Beginner 3> Lesson 20. Verb/Adj-게 되다 : Change & What ended up happening
- Change
-게 되다 is used when you want to express changes in your (or someone’s) situation/condition/state.
For example:
직장 때문에 한국에 가게 됐어요. – I am moving to Korea because of work.
In this example, you are moving to Korea and that is the change.
So you can combine 한국에 가다(to go/move to Korea) + 게 되다. (게 되다 is usually conjugated is in the past tense.)
The same pattern can also be used when you want to talk about your skills that have changed.
처음에는 한글도 몰랐는데 지금은 한국어를 잘 하게 됐어요. (잘 하다 + 게 됐어요) – At first, I didn’t even know Hangul, but now I am good at Korean.
You can use a simple present tense conjugation to say that your Korean has become better (지금은 한국어를 잘 해요), but if you want to emphasize the change in a situation, you can use -게 되다.
- What ended up happening
Another usage of -게 되다 is when you want to express what ended up happening. This usage can be applied when talking about both positive and negative things.
기차는 예약이 다 차서 어쩔 수 없이. 버스를 타게 됐어요. – The train is fully booked, so I have no choice. I ended up taking a bus.
우연히 빅키 선생님의 유튜브 채널을 발견하게 됐어요. – I coincidently happened to discover teacher’s Vicky YouTube channel.
그래서 한 달 동안 빅키 선생님의 영상으로 공부를 했고 지금은 많은 문장을 이해할 수 있게 됐어요. – So I studied with teacher Vicky’s videos for a month, and I ended up being able to understand many sentences.
카페에서 공부하면 더 열심히 공부하게 돼요. – When you study in a cafe, you end up studying harder.
- Adjective –아/어지다 and Adjective –게 되다
Adjectives can be combined with the ~게 되다 grammar pattern as well as verbs, but ~게 되다 usually go with verbs.
The translation of the “Adjective + ~게 되다” combination is usually “something has changed to being an adjective”.
You might have noticed that “Adjective + ~게 되다” is similar to another grammar pattern Adjective -아/어지다, which means “to become Adjective”.
방을 청소해서 깨끗하게 됐어요 / 깨끗해졌어요. – I cleaned my room, so it (became) clean.
Both ~아/어지다 and ~게 되다 are grammatically correct to use in the sentence above, but native Korean speakers tend to use ~아/어지다 with adjectives more often.
- Verb –게 하다 vs Verb –게 되다
Verb -게 하다 means “to make somebody do Verb”.
하다 means “to do,” whereas 되다 means “to become” and it’s also a passive form of 하다(to do) and means “to be done.”
So Verb -게 되다, if you break it down, literally means that “something is done in a way you Verb.” Therefore, “it ended up verb-ing.”
선생님은 학생들이 공부를 더 열심히 하게 했어요. – Teacher made students to study harder.
선생님 덕분에 학생들이 공부를 더 열심히 하게 됐어요. Thanks to the teacher, the students ended up studying harder.
- Not used in Natural Phenomenon
비가 오게 됐어요.(X) – an incorrect sentence; instead you can say it like this:
비가 와요 / 오네요. – It’s raining.
More Example sentences:
A: 왜 한국에 오셨어요? – Why did you come to Korea?
B: 한국 문화를 좋아해서 오게 됐어요. – I like Korean culture, so I (ended up coming) came here.
A: 남자친구를 어떻게 만났어요? – How did you meet your boyfriend?
B: 친구가 소개해줘서 / 소개로 만나게 됐어요. – We have a mutual friend, so that’s how we met.
A: 왜 일을 / 직장을 관뒀어요? – Why did you quit your job?
B: 건강이 나빠져서 / 안 좋아져서 관두게 됐어요. – My health got worse, so I quit. (관두다=그만두다: to quit)
다음 달부터 한국희사에서 일하게 됐어요 / 일을 시작하게 됐어요. – I’m working at a Korean company starting next month. (I’m not working at the company now, but starting next month the situation will change – 한국 회사에서 일하게 됐어요.)
예전에는 기숙사에 사랐는데 쫓겨나서 학교 근처에서 친구들이랑 살게 됐어요. – I used to live in a dorm, but I got kicked out, so now I live with my friends near by school.
(I used to live in a dorm, but as the situation has changed (I got kicked out) I live with my friends now – 친구들이랑 살게 됐어요).
예전에는 요리를 못했는데 엄마가 요리하는 법을 가르쳐줘서 이제는 다양한 요리를 할 수 있게 됐어요. – I used to be bad at cooking, but my mom taught me how to cook, and now I can cook various dishes.
(I used to be bad at cooking, but after my mom taught me how to cook, the situation had changed, and now I can cook many dishes – 다양한 요리를 할 수 있게 됐어요).
성격 차이 때문에 헤어지게 됐어요. – We broke up because of our personality differences.
여러분을 오랜만에 라이브 수업에서 만날 수 있게 돼서 기뻐요! – I’m looking forward to seeing you guys in a live class for the first time in a while!
(There weren’t live classes recently, but there will be, so the situation will change – 만날 수 있게 됐어요).
- Common Expressions
1) When providing a reason for your action, we usually use ~게 되다. Usually used in a formal situation, interview, or writing.
For example, if you were applying to a company and you needed to explain the reason why you want to work there, you would use ~게 되다.
이 희사의 복지에 끌려서 지원하게 됐습니다. – I’m applying because I’m attracted to this company’s welfare.
교육에 관심이 많아서 지원하게 되었습니다. – I’m applying because I have a lot of interest in education.
2) Acceptance of one’s siutation/change
이렇게 됐어요 (Yeah, I ended up like this.)
그렇게 됐어요 (Yeah, I ended up like that.)
저렇게 됐어요 (Yeah, I ended up like that.)
For example:
A: 은지 씨는 대중의 관심을 받는 일을 절대 하고 샆지 않다고 한 적이 있는데 지금은 유명 한 배우가 되셨네요. – Eunji, you once said that you never want to have a job that gains public attention, but you’re now a famous actress.
B: 네. 그렇게 됐네요. – Yeah, that happened. (here, you don’t have a specific opinion on the situation, so you’re accepting it as it is).
A: 지수 씨, 드디어 결혼하시네요! – Jisoo-ssi, you’re finally getting married!
B: 네, 이렇게 됐네요. – Yes, it happened like this.
의사 선생님, 제 아들이 뛰어 놀다가 저렇게 됐어요. – Doctor, my son was running around playing, and that’s what happened (or, he ended up like that.)