After learning the negative sentence of “안,” the next sentence is the negative of “impossible”.
For this, “못/-지 못하다” is used.
Let’s practice sentences expressing “impossible” this time.
How to use “못、-지 못하다”.
Nothing to do with ability.
못 has nothing to do with ability or skill, it can represent the impossible.
Represent the impossible.
안
오늘은 학교에 안 가요.
I’m not going to school today.
못
오늘은 학교에 못 가요.
I can’t go to school today.
The nuance is that it is impossible for some reason, such as catching a cold for example.
There are two types of 못.
There are two types of 못 negative sentences as well as 안.
못/-지 못하다 + Av
1.못 + 動詞
못 가다
못 사다
못 만나다
2.動詞の語幹 + -지 못하다
가지 못하다
보지 못하다
먹지 못하다
※Av = an action verb
Use short expressions and long sentences.
The short sentence
I can’t get there before 6:00.
(가다)
You can’t take the subway from Seoul station right now.
(타다)
You can’t get off the bus here.
(내리다)
We can’t watch TV after midnight in our house.
(보다)
While it is easy to use because you only need to place an 못, it has the drawback that it cannot be combined with some vocabulary.
The long sentence
I can’t see my friend tomorrow too.
(만나다)
We have not yet received any support money.
(받다)
It is very noisy. So I can’t study.
(공부하다)
I can’t make plans yet.
(세우다)
-지 못하다 is a negative sentence that can be used for any verbs, although the sentence is longer.
Things to watch out for in sentences of ‘못’ and common mistakes.
못 cannot be used for “~하다”.
The basic rule is that 못, cannot be used for “~하다” like 안.
I caught a cold. So I can’t exercise. (×)
I don’t have a knife at home. So I can’t cook. (×)
In such cases, use “-지 못하다”.
I caught a cold. So I can’t exercise. (ㅇ)
I don’t have a knife at home. So I can’t cook. (ㅇ)
This makes “~하다” a negative sentence of “못”.
Is it difficult to immediately determine the difference between unskillful and impossible?
What is the difference between unskillful and impossible?
못하다 mearns unskillful.
・The skill is not of a high enough standard.
못하다 without a separator indicates unskillful.
I have not driving skill.
In this case talking about not having a driver’s license or having unskilled driving skills.
못 하다 mearns impossible.
・There are reasons why it can’t be done.
I can’t drive today.
It has nothing to do with her skills, such as when she drinks alcohol.
By the way, it is almost impossible to distinguish the difference between “못 하다” and “못하다” by sound alone.
So you have to judge the meaning from the context before and after and the situation.