Unit 1: Almost Did (-(으)ㄹ 뻔했다)

Welcome to Easy Korean Level 5! We are moving into more advanced expressions. Let's start by learning how to say "I almost did something" or "something almost happened."

Structure

Verb Stem + -(으)ㄹ 뻔했다

This grammar is always used in the past tense because the event "almost" happened in the past but didn't actually happen. It's often used with words like 죽을 뻔했다 (almost died) for exaggeration.

Rules

1. Verb stem ending in a vowel: Add -ㄹ 뻔했다
2. 넘어지다 (to fall) -> 넘어질 뻔했어요 (I almost fell)
3. Verb stem ending in a consonant: Add -을 뻔했다
4. 잊다 (to forget) -> 잊을 뻔했어요 (I almost forgot)
5. Verb stem ending in ㄹ: Add -뻔했다
6. 울다 (to cry) -> 울 뻔했어요 (I almost cried)

Examples

• 무서워서 울 뻔했어요. (I was so scared I almost cried.)
• 버스를 놓칠 뻔했어요. (I almost missed the bus.)
• 하마터면 지각할 뻔했어요. (I almost arrived late by a narrow margin.)