Billy Go’s Beginner Korean Course - #58- Asking Permission

Welcome back. In this lesson we're going to learn how to ask permission for things. And to do that, first we're going to be looking at the descriptive verb 괜찮다, which means to be fine or to be okay. And we can use this to both ask for permission and to give permission. Here are a few examples. 저는 괜찮아요. I'm fine, or I'm okay. 제가 이걸 먹을 거예요. 괜찮아요? I will eat this. Is that okay? 할아버지, 괜찮으세요? Are you okay, grandfather? 괜찮을 거예요. It'll be okay. But that's just one verb. In order to say that it's okay to do something, or ask if it's okay to do something, we're going to need to learn another form. And literally what we're going to do is ask, is it okay even if I do something? Or say, it is okay even if you do something. And here's the form for that. First, conjugate a verb without adding the 요. Then attach the particle 도, which means even, or also, or to. So literally this means, even if you do verb. Or even if I do verb. And finally, attach the descriptive verb 괜찮다, meaning to be fine or to be okay, and conjugate it. Here are some examples. 저도 가도 괜찮아요? Is it okay if I go to, or can I go to? 제가 이걸 먹어도 괜찮아요? Is it okay even if I eat this, or can I eat this? 영화를 봐도 괜찮아요. It's okay to watch a movie, or you can watch a movie. 과자도 사도 괜찮아요? Is it okay if I buy chips, too? Or can I buy chips, too? Again, this form literally means, even if I, or even if you, do something, it's okay. Before we keep going though, I should point out that saying that it's okay to do something is not the same as saying that you can do something using one of the forms 수 있다 or 수 없다. Those mean literally that someone has or doesn't have the ability to do something, not that it's okay or fine if someone does something. Here are two examples of that. 저도 갈 수 있어요? Am I able to go, or can I go to? This example is asking if I'm able to go, such as if there are any restrictions. Perhaps I might ask this to see if there are any rules or any reason why I would be unable to go. 저도 가도 괜찮아요? Is it fine if I go to, or can I go to? This example is just asking if the listener would mind if I were to also go, not whether I have the ability to go. So we've used this form, even if, with the verb 괜찮다. Well there's one more verb that you'll also commonly see this used with, and that's the verb 되다, which here means also to be okay, and it can be used in the exact same way. Here are some examples of that. 이걸 먹어도 돼요? Can I eat this? 제가 피자를 만들어도 돼요? Can I make a pizza? 빌리 씨도 TV를 봐도 돼요? You can watch TV too, Billy. 지금 시작해도 돼요? It's okay to start now. 한복을 입어도 돼요? Can I wear a hanbok? In fact, you'll probably find the verb 되다 used more often than 괜찮다. Next, let's talk about a simpler way to ask someone's opinion about something. And you can do that by using the descriptive verb 어떻다, meaning to be how. This will conjugate in the regular informal present tense as 어때요? And in the past tense as 어땠어요? Here are some examples of that. 이 바지는 어때요? How are these pants? Or, how about these pants? 영화는 어땠어요? How was the movie? Also note that the adverb 어떻게, which we've learned means how, also comes from this same descriptive verb 어떻다, to be how. Now let's do a conversation practice using what we've learned so far. So here there are two people, 태연 and 유리, and they're both going shopping. First, 태연 says 이건 어때요? How is this? Or, how about this? 그 비싼 옷을 살 수 있어요? Can you buy those expensive clothes? 예뻐요? Are they pretty? 예쁘지만 그걸 사도 정말 괜찮아요? It's pretty, but is it really okay even if you buy that? Or, can you really buy that? 괜찮을 거예요. It'll be okay. 저는 이거보다 더 비싼 옷이 많이 있어요. I have a lot of clothes that are more expensive than this. 어머. Oh my. 제 지갑이 없어요. I don't have my wallet. 정말요? Really? 언니. Older sister, or here, older friend. 혹시 돈 내줄 수 있어요? By chance, can you pay for me? 혹시 by chance is an adverb that you can use at the start of a sentence when you want the question that you're asking to sound a bit softer. Here, it can translate as happen to. So, would you happen to be able to pay for this? 이건 어때요? 그 비싼 옷을 살 수 있어요? 예뻐요? 예쁘지만 그걸 사도 정말 괜찮아요? 괜찮을 거예요. 저는 이거보다 더 비싼 옷이 많이 있어요. 어머. 제 지갑이 없어요. 정말요? 언니, 혹시 돈 내줄 수 있어요? So in this lesson we learned how to ask for permission, and also how to give permission, and how to ask someone's opinion about something. So practice everything that we've learned today, and I'll see you again in the next lesson. 그럼 다음에 또 봐! Well then, see you again next time!