Lesson 30: An uncertain clause with ~는지, I have been doing X for…: ~ㄴ/은 지 X 됐다

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Vocabulary
Introduction

A Clause of Uncertainty: 지
with Adjectives
If… or not…
Attaching ~도 to ~지

I Have Been Doing X for Y: ~ㄴ/은 지 Y 됐다

 

Vocabulary

Click on the English word to see information and examples of that word in use. You might not be able to understand all of the grammar within the example sentences, but most of the grammar used will be introduced by the end of Unit 2. Use these sentences to give yourself a feel for how each word can be used, and maybe even to expose yourself to the grammar that you will be learning shortly.

A PDF file neatly presenting these words and extra information can be found here.

Nouns:
택배 = delivery

가격 = price

용돈 = allowance

아르바이트 = part-time job

빛 = a light

시인 = poet

주제 = subject

그룹 = group

요금 = fare, price

위치 = position, location

해안 = the coast

가정 = family

재료 = materials, ingredients

자유 = freedom

책임 = responsibility

입구 = entrance, way in

출구 = exit , way out

출입 = enter and exit

수술 = surgery, operation

훈련 = training

비상 = emergency

계단 = steps, stairs, staircase

전통 = tradition, culture, heritage

호선 = a subway line

기간 = a period of time

구체적 = detailed, specific

Verbs:
Conjugate 꺼내다 = to take out, to remove something

Conjugate 전하다 = to convey, to deliver

Conjugate 정하다 = to set

Conjugate 줄이다 = to reduce, to decrease

Conjugate 데려오다 = to bring a person (coming)

Conjugate 데려가다 = to bring a person (going)

Conjugate 막다 = to obstruct, to block

Conjugate 허락하다 = to allow, to permit

Conjugate 버리다 = to throw away

Conjugate 잊어버리다 = to forget

Conjugate 벌다 = to earn

Conjugate 기르다 = to raise (a child, pet), to cultivate (a plant)

Conjugate 조심하다 = to act carefully

Conjugate 관리하다 = to manage, to administer

Conjugate 치료하다 = to treat, to cure

Conjugate 헤어지다 = to break up with a person

Passive Verbs:
Conjugate 줄다 = to be reduced, to be decreased

Conjugate 깨지다 = to be broken, cracked, smashed

Adjectives:
Conjugate 쌀쌀하다 = to be chilly

Conjugate 밝다 = to be bright

Conjugate 목마르다 = to be thirsty

For help memorizing these words, try using our mobile app.

 

 

Introduction

Up to now, you have learned a lot (probably too much!) about using ~는 것 (or one of its derivatives) with a clause to describe an upcoming noun. For example:

내가 가고 있는 곳 = the place I am going
내가 만난 사람 = the person I met
내가 먹을 음식 = the food I will eat

In this lesson, you will learn about adding ~는지 to indicate that the preceding clause is a guess or something uncertain. Let’s get started.

 

 

A Clause of Uncertainty: ~는지

I didn’t know what title to give to “~는지,” but I came up with the “clause of uncertainty” which I feel describes it well. By placing ~는지 at the end of a clause, you can indicate that the clause is some sort of guess, question or uncertainty.

A common situation where there is uncertainty is when there is a question word in a sentence. For example:

저는 친구가 어디 가는 것을 몰라요

If we break that sentence down into more simple pieces, we get:

저는 (—) 몰라요 = I don’t know (—-)

What don’t you know? You don’t know the noun within the brackets:

저는 (친구가 어디 가는 것을) 몰라요

So the sentence reads:

저는 친구가 어디 가는 것을 몰라요 = I don’t know where my friend is going

However, because “친구가 어디 가는 것” is uncertain, ~는지 should be added to the clause instead of ~는 것. For example:

저는 친구가 어디 가는지 몰라요 = I don’t know where my friend is going

It is also worth pointing out here that the future tense ~겠다 is commonly added to 모르다 in these types of sentences. When 모르다 is used like this (as “모르겠다”), it does not have a future tense meaning. Rather, it is just a common (and slightly more polite) way to say that one “does not know something.” Therefore, it would be more common to see the sentence above written/spoken as:

저는 친구가 어디 가는지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know where my friend is going

You will continue to see “모르겠다” used instead of a present tense conjugation of 모르다 in the rest of this lesson and throughout your Korean studies.

By default, if a clause contains a question word (누구, 뭐, 언제, 어디, 왜, etc…) ~는지 is usually added due to the uncertainty that it contains. For example:

엄마가 누구랑 먹는지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know who mom is eating with
엄마가 뭐 먹는지 모르겠어요= I don’t know what mom is eating
엄마가 어디서 먹는지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know where mom is eating
엄마가 왜 먹는지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know why mom is eating

However, a question word does not need to be included in order to use ~는지. All that is needed is that there is uncertainty in the sentence. When there is no question word in a sentence that includes “~는지” the English word “if” is usually used. For example:

엄마가 지금 먹고 있는지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know if mom is eating now

Below are more examples. Also notice that the final word of the sentence does not need to be “모르다.” Any verb or adjective that makes sense along with the preceding uncertain clause can be used. For example:

그 사람을 왜 데려오는지 물어봤어요
= I asked him why he is bringing that person

비상출입구가 어디 있는지 찾았어요
= We found where the emergency exit is

해안까지 어떻게 가는지 물어봤어요
= I asked how to get to the beach/coast

엄마가 무슨 재료를 쓰고 있는지 모르겠어요
= I don’t know what ingredients mom is using

정부가 외국인 선생님 예산을 왜 줄이는지 모르겠어요
= I don’t know why the government is decreasing the budget for foreign teachers

학생들은 선생님들이 돈을 얼마나 버는지 몰라요
= Students don’t know how much money teachers earn

저는 그 학생이 어느 대학교를 다니는지 기억(이) 안 나요
= I don’t remember which university that student attends

Past tense:
The same concept can be used to indicate a guess, question or uncertainty in the past tense. In order to express this, ~았/었 should be added to the verb at the end of the uncertain clause, followed by ~는지. For example:

저는 엄마가 왜 먹었는지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know why mom ate
저는 엄마가 뭐 먹었는지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know what mom ate
저는 엄마가 언제 먹었는지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know when mom ate
저는 엄마가 어디서 먹었는지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know where mom ate
저는 엄마가 밥을 먹었는지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know if mom ate

The form above (using ~았/었는지) is officially correct in Korean. However, in speech, it is very common to hear ~ㄴ/은지 being used instead. For example:

저는 엄마가 왜 먹은지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know why mom ate
저는 엄마가 뭐 먹은지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know what mom ate
저는 엄마가 언제 먹은지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know when mom ate
저는 엄마가 어디서 먹은지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know where mom ate
저는 엄마가 밥을 먹은지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know if mom ate

There really isn’t any difference between the two sets of sentences, especially in speech. Both sets of sentences sound natural to a Korean speaker. However, the correct grammatical form is to use ~았/었는지, and the use of ~ㄴ/은지 is more used in spoken Korean.

Other examples:
그 셔츠를 언제 버렸는지 기억이 안 나요 = I don’t remember when I threw away that shirt
열쇠를 어디 두었는지 잊어버렸어요 = I forget where I put my keys
우리가 이것을 언제 정했는지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know when we set it
그가 저에게 무슨 말을 전했는지 기억이 안 나요 = I don’t remember what that person told me (conveyed to me)

 

 

Future tense:
The same concept can be used to indicate a guess, question or uncertainty in the future tense. In order to express this, ~ㄹ/을 should be added to the verb at the end of the uncertain clause, followed by ~지. For example:

택배가 언제 올지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know when the delivery will come
용돈을 얼마나 줄지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know how much allowance I should give
오후에 비가 올지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know if it will rain in the afternoon
수술을 받을지 확실하지 않아요 = It is not certain if I will get surgery
내일 공원에 갈지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know if I will go to the park tomorrow
내일 영화를 볼지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know if I will see a movie tomorrow

When the uncertain clause doesn’t have a question word in it, it is common to use the word “might” in the English translation. For example

오후에 비가 올지 모르겠어요 = It might rain in the afternoon tomorrow
수술을 받을지 모르겠어요 = I might get surgery
내일 공원에 갈지 모르겠어요 = I might go to the park tomorrow
내일 영화를 볼지 모르겠어요 = I might see a movie tomorrow

English speakers are often confused about how the same Korean sentence can seemingly translate to different things in English. My answer is: They don’t translate to different things. The Korean usage of “~ㄹ/을지 몰라요” just indicates that something may or may not happen. Both translations above (“I don’t know if” and “might…”) indicate that something may or may not happen. Remember that sometimes it is difficult to translate a Korean sentence perfectly into English. As such, I always suggest that you understand the general meaning of the Korean sentence, and try to focus less on the given English translations. The nuance of using “~ㄹ/을지 몰라요” can translate to many things in English, all which (as a result of being a completely different language) cannot perfectly describe this nuance.

 

 

 

 

Using ~는지 with Adjectives

It is also possible to attach ~는지 to an uncertain clause that is predicated by an adjective. However, instead of adding ~는지, ~ㄴ/은지 should be added. Notice that the difference in ~는지 and ~ㄴ/은지 is the same as the difference when attaching ~는 or ~ㄴ/은 to verbs and adjectives to describe an upcoming noun. For example:

먹는 것
가는 것

행복한 것
밝은 것

Below are some examples of ~ㄴ/은지 being used with adjectives:

제가 준 것이 괜찮은지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know if the thing that I gave is good
이 빛이 충분히 밝은지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know if this light is bright enough
제가 구한 아르바이트가 좋은지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know if the job I found is good
제가 가져온 자료가 충분한지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know if I brought enough materials
제가 강아지를 기르고 싶은지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know if I want to raise a puppy
그 책이 얼마나 긴지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know how long that book is

To use this form with adjectives in the past or future tenses, you can add the same thing as with verbs. For example:

그 시대가 그렇게 길었는지 깨닫지 못했어요 = I didn’t realize that era was so long
그 일이 힘들지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know if that work will be difficult
내일 날씨가 쌀쌀할지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know if tomorrow’s weather will be chilly

 

 

 

 

If… or not…

In all of the above examples, only one situation is indicated in the sentence. It is possible to indicate more than one situation by using more than one verb or adjective connected to ~는지 in the sentence. The simplest way to do this is to include the opposite situation, followed by ~는지. For example:

내일 영화를 볼지 안 볼지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know if I will see a movie tomorrow or not
수술을 받을지 안 받을지 확실하지 않아요 = It is not certain if I will get surgery or not
그가 제 말을 들었는지 안 들었는지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know if he was listening to me or not
저는 엄마가 밥을 먹었는지 안 먹었는지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know if mom ate or not
제가 구한 아르바이트가 좋은지 안 좋은지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know if the job I found is good or not

When you are dealing with non-하다 verbs (like 먹다), you need to write out the verb again to indicate “I don’t know if mom ate or not.” However, when dealing with 하다 verbs, the sentence can usually be shortened by eliminating the word before ~하다 when you say the verb the second time. For example, instead of saying:

저는 엄마가 공부했는지 안 공부했는지 모르겠어요

You could just say:

저는 엄마가 공부했는지 안 했는지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know if mom studied or not

Remember that Korean people love shortening their sentences, and taking out the redundant “공부” the second time around is more natural in Korean.

In all of the above examples, two possibilities are listed, and the speaker is indicating that he/she doesn’t know which one will happen amongst the two. The examples above simply use the positive and negative outcomes of the same situation. It is also possible to list two (or more) outcomes that are unrelated to each other. For example:

내일 공원에 갈지 영화를 볼지 모르겠어요
= I don’t know if I will see a movie or go to the park tomorrow

제가 구한 아르바이트가 좋은지 나쁜지 모르겠어요
= I don’t know if the (part-time) job I found is good or bad

수술을 받을지 그냥 약으로 치료할지 확실하지 않아요
= It is not certain if I will get surgery or just treat it with medicine

You can also use “~지” to form a question. For example, if you are asking somebody if they know how to do something. The most common word that finishes the sentence would be “알다.” For example, you can say:

서울에 어떻게 가는지 알아요? = Do you know how to get to Seoul?
그 단어를 어떻게 발음하는지 알아요? = Do you know how to pronounce that word?
그 학생이 책을 왜 버렸는지 알아요? = Do you know why that student threw out his book?
물을 어떻게 막는지 알아요? = Do you know how to block the water?

I call clauses with ~지 “clauses of uncertainty”, but that is just a name I gave it because it describes it well in most situations. There are times when “지” represents something certain. For example, the answers to those questions would be:

서울에 어떻게 가는지 알아요 = I know how to get to Seoul
그 단어를 어떻게 발음하는지 알아요 = I know how to pronounce that word
그 학생이 책을 왜 버렸는지 알아요 = I know why that student threw out his book

In those examples, “지” technically doesn’t represent something uncertain…. so why do we use “지?” In these cases, the use of the question word in the sentence makes it more natural to use “지” as the noun instead of “것.”

Also note that there is another way to say that one “knows how to do something” (which is more based on ability than knowing something). This other way is discussed in Lesson 85.

 

 

 

Attaching ~도 to ~지

It is common to find ~도 attached to ~지. Adding ~도 to ~지 can have two meanings:

1) To have the “too” or “also” or “either” meaning that ~도 usually has. For example:

저는 밥도 먹었어요 = I ate rice too
저도 밥을 먹었어요 = I also ate rice
저는 밥도 안 먹었어요 = I didn’t eat rice either

This first meaning of ~도 will be discussed in a later lesson. This usage is more about the use of ~도 and not really related to the usage of ~지. I will just show you one example sentence so you can understand what I mean:

문을 열지도 몰라요 = You don’t even know how to open the door

Let’s focus on the more ambiguous meaning of ~도, which will be talked about in #2:

 

2) To have very little meaning or purpose in a sentence. Look at the two sentences below:

내일 비가 올지 모르겠어요 = It might rain tomorrow
내일 비가 올지도 모르겠어요 = It might rain tomorrow

Assuming ~도 isn’t being added to have the meaning described in #1 above (which is possible), the use of ~도 does not really change the sentence. Same goes for these two sentences:

내일 공원에 갈지 모르겠어요 = I might go to the park tomorrow
내일 공원에 갈지도 모르겠어요 = I might go to the park tomorrow

For seven years, I’ve been curious about the specific nuance that ~도 adds to these types of sentences (again, assuming that ~도 is not the ~도 from #1 above). All of my research, all of my studying, and all of my exposure to the language has lead me to believe that they are essentially the same. I’ve always thought to myself – “they can’t be exactly the same… the ~도 must have some purpose… right?”

Recently, I had discussions with many people to try to better understand this nuance. I want to show you conversations I had with two people because I think it will not only help you understand how subtle this difference is, but it will also show you that even Korean people don’t really know what the difference is.

My first conversation was with a Korean person who is a fluent English speaker. Below is how our conversation went.

—————————————————————————————————————-

Me: Explain the difference in nuance that you feel between these two sentences:
내일 비가 올지 모르겠어요 = It might rain tomorrow
내일 비가 올지도 모르겠어요 = It might rain tomorrow

Her: The use of ~도 makes it seem like you don’t know if it will happen or not. It’s possible that it will happen, but it is also possible that it won’t happen.

Me: But isn’t that sort of implied in the first sentence as well?

Her: Technically yes, but it’s just two different ways to say the same meaning. It would be like saying “I don’t know if it will rain tomorrow or not” and “It might rain tomorrow.”

Me: I feel like that first sentence that you just said would be better written as
“내일 비가 올지 안 올지 모르겠어요.”

Her: Ah, yes. I feel like these two sentences mean exactly the same thing:
내일 비가 올지도 모르겠어요
내일 비가 올지 안 올지 모르겠어요.
I feel like the use of ~도 adds that extra nuance that something might happen or not.
—————————————————————————————————————-

After speaking with that person, I discussed this problem with a teacher who teaches Korean grammar to Korean high school students. I can only assume that her understanding of Korean grammar is excellent, although sometimes it is hard for somebody to understand the grammar of their own language. Either way, she cannot speak English and our entire conversation was in Korean. This is how it went:

—————————————————————————————————————-

Me: Explain the difference in nuance that you feel between these three sentences:
내일 비가 올지 모르겠어요
내일 비가 올지도 모르겠어요
내일 비가 올지 안 올지 모르겠어요

Her: The first two sentences are identical. In the third one, you are indicating the two possibilities of “it might rain” or “it might not rain.”

Me: I just talked with another Korean person, and she said that the use of “~도” in the second sentence sort of implies those two possibilities as well. She said that the second and third sentences had the same meaning. What do you think about that?

Her: I don’t feel that way when I hear it. I feel the first two are the same, and the third one is listing more possibilities.

——————————

So here I had two Korean people – one with excellent English and the other with a lot of Korean grammar knowledge, and they gave me opposing answers. My conclusion from this and all of my studying, researching and exposure to the language is:

~ㄹ/을지 모르다 and
~ㄹ/을지도 모르다

Have the same, or effectively the same meaning.

Let me take a minute to explain when you would use ~도 in this case.

~도 is added to uncertain clauses that are conjugated in the future tense to express one’s uncertainty of if something will happen in the future (or not). You will typically not see ~도 added to an uncertain clause in the past or present tense unless it is being used to have the meaning as discussed in #1 above.

~도 is not added to uncertain clauses where there is a question word in the clause. For example, it would be unnatural to say something like this:
비가 언제 올지도 모르겠어요
This “rule” leads me to believe that the purpose of ~도 is somewhat closer to having the “if or not” meaning as it was described by the English speaking Korean person in our conversation. Just like how adding “or not” would be unnatural to add to the following English sentence, it would be unnatural to add “~도” to its Korean translation:
비가 언제 올지도 모르겠어요 = I don’t know when it will rain or not

Again, this usage is not the usage of ~도 from #1 above. In that usage, ~도 can be added to ~는지, ~았/었는지 or ~ㄹ/을지 to have the meaning that ~도 usually possesses when it is added to nouns. It can also be added to uncertain clauses that have question words. I will discuss this meaning in a future lesson.

Wow. All of that work to understand one syllable.
We’re not done yet. That syllable (지) has another meaning… one that is easier to dissect.

 

 

 

I have been doing X for Y – 지

Up to this point, this lesson has explained the meaning of ~는지 as a grammatical principle that is attached to its previous clause. For example:

저는 친구가 어디 가는지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know where my friend is going

When ~는지 is added to 가다, notice that there is no space between 가다, ~는 or 지. In this usage, ~지 is not a noun but instead just a part of a larger grammatical principle that can be attached to verbs or adjectives.

지 has another meaning, and it is completely unrelated to the meaning of ~지 that was described earlier in this lesson. I would like to talk about this other meaning in this lesson as well.

In this other meaning, you will see ~지 used after a verb with ~ㄴ/은 attached to the verb.

Notice that ~ㄴ/은 is the same addition that is added to verbs in the past tense of ~는 것

For example, you will see:

사귀다 + ㄴ/은 지 = 사귄 지
먹다 + ㄴ/은 지 먹은 지

I want to take a moment to explain what you are seeing here.

Remember that ~ㄴ/은 (just like ~는 in the present tense and ~ㄹ/을 in the future tense) is added to verbs when they will describe an upcoming noun. For example:

우리가 먹은 밥 = The food we ate
우리가 먹는 밥 = The food we eat
우리가 먹을 밥 = The food we will eat

In this same respect, 지 is also a noun. However, this is the type of noun that I like to call a “pseudo-noun.” These are nouns that can be described by a verb (using ~는 것) or by an adjective (just like any other noun), but they can’t be used on their own.

You will eventually learn more of these nouns in your Korean studies. Below are some of the pseudo-nouns that you will come across shortly:

적 in ~ㄴ/은 적이 없다 | Introduced in Lesson 32
(For example: 그것을 한 적이 없어요 = I haven’t done that)

수 in ~ㄹ/을 수 있다 | Introduced in Lesson 45
(For example: 그것을 할 수 있어요 = I can do that)

줄 in ~ㄹ/을 줄 알다 | Introduced in Lesson 85
(For example: 그것을 할 줄 알아요 = I know how to do that)

Let me explain the situation where you can use the pseudo-noun “지.”

Again, when placed after a verb with ~ㄴ/은 attached:

사귄 지
먹은 지

… and when followed by an indication of time:

사귄 지 6개월
먹은 지 5분

… and then followed by 되다 conjugated to the past tense:

사귄 지 6개월 됐다
먹은 지 5분 됐다

Remember, 지 is officially a noun. Nouns have meaning. The meaning of “지” is the representation of the period of time that has passed since the action took place until the present. To English speakers, it is hard to imagine that a noun represents a figurative period of time like this. This is the image I have in my head that represents the meaning of “지” in the construction “사귄 지 6개월 됐다:

Let’s put this construction into a sentence and look at how this could be translated.

여자 친구랑 사귄 지 6개월 됐어

Possible translations for this could be:
= I have been going out with my girlfriend for six months
= It has been six months since I started/have been going out with my girlfriend

Let’s look at another example – specifically one that illustrates the importance of context when understanding these sentences:

밥을 먹은 지 5분 됐다

Imagine you are eating, and your friend walks into the room and witnesses you eating. If your friend asks “how long have you been eating?” you could respond with:

밥을 먹은 지 5분 됐다
= I have been eating for five minutes
= It has been five minutes since I started/have been eating

However, imagine you are not eating, and your friend walks into the room and witnesses you not eating. If your friend asks “how long has it been since you last ate? (How long has it been since you have not been eating?)” you could respond with the same sentence used above. Remember, “지” represents the time period from when the action took place until the present. It’s possible that the action is still occurring, but it’s also possible that the action has stopped. In the context where the action has stopped, and where one wants to indicate how long it has been since something last occurred, the Korean sentence can be the same as the context where the action is continuing. The Korean sentence may be the same, but the English translation would be different because of this context. For example, in response to your friend asking “how long has it been since you last ate?” you could respond:

밥을 먹은 지 5분 됐다
= I haven’t eaten for five minutes
= It has been five minutes since I last ate

That’s the explanation for 지. Before I get into some deeper discussion, let’s look at some examples to get you familiar with these types of sentences.

In the example sentences below, the translations are assuming that the action is still occurring, and thus, the speaker is referring to how long it has been since the action started.

한국에서 산 지 25년 됐어요
= I have been living in Korea for 25 years
= It has been 25 years since I started living in Korea

강아지를 기른 지 10년 됐어요
= I have been raising a dog for 10 years
= It has been 10 years since I started raising a dog

그 그룹이 훈련을 받은 지 다섯 시간 됐어요
= That group has been receiving training for 5 hours
= It has been 5 hours since that group started receiving training

이 아르바이트를 한 지 2 주일 됐어요
= I’ve had this part-time job for 2 weeks
= It has been 2 weeks since I started this part-time job

한국에 온 지 2년 됐어요
= I have been in Korea for 2 years
= It has been 2 years since I came to Korea

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Let’s discuss some things.

I already discussed the idea that “지” in the sentence “밥을 먹은 지 5분 됐다” can be used to refer to the amount of time that has passed (to the present) since one started eating, or since one finished eating. You would have to rely on context to know specifically which translation would work best.

This possibility of two meanings can only be applied to certain verbs. For example:

밥을 먹은 지 5분 됐다

This can be used to mean:

= I have been eating for five minutes (in the case that you are currently eating), or
= It has been five minutes since I last ate (in the case that you are currently not eating)

However, let’s go back to the first sentence we created using 지:

여자 친구랑 사귄 지 6개월 됐어

As you have seen, this sentence can be used to have the following meaning:

= It has been six months since I started/have been going out with my girlfriend

For the translation above to work, you would have to still be going out with your girlfriend. However, if you are currently not going out with your girlfriend, you would not be able to use this sentence. That is, the sentence above could not translate to “It has been six months since I was going out with my girlfriend.” In order to create that sentence, you would have to use the opposite verb, for example:

여자 친구랑 헤어진 지 6개월 됐어 = It has been six months since I broke up with my girlfriend

Likewise, look at the following sentence with the translations provided:

이제 결혼한 지 1년 됐어요
= I have been married for one year
= It has been a year since I got married

The sentence above would be used if you are currently married, but not if you are not currently married.

In trying to understand which verbs can hold this dual meaning – my brain keeps trying to tell me that it is related to whether or not the verb is able to repeat or continue itself. For example, when you eat, the act of eating is not one instant, and the action continues to progress.

–

When you exercise, the act of exercising is not one instant, and the action continues to progress. If you are exercising hard and look very sweaty, your friend might ask you “how long has it been since you started exercising?” In response, you could say:

운동한 지 한 시간 됐어요
= I have been exercising for one hour
= It has been one hour since I started exercising

However, if you just came home and threw your exercise bag on the couch, your friend might ask you “how long has it been since you last exercised (or stopped exercising)?” In response, you could again say:

운동한 지 한 시간 됐어요
= I haven’t exercised in an hour
= It has been an hour since I stopped exercising

–

When you shower the act of showering is not one instant, and the action continues to progress. If you are in the shower, your friend might ask you “how long it has been since you started showering?” In response, you could say:

샤워한 지 10분 됐어요
= I have been showering for 10 minutes
= It has been 10 minutes since I started showering

However, if your friend gets a whiff of your armpit and finds it to be very stinky, your friend might ask you “how long has it been since you last showered?” In response, you could again say:

샤워한 지 10분 됐어요
= I haven’t showered in 10 minutes
= It has been 10 minutes since I stopped showering

–

However, some words don’t continue to progress. For example, 결혼하다 refers to the act of getting married, not the state of being married. It doesn’t start or stop – it just happens. As such, if I were to say:

이제 결혼한 지 1년 됐어요

You would have to still be married to say that sentence. You never “started” getting married. You never “stopped” getting married. You just got married, and “지” represents the time from that point until the present.

This can also be applied to the word “오다,” which you already saw in an example sentence earlier:

한국에 온 지 2년 됐어요
= I have been in Korea for 2 years
= It has been 2 years since I came to Korea

In this case, 오다 refers to the (completed) action of arriving in Korea. It doesn’t start, and it doesn’t finish. It just happens, and “지” represents the time from that point to the present. Thus, you would have to still be in Korea to say that sentence.

Another example would be the word “졸업하다” (to graduate):

고등학교를 졸업한 지 1년 됐어요
= I graduated one year ago
= It has been a year since I graduated

You would have had to have graduated to say that sentence. You never “started” graduating. You never “stopped” graduating. You just graduated, and “지” represents the time from that point until the present.

The good news is – it is never this complicated in real conversations. The only reason why this is getting so complicated is because the sentences I’m providing don’t have any context. In everyday conversations, it is much easier to pick up the meaning using other information. In addition, it is also possible to specifically indicate that it has been a certain amount of time since an action finished. In order to do this, you can describe “지” with a negative sentence. For example:

우리가 안 만난 지 2주일 됐어요 = We haven’t met in 2 weeks
밥을 안 먹은 지 아홉 시간 됐어요 = I haven’t eaten in nine hours
용돈을 안 받은 지 1년 됐어요 = I haven’t received (an) allowance in a year

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지 refers to the period of time from when an action occurs until the present. You cannot use 지to refer to a time that completed some other time in the past. If you want to indicate the period of time that an action occurred in the past, you can use sentences like this:

저는 두 시간 동안 먹었어요 = I ate for two hours

English speakers will quickly point out that “I ate for two hours” and “I had eaten for two hours” do not have exactly the same meanings. Korean people usually don’t distinguish between these two meanings in their sentences and instead rely on context to make the specific meaning clear.

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You can also use this same type of sentence to ask questions about how long one has been doing something by using 얼마나 or words like 오래. For example:

한국어를 공부한 지 얼마나 되었어요? = How long have you been studying Korean?
운동한 지 오래 됐어? = Have you been exercising for a long time?

It is common to use the construction “얼마 안 되다” to indicate that you haven’t been doing something for very long. For example

제가 한국에서 산 지 얼마 안 됐어요 = I haven’t been living in Korea for very long
제가 우리 학교에서 일한 지 얼마 안 됐어요 = I haven’t been working at our school for very long

You also saw in Lesson 28 that this is one of the acceptable times where ~은 can be added to 있다. For example:

여기에 있은 지 얼마나 되었어요? = How long have you been here for?

That’s it for this lesson!

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