inventing an instruction.
To transfer this skill, change the participant, time or audience and justify the new wording. Keep the distinction between connective -거든 and explanatory sentence-final -거든요. Replace the main clause with a request to see how discourse function changes.
Worked example 4: Advice about an umbrella
Original: 비가 오거든 우산을 가져가세요. Natural English: If it rains, take an umbrella.
The conditional sets up a possible situation followed by an instruction. This is a natural environment for connective 거든. Read the preceding sentence and the next likely reply. A translation that works as an isolated vocabulary exercise may become misleading as a response in a real conversation.
Tempting mistake: When it rains, umbrellas exist misses the advice completely. Better decision: Keep the contingent action and polite imperative.
To transfer this skill, change the participant, time or audience and justify the new wording. Check stem forms before judging meaning. Do not add an unsupported weather forecast.
Worked example 5: Completion notification
Original: 일이 끝나거든 알려 주세요. Natural English: Let me know when the work is finished.
The speaker wants notification once completion occurs. The connective event triggers the listener’s action rather than stating a natural consequence. Locate the grammatical marker carrying the subtle distinction. When English lacks an equivalent marker, its work may have to be transferred to word choice, syntax, or a short explanatory phrase.
Tempting mistake: The work will definitely finish by noon inserts a deadline. Better decision: Preserve the request and the trigger.
To transfer this skill, change the participant, time or audience and justify the new wording. A polite imperative is different from a factual prediction and must stay different. If the work’s completion is uncertain, if it finishes can be justified.
Worked example 6: A normal future trigger
Original: 집에 도착하면 연락할게요. Natural English: I’ll contact you when I get home.
The speaker plans to contact someone upon arrival. The broad conditional does not require the translator to use if when arrival is expected. Keep a record of what remains uncertain. Where the source permits more than one reading, a translator should not silently choose a stronger assertion merely to make the prose smoother.
Tempting mistake: I will contact you only if I ever get home adds unwanted uncertainty. Better decision: Use when for an expected arrival without inventing an exact time.
To transfer this skill, change the participant, time or audience and justify the new wording. Look at the second clause to see whether it is advice, an invitation or a general observation. Contrast an uncertain journey in which if might become natural.
Worked example 7: When you do not know
Original: 모르면 질문하세요. Natural English: If you don’t know, ask a question.
The conditional presents lack of knowledge as the trigger for advice. The broad ending works smoothly with a polite imperative. Distinguish the listener’s expected action from the speaker’s description. Instructions, observations and invitations are not interchangeable, even if each can be paraphrased with similar English words.
Tempting mistake: Do not ask if you know reverses the instruction. Better decision: Keep the permission to seek clarification.
To transfer this skill, change the participant, time or audience and justify the new wording. Decide whether the English audience expects if, when or whenever. The exact English can be Ask if you’re unsure in a classroom.
Worked example 8: Colloquial teaching advice
Original: 모르거든 선생님께 물어보세요. Natural English: If you don’t know, ask the teacher.
The connective 거든 is followed by an instruction. The source does not predict that the student will definitely be ignorant. Test the sentence against a contrasting case with one feature changed. If the English translation remains identical when the source contrast matters, it may be hiding information that needs recovery.
Tempting mistake: The teacher doesn’t know changes the subject. Better decision: Keep the student as the uncertain learner and the teacher as helper.
To transfer this skill, change the participant, time or audience and justify the new wording. Keep the distinction between connective -거든 and explanatory sentence-final -거든요. In a highly formal notice, use a more neutral instructional style.
Worked example 9: Seasonal pattern
Original: 봄이 오면 꽃이 피어요. Natural English: When spring comes, flowers bloom.
This habitual or regular relationship is naturally expressed with -(으)면. English when captures the seasonal pattern. Identify the human referent and the event before trying to keep the original word order. A translation can be fluent while assigning the action to the wrong person, and readers will act on that error.
Tempting mistake: If spring comes, please bloom invents a request to the flowers. Better decision: Use a general observation, not an instruction.
To transfer this skill, change the participant, time or audience and justify the new wording. Check stem forms before judging meaning. Compare with spring arrival as a one-time trigger for a human plan.
Worked example 10: Invitation during a visit
Original: 서울에 오거든 연락해 주세요. Natural English: If you come to Seoul, please contact me.
This is a familiar conversational pattern: if the addressee happens to visit Seoul, they should get in touch. The English may also use when if the visit is expected. Check what the sentence actually asserts rather than what a reader might infer from the situation. The translator must distinguish stated information from an attractive but unsupported interpretation.
Tempting mistake: You must travel to Seoul changes a condition into an obligation. Better decision: Preserve the invitation and the uncertainty about the trip.
To transfer this skill, change the participant, time or audience and justify the new wording. A polite imperative is different from a factual prediction and must stay different. Do not infer a confirmed booking from the sentence.
Worked example 11: A hypothetical purchase
Original: 돈이 있으면 살 거예요. Natural English: If I have the money, I’ll buy it.
The broad conditional introduces financial ability as a condition for purchase. It does not promise that the money is already available. Notice whether the speaker is making a general claim, reporting a particular incident, or giving a request. That communicative job determines what counts as a natural English sentence.
Tempting mistake: I have the money and have bought it converts possibility to fact. Better decision: Use if and preserve future intention.
To transfer this skill, change the participant, time or audience and justify the new wording. Look at the second clause to see whether it is advice, an invitation or a general observation. Keep the object it only if the context identifies what is being purchased.
Worked example 12: A frequent habit
Original: 스트레스를 받으면 음악을 들어요. Natural English: When I’m stressed, I listen to music.
The sentence describes a repeated pattern rather than a one-time future instruction. Whenever is also natural in English. Read the preceding sentence and the next likely reply. A translation that works as an isolated vocabulary exercise may become misleading as a response in a real conversation.
Tempting mistake: If someone is stressed, they must listen to music creates a general rule. Better decision: Translate the speaker’s habit and not a prescription.
To transfer this skill, change the participant, time or audience and justify the new wording. Decide whether the English audience expects if, when or whenever. Change the verb to advice and observe the shift in force.
Worked example 13: Polite service request
Original: 문제가 생기거든 바로 말씀해 주세요. Natural English: If a problem comes up, please tell me right away.
A possible problem sets up a request for immediate notification. 바로 specifies promptly and must not be discarded. Locate the grammatical marker carrying the subtle distinction. When English lacks an equivalent marker, its work may have to be transferred to word choice, syntax, or a short explanatory phrase.
Tempting mistake: A problem definitely occurred misstates the conditional. Better decision: Keep the possibility, action and urgency separate.
To transfer this skill, change the participant, time or audience and justify the new wording. Keep the distinction between connective -거든 and explanatory sentence-final -거든요. For written service guidance, If any problem arises, please let us know immediately is a natural form.
Worked example 14: Waiting for results
Original: 결과가 나오면 알려 주세요. Natural English: Please let me know when the results come out.
The broad conditional can express a future trigger for a request. It does not mean only 거든 can precede instructions. Keep a record of what remains uncertain. Where the source permits more than one reading, a translator should not silently choose a stronger assertion merely to make the prose smoother.
Tempting mistake: If the results exist, they are known is a different event. Better decision: Use when where results are expected, without creating a date.
To transfer this skill, change the participant, time or audience and justify the new wording. Check stem forms before judging meaning. Compare 결과가 나오거든 알려 주세요 as a more conversational request.
Worked example 15: A traffic pattern
Original: 차가 많으면 길이 막혀요. Natural English: When there is heavy traffic, the road gets congested.
A general cause-and-effect relationship is being described. The form works without a human directive in the second clause. Distinguish the listener’s expected action from the speaker’s description. Instructions, observations and invitations are not interchangeable, even if each can be paraphrased with similar English words.
Tempting mistake: If traffic is heavy, call me turns the statement into instructions. Better decision: Keep the observation about congestion.
To transfer this skill, change the participant, time or audience and justify the new wording. A polite imperative is different from a factual prediction and must stay different. This is not an appropriate neutral pattern for connective -거든.
Worked example 16: Instructions after eating
Original: 밥을 다 먹거든 그릇을 치워 주세요. Natural English: When you’ve finished eating, please clear the dishes.
The completion of eating is the trigger for a polite request. The source does not say the dishes have already been cleared. Test the sentence against a contrasting case with one feature changed. If the English translation remains identical when the source contrast matters, it may be hiding information that needs recovery.
Tempting mistake: The dishes are already cleared invents completion. Better decision: Preserve sequence and directive.
To transfer this skill, change the participant, time or audience and justify the new wording. Look at the second clause to see whether it is advice, an invitation or a general observation. Translate after you’ve eaten if that sounds more natural.
Worked example 17: A future text message
Original: 늦으면 문자 보내 주세요. Natural English: If you’re late, please send a text.
This basic conditional is concise and entirely natural before a request. English if fits because lateness is only possible, not certain. Identify the human referent and the event before trying to keep the original word order. A translation can be fluent while assigning the action to the wrong person, and readers will act on that error.
Tempting mistake: When you are late implies an expectation the source does not require. Better decision: Use if and retain the requested text.
To transfer this skill, change the participant, time or audience and justify the new wording. Decide whether the English audience expects if, when or whenever. Do not add a specific contact number absent from the message.
Worked example 18: An explanatory ending
Original: 오늘 못 가요. 약속이 있거든요. Natural English: I can’t go today. I have an appointment, you see.
The second sentence explains the first. Sentence-final 거든요 is not functioning as a connective introducing a subsequent conditional result. Check what the sentence actually asserts rather than what a reader might infer from the situation. The translator must distinguish stated information from an attractive but unsupported interpretation.
Tempting mistake: If I have an appointment leaves the reason unfinished. Better decision: Translate the explanatory function as a separate assertion.
To transfer this skill, change the participant, time or audience and justify the new wording. Keep the distinction between connective -거든 and explanatory sentence-final -거든요. In English the you see may be omitted if the explanation is clear without it.
Worked example 19: Another explanatory ending
Original: 제가 먼저 가야 해요. 일이 있거든요. Natural English: I need to leave first. I have work to do.
The final 거든요 supplies background that explains early departure, not a new condition for leaving. English can avoid an explicit explanatory particle. Notice whether the speaker is making a general claim, reporting a particular incident, or giving a request. That communicative job determines what counts as a natural English sentence.
Tempting mistake: If I have work, leave first wrongly changes the sentence into advice. Better decision: Keep the speaker’s need and the explanation.
To transfer this skill, change the participant, time or audience and justify the new wording. Check stem forms before judging meaning. Consider adding because only if it makes the logical relation clearer.
Worked example 20: Formation with a vowel
Original: 가면 전화하세요. Natural English: Call when you get there.
가다 has a vowel-final stem and takes 면. The event of going or arriving must be interpreted from context; the bare sentence does not say exactly where. Read the preceding sentence and the next likely reply. A translation that works as an isolated vocabulary exercise may become misleading as a response in a real conversation.
Tempting mistake: 가으면 is an incorrect formed ending. Better decision: Use 가면 and the ordinary English conditional.
To transfer this skill, change the participant, time or audience and justify the new wording. A polite imperative is different from a factual prediction and must stay different. If destination is unknown, translate Call if you go instead.
Worked example 21: Formation with a consonant
Original: 먹으면 알려 주세요. Natural English: Let me know when you’ve eaten.
먹다 has a consonant-final stem and takes 으면. The English completion reading comes from the communicative situation, not from an explicit past-tense ending. Locate the grammatical marker carrying the subtle distinction. When English lacks an equivalent marker, its work may have to be transferred to word choice, syntax, or a short explanatory phrase.
Tempting mistake: 먹면 omits the necessary buffer vowel. Better decision: Keep the conditional and the polite request.
To transfer this skill, change the participant, time or audience and justify the new wording. Look at the second clause to see whether it is advice, an invitation or a general observation. Compare 먹거든 알려 주세요, where no 으 is inserted.
Worked example 22: A ㄹ-ending stem
Original: 여기 살면 편해요. Natural English: It’s convenient if you live here.
살다 retains ㄹ before 면; 살으면 is incorrect. The sentence connects living here with convenience, not with an invitation to move. Keep a record of what remains uncertain. Where the source permits more than one reading, a translator should not silently choose a stronger assertion merely to make the prose smoother.
Tempting mistake: 여기 살으면 is a learner formation error. Better decision: Use 살면 and a natural English conditional.
To transfer this skill, change the participant, time or audience and justify the new wording. Decide whether the English audience expects if, when or whenever. Do not claim that the area is convenient for everyone without the stated condition.
What the examples teach when read together
Comparison 1: One conditional has broad scope
-(으)면 works for conditions with ordinary consequences, personal habits, requests, proposals and imagined situations. Its flexibility makes it a strong default for learners. English varies between if, when and whenever according to context, rather than requiring a separate Korean particle for every English nuance.
Comparison 2: One conditional is interaction-focused
Connective -거든 commonly prepares a listener to do something if an event occurs. A host inviting a visitor, a teacher offering advice and a friend requesting a call have the same communicative direction. A neutral physical law lacks that interpersonal response and is less naturally expressed with this form.
Comparison 3: An ending position changes the job
A clause-medial -거든 can introduce a condition; sentence-final -거든요 can supply explanation or background. Translators who inspect only the syllables and ignore punctuation or clause structure can convert an explanation into an unfinished condition. Always parse the whole sentence.
Comparison 4: Politeness survives through the main clause
The honorific or polite verb ending in a request helps determine its English force. Please call, let me know, come by and ask the teacher are actions requested of a listener, not statements that those actions have already occurred. The condition sets the circumstance in which the action applies.
Failure modes and exact repairs
1. Treating one English gloss as a rule
A short glossary entry can introduce a construction but cannot decide every sentence. The surrounding event, speaker and consequence must still be checked; otherwise a good word becomes a poor translation. Check the main clause: ordinary fact, invitation, command or explanation?
2. Rewriting away uncertainty
If the source leaves the actor, motive or condition unspecified, the translation should not supply a confident explanation just because the writer wishes to be helpful. Mark the uncertainty or phrase the sentence neutrally. Do not use sentence-final -거든요 as though it were an if-clause missing its conclusion.
3. Confusing naturalness with embellishment
Natural English often requires a changed structure. It does not require extra emotion, more definite timing, or an invented intention. Compare each added English word with the evidence available in the source. Remember -(으)면 forms differ from -거든 forms.
4. Ignoring agreement and reference
A small form can indicate singular versus plural, the person affected or the scope of a condition. The verb ending may be more important to the translation than the main vocabulary item. English when is sometimes better than if even when Korean uses the same conditional ending.
5. Over-correcting a learner’s sentence
A classroom correction should identify the exact point of failure. Rewriting every clause into elegant prose hides the learnable rule and makes it harder for the learner to reproduce the improvement independently. Check the main clause: ordinary fact, invitation, command or explanation?
6. Assuming formality from length
A long expression is not automatically formal, and a short form is not automatically casual. Decide register from the social relationship and actual usage rather than a visual impression of the grammar. Do not use sentence-final -거든요 as though it were an if-clause missing its conclusion.
7. Using back-translation as the only proof
Back-translation can expose role reversals but cannot establish whether the English sounds appropriate. Pair it with an audience check and, for consequential material, confirmation by a competent reader of the source language. Remember -(으)면 forms differ from -거든 forms.
8. Mistaking a plausible inference for a statement
Readers infer causes and intentions all the time. Translation should preserve enough information for a similar inference, not pre-emptively turn that inference into an explicit accusation, warning or promise. English when is sometimes better than if even when Korean uses the same conditional ending.
9. Failing to test a minimal pair
When two forms are introduced together, practise sentences where only that feature changes. Contrasts reveal why the grammar matters much more efficiently than a long list of unrelated vocabulary. Check the main clause: ordinary fact, invitation, command or explanation?
10. Stopping at the first correct exercise
The ability to recognise a sentence is not the same as using it in a school message, real conversation, notice or narrative. Change the person, time and audience to test whether understanding transfers. Do not use sentence-final -거든요 as though it were an if-clause missing its conclusion.
Practice: translate, explain, then transfer
Cover the answers before reading them. For each item, write one English sentence, identify the feature that controls the meaning, and describe one plausible but misleading alternative. Your explanation matters more than guessing the same words as the model answer.
Practice 1: Neutral rain pattern
Try: 비가 오면 땅이 젖어요. Model answer: When it rains, the ground gets wet.
This is a general fact, not a request, so -(으)면 is the appropriate broad conditional. Read both clauses before choosing the English connective.
Practice 2: Rainy-day advice
Try: 비가 오거든 창문을 닫으세요. Model answer: If it rains, please close the window.
The connective condition leads to a directive. Check whether an English imperative or invitation is required.
Practice 3: Contact on arrival
Try: 도착하면 연락하세요. Model answer: Call when you arrive.
Arrival triggers a request; the broad conditional works naturally. Do not equate an explanatory sentence with a future condition.
Practice 4: Friendly invitation
Try: 시간 있거든 들르세요. Model answer: If you have time, drop by.
The conditional -거든 leads to an invitation. Test the same example with -(으)면 and explain what changes.
Practice 5: Habit
Try: 피곤하면 일찍 자요. Model answer: When I’m tired, I go to bed early.
The sentence reports a recurring habit rather than instructing the listener. Keep the source’s politeness but avoid adding new obligations.
Practice 6: Teacher’s advice
Try: 어렵거든 다시 읽어 보세요. Model answer: If it’s difficult, try reading it again.
Connective 거든 sets up a suggestion for the learner. Read both clauses before choosing the English connective.
Practice 7: Background reason
Try: 오늘은 쉬어요. 몸이 안 좋거든요. Model answer: I’m resting today. I’m not feeling well, you see.
Final 거든요 explains rather than introduces a condition. Check whether an English imperative or invitation is required.
Practice 8: Consonant stem
Try: 책을 읽으면 이해가 돼요. Model answer: If you read the book, you’ll understand.
읽다 takes 으면; the main clause expresses a result. Do not equate an explanatory sentence with a future condition.
Practice 9: Vowel stem
Try: 가면 알려 주세요. Model answer: Let me know when you go.
가다 takes 면; choose if or when from context. Test the same example with -(으)면 and explain what changes.
Practice 10: Time opportunity
Try: 시간이 나거든 전화해 주세요. Model answer: If you get a chance, please call.
The future opportunity sets up the requested action. Keep the source’s politeness but avoid adding new obligations.
Frequently asked questions
Is -(으)면 always if?
No. It can translate as if, when or whenever depending on whether the context describes an open possibility, expected event or repeated pattern. The Korean ending marks a condition but does not encode that full English distinction. The second clause usually supplies the fastest clue to the meaning.
Can -거든 be used before requests?
Yes. A possible future event can introduce advice, a request or an invitation: 시간이 나거든 연락해 주세요. The point is a condition linked to an expected response from the listener. Translate the event’s certainty from context rather than from one dictionary gloss.
Can I replace every -(으)면 with -거든?
No. Neutral general truths and many factual consequences are naturally expressed with -(으)면, whereas connective -거든 has a narrower discourse function. Some request sentences permit both, but they are not universal synonyms. The explanatory ending needs its own analysis.
Is -거든요 just a polite version of connective -거든?
No. Sentence-final -거든요 often provides background or a reason, rather than introducing a conditional clause followed by an instruction. Position and surrounding sentences are essential to interpretation. Learn the stem rule and the discourse rule separately.
Why is 먹거든 correct but 먹으거든 wrong?
The ending -거든 does not take the buffer 으 used with -(으)면. By contrast, the broad conditional after a consonant-final stem commonly takes -으면, giving 먹으면. For learner exercises, explain why a near-miss is wrong rather than simply crossing it out.
Can I translate literally when the words match?
Yes, if literal syntax and wording preserve the roles and sound natural to the intended audience. Literal translation is a possible result, not a default method. First check meaning and grammar; only then decide how closely the English can follow the original. The second clause usually supplies the fastest clue to the meaning.
Does every source-language distinction need its own English word?
No. English may communicate a contrast through subject choice, sentence rhythm, a different verb, a passive construction or context. A responsible translator preserves significant meaning and acknowledges meaningful ambiguity instead of forcing a one-word code. Translate the event’s certainty from context rather than from one dictionary gloss.
Is a grammatically correct translation necessarily accurate?
No. Grammar checks whether a sentence is well formed. Accuracy checks whether it represents the original claim. An elegant sentence can still name the wrong actor, suggest the wrong cause or turn a possible event into a certainty. The explanatory ending needs its own analysis.
How much context should I read?
Read enough to identify the participants, timing and communicative purpose. One preceding sentence can reverse a pronoun or change an apparently ordinary statement into a warning. For a consequential document, review the larger section rather than an isolated phrase. Learn the stem rule and the discourse rule separately.
Should a translation sound formal?
Only if the target situation calls for it. A private message, an academic explanation and a customer-service notice invite different English choices. Preserve the function and relationship, not a mechanical level of formality based on sentence length. For learner exercises, explain why a near-miss is wrong rather than simply crossing it out.
What should I do when two translations are both possible?
List the evidence for each one. If the source genuinely allows both, use a neutral rendering or retain the ambiguity. Where the choice changes instructions, rights, responsibility or deadlines, seek clarification instead of guessing. The second clause usually supplies the fastest clue to the meaning.
Can machine translation help?
It can offer candidate wording and expose unfamiliar vocabulary, but it is a draft source rather than authority. Compare the candidate against the original, test the relevant grammatical contrast and inspect every name, condition, numerical detail and implied promise. Translate the event’s certainty from context rather than from one dictionary gloss.
What is the fastest way to improve?
Keep small contrast pairs and explain the reason aloud. Practise one correct example, one near miss and one changed situation. Spaced retrieval is more effective than repeatedly rereading a perfect translation without making a decision yourself. The explanatory ending needs its own analysis.
Should I translate every sentence with the same English structure?
Consistency matters for terminology and factual status, not for every grammatical shape. A recurring source form may represent different people or intentions across sentences. Preserve the invariant meaning while allowing natural English variety. Learn the stem rule and the discourse rule separately.
How can teachers assess the work fairly?
Score meaning preservation, identification of the grammatical hinge, natural target-language expression and ability to explain a correction. An answer can be partly correct yet still require an important repair; the feedback should identify which layer failed. For learner exercises, explain why a near-miss is wrong rather than simply crossing it out.
Sources, next reading and independent review
This guide distinguishes grammar evidence from practical translation judgement. For further checking, consult 2026 Korean-language education study comparing conditional connective endings. These examples are teaching illustrations, not certified translations for legal, health or other high-consequence use.
Strengthen word choice through the eduKateSG Vocabulary Learning Hub, explore relationships in How English Works: Grammar and Relationships, and use How English Works for the wider communication system. Continue with Korean -(으)ㄴ데 vs -지만; Continue with How English Works: Context and Interpretation. These routes extend the present lesson without repeating its main grammatical task.
The difference between -(으)면 and connective -거든 is a lesson in reading a complete thought. The conditional is only the first half; the second clause tells us whether the sentence predicts, describes, invites or requests. Translate the whole relationship and the English becomes both accurate and natural.