Unit 14: To Know / Not Know Whether

How do you say "Do you know where it is?" or "I don't know who did it" in Easy Korean? We use the structure -(으)ㄴ/는지 알다/모르다.

Structure

This grammar turns a question into a clause that acts as the object of 알다 (to know) or 모르다 (to not know).

1. Action Verbs (Present): -는지
2. 가다 -> 가는지 알아요? (Do you know if they are going?)
3. 먹다 -> 먹는지 몰라요. (I don't know if they eat.)
4. Adjectives (Present): -(으)ㄴ지
5. 크다 -> 큰지 알아요? (Do you know if it's big?)
6. 작다 -> 작은지 몰라요. (I don't know if it's small.)
7. Past Tense (Both Verbs/Adjectives): -았/었/였는지
8. 하다 -> 했는지 몰라요. (I don't know if they did it.)

Examples

• 그 사람이 누구인지 알아요? (Do you know who that person is? - Noun takes 인지)
• 파티가 언제 끝나는지 몰라요. (I don't know when the party ends.)
• 이 음식이 맛있는지 몰라요. (I don't know if this food is delicious. 있/없 takes -는지)