안녕하세요! Today, we go one more step and learn how to ban someone from doing something. For example, I can tell you, 한국어 공부를 포기하면 안 돼요! (You shouldn't give up studying Korean!) 😉
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1. 으면 안 되다 Grammar
(으)면 안 되다 is an expression that gives a prohibition or restriction. You can translate it as "shouldn't," "not allowed to," or "can't be" in English.
You can attach it to a verb, adjective, 이다 and 아니다. So, you ban someone from doing something or being something. Here are some examples to show you the meaning of (으)면 안 되다.
교실에서 떠들면 안 돼요. You shouldn't chat in the classroom.
안전모는 너무 크면 안 돼요. The safety hat shouldn't be too big.
2. Conjugation Information
It has two parts. (으)면 and 안 되다. Let's check out the (으)면 part first.
(으)면
You attach (으)면 to a verb stem, adjective stem, 이다 and 아니다. To decide (으)면, you have to look at the final consonant of the stem.
Regular Rules (규칙)
받침 | (으)면 안 되다 | Examples |
받침 O | 으면 안 되다 | 먹다 → 먹으면 안 되다 |
받침 X | 면 안되다 | 가다 → 가면 안 되다 |
ㄹ 받침 | 면 안되다 | 놀다 → 놀면 안 되다 |
Irregular Rules (불규칙)
Some special final consonants require your extra attention! Those are pretty repetitive rules. If you want to learn the details of these rules, please click here.
받침 | (으)면 안 되다 | Examples |
ㄷ받침 | Change ㄷ to ㄹ+으면 안 되다 | 듣다 → 들으면 안 되다 |
ㅅ받침 | Erase ㅅ+으면 안 되다 | 긋다 → 그으면 안 되다 |
ㅂ받침 | Erase ㅂ+우면 안 되다 | 줍다 → 주우면 안 되다 |
ㅎ받침 | Erase ㅎ+면 안 되다 | Erase ㅅ+으면 안 되다 |
안 되다
The 안 되다 part is conjugated differently depending on the politeness. If you want to know various speech levels (politeness) of Korean, please click here to read my related lesson. First, take a look at the quick chart. I'll explain the details below.
Various Ending
받침 | (으)면 안 되다 | Examples |
Informal polite(해요체) | (으)면 안 돼요. | 가면 안 돼요. |
Informal casual(해체) | (으)면 안 돼. | 가면 안 돼. |
Formal (합쇼체) | (으)면 안 됩니다. | 가면 안 됩니다. |
I'll show you how each one. If you are a beginner, focus on the informal polite ending! That's the most commonly used, polite one.
First, to make informal polite, you must see their last vowel stem. What's the stem of 되다? Yes, it is 되. What is the vowel? It is ㅚ. Since it is not ㅏ or ㅗ, you must add 어요. So, originally it is 되어요. However, the vowels ㅚ and ㅣ combined, it is shortened to 돼요.
되다 → 되 → 되어요 → 돼요.
Making informal casual is usually easy. As the present form (like this), you can simply get rid of 요 from the informal polite style. So, 돼요 becomes 돼.
To make the formal style, you need to see the final consonant of the stem. Does 되 have the final consonant? No, it doesn't. Then, you'll add ㅂ니다 to it. So, 되다 will become 됩니다.
되다 → 되 → 되+ㅂ니다 → 됩니다
Honorific Version
The informal polite ending and formal ending are called 존댓말(honorific language). You can attach the honorific pre-final ending (으)시 to make it politer!
받침 | (으)면 안 되다 | Examples |
Informal polite(해요체) | (으)시면 안 돼요. | 가시면 안 돼요. |
Formal (합쇼체) | (으)시면 안 됩니다. | 가시면 안 됩니다. |
When you use these honorific versions make sure to use the appropriate words for the (으)시면 part. If a word has the honorific version, you must use that. To say "to eat" you use "먹다." However, it has the higher version, "드시다." Then, you must use 드시다 not 먹다.
You are not allowed to eat that.
(X) 그거 먹으시면 안 돼요.
(O) 그거 드시면 안 돼요.
3. Examples
Let's see the examples using this 으면 안 되다 grammar! Think about your own situation and make your sentences as well! I'll focus on the most basic ending, 안 돼요.
1
Q: 이거 먹어도 돼요? May I eat this?
A: 아니요, 먹으면 안 돼요. No. You shouldn't eat it.
You can ask for permission with the "어도 되다" grammar. If you want to say "no," you can add this "(으)면 안 되다."
2
Q: 이제 가도 돼요? May I go now?
A: 아니요, 아직 가면 안 돼요. No. You can't go yet.
이제 means "(from) now." 아직 means "yet." By the way, take a look at the punctuation after "아니요" in the example. Since you continue to explain with "no," you'll need to use a comma.
⚐ 지금 vs. 이제
지금 focuses on the "right now". 이제 shows that the new action will start from now. One action is over and the other starts, use 이제.
3
숙제를 안 하고 놀면 안 돼요.
You can't play without doing homework.
4
물을 너무 많이 넣으면 안 돼요.
You shouldn't put too much water.
5
수영 모자가 없으면 안 돼요.
You should have a swimming cap.
This is a funny one because it used the double negative. 없다 means not to have and 안돼요 means you are not allowed! So, if you literally translate it, it will become "You shouldn't not have a hat." In the end, it means a positive sentence. You should have a swimming hat.
4. Wrap-up & Worksheet
Let's review today's lesson.
(으)면 안 되다: shouldn't, be not allowed to
You can attach it to a verb stem, adjective stem, 이다 or 아니다.
Let's solve the worksheet. I prepared the free and printable worksheet for you! You'll focus on the informal polite version; 으면 안 돼요.
In the next lesson, you'll learn about how to give permission in Korean. Thank you for studying with My Korean Lesson.