Learn Korean: Active Verb + 줄 알았다

Let’s take a look at the Korean sentence pattern Active Verb + 줄 알았다. We use this when we realized we are wrong about what we thought about someone or something with emphasis on what he did, does, or will do. Here’s an example in past tense. Every morning, my brother wakes up at 7 to exercise. It was half past seven so I was sure I was alone. I started singing a Mariah Carey song at the top of my lungs. Then, he shouted Stop singing! I was embarrassed. I said I thought you left. The main verb is 가다 (to go). We take the verb stem and attach ㄴ if it ends in a vowel and 은 if it ends in a consonant. Then, we add 줄 알았다. The actual sentence is 간 줄 알았어.

Here’s an example in present tense. I made a new friend and he is from Korea. He invited me for some noodles in his house and I looked for my favorite kimchi. He said he didn’t eat it so I replied I thought you eat kimchi. It turned out not all Koreans eat this yummy side dish. The main verb is 김치를 먹다 (to eat kimchi). We take the verb stem and attach 는 줄 알았다. The actual sentence is 김치 먹는 줄 알았어.

나 좋아하는 줄 알았어.

I thought you like me.

중국에 온 줄 알았어.

I thought you came from China.

나랑 할 줄 알았어.

I thought you were going to do it with me.