Struggling to understand the difference between ‘-고 말다’ and ‘-아/어 버리다’? These two Korean grammar points both express the completion of an action, but they carry different nuances. To help you master them, we’ve prepared a set of practice exercises designed to reinforce your understanding. Try them now and take your Korean skills to the next level!
📍 Want to review the differences between ‘-고 말다’ and ‘-아/어 버리다’ before starting the exercises? Check out our detailed grammar guide below!
Practice Exercises
Test your understanding of these two important Korean grammar points with our 20 practice questions. Choose the correct option for each sentence and check your answers below.
Practice Questions:
- 이대로 가다가는 모든 기회를 놓치고 (말 것 같아요 / 버릴 것 같아요).
(If things continue like this, I feel like I’ll end up missing all opportunities.) - 이렇게 계속 지각하다가는 직장을 잃고 (말 것 같아요 / 버릴 것 같아요).
(If I keep being late like this, I feel like I’ll end up losing my job.) - 열심히 노력한 끝에 드디어 1등을 (하고 말았어요 / 해 버렸어요).
(After working hard, I finally ended up getting first place.) - 그렇게 하다가는 결국 실패하고 (말 거예요 / 버릴 거예요).
(If you keep doing that, you’ll end up failing.) - 이대로 가면 모든 것을 잃고 (말 것 같아요 / 버릴 것 같아요).
(If things continue like this, I feel like I’ll end up losing everything.) - 급한 마음에 중요한 서류를 실수로 버리고 (말았어요 / 버렸어요).
(In a hurry, I ended up accidentally throwing away important documents.) - 그 영화를 보고 나서 완전히 감동해 (말았어요 / 버렸어요).
(After watching that movie, I was completely moved.) - 열심히 다이어트 했는데 오히려 살이 더 찌고 (말았어요 / 버렸어요).
(I dieted hard, but I ended up gaining more weight instead.) - 그 비밀을 듣자마자 바로 잊어 (말았어요 / 버렸어요).
(As soon as I heard that secret, I immediately forgot it.) - 결국 그 어려운 결정을 내리고 (말았어요 / 버렸어요).
(In the end, I made that difficult decision.)
Answers
- 이대로 가다가는 모든 기회를 놓치고 말 것 같아요.
- This sentence uses ‘-고 말다’ to express concern about a potential negative future outcome, emphasizing the inevitability of loss.
- This sentence uses ‘-고 말다’ to express concern about a potential negative future outcome, emphasizing the inevitability of loss.
- 이렇게 계속 지각하다가는 직장을 잃고 말 것 같아요.
- This uses ‘-고 말다’ to express concern about a potential negative future outcome, emphasizing the inevitability of job loss.
- This uses ‘-고 말다’ to express concern about a potential negative future outcome, emphasizing the inevitability of job loss.
- 열심히 노력한 끝에 드디어 1등을 하고 말았어요 / 해 버렸어요.
- Both are correct. “하고 말았어요” emphasizes the inevitable result after effort, while “해 버렸어요” focuses on the completion of the action, possibly with a sense of surprise or satisfaction.
- Both are correct. “하고 말았어요” emphasizes the inevitable result after effort, while “해 버렸어요” focuses on the completion of the action, possibly with a sense of surprise or satisfaction.
- 그렇게 하다가는 결국 실패하고 말 거예요.
- This sentence uses ‘-고 말다’ to predict a negative future outcome, emphasizing the inevitability of failure.
- This sentence uses ‘-고 말다’ to predict a negative future outcome, emphasizing the inevitability of failure.
- 이대로 가면 모든 것을 잃고 말 것 같아요.
- This sentence uses ‘-고 말다’ to express concern about a potential negative future outcome, emphasizing the inevitability of loss.
- This sentence uses ‘-고 말다’ to express concern about a potential negative future outcome, emphasizing the inevitability of loss.
- 급한 마음에 중요한 서류를 실수로 버리고 말았어요.
- The use of ‘-고 말다’ emphasizes the unintended result of losing the documents, highlighting the regret or disappointment.
- The use of ‘-고 말다’ emphasizes the unintended result of losing the documents, highlighting the regret or disappointment.
- 그 영화를 보고 나서 완전히 감동해 버렸어요.
- The use of ‘-아/어 버리다’ emphasizes the complete and possibly unexpected emotional impact of the movie, highlighting the depth of the emotional experience.
- The use of ‘-아/어 버리다’ emphasizes the complete and possibly unexpected emotional impact of the movie, highlighting the depth of the emotional experience.
- 열심히 다이어트 했는데 오히려 살이 더 찌고 말았어요.
- This sentence uses ‘-고 말다’ to express an unintended and regrettable outcome, emphasizing the disappointment of gaining weight despite dieting.
- This sentence uses ‘-고 말다’ to express an unintended and regrettable outcome, emphasizing the disappointment of gaining weight despite dieting.
- 그 비밀을 듣자마자 바로 잊어 버렸어요.
- The use of ‘-아/어 버리다’ emphasizes the immediate and complete action of forgetting the secret, highlighting the suddenness of the action.
- The use of ‘-아/어 버리다’ emphasizes the immediate and complete action of forgetting the secret, highlighting the suddenness of the action.
- 결국 그 어려운 결정을 내리고 말았어요.
- This sentence uses ‘-고 말다’ to emphasize the inevitability of making a difficult decision, highlighting the gravity of the choice.
- This sentence uses ‘-고 말다’ to emphasize the inevitability of making a difficult decision, highlighting the gravity of the choice.
How did you do? Remember, ‘-고 말다’ often expresses an inevitable or unintended outcome, while ‘-아/어 버리다’ emphasizes the completion of an action, often with an emotional nuance. Keep practicing to master these subtle differences!