4 · Sentence endings with attitude
It would be, but …: -(으)ㄹ 텐데
an expectation held with concern
-(으)ㄹ 텐데 sets out what the speaker expects, usually with a note of concern or regret, and leaves the rest to the listener.
At a glance
- Remember
- L tende: what I expect, said with a little worry — and you can guess the rest.
- Form
- 가다 → 갈 텐데after a vowel
- Signal words
- 텐데
- 텐데요
- -(으)면 좋을 텐데
- -았/었으면 좋았을 텐데
- Trap
- Wrong:어제 파티에 민수 씨도 왔으면 좋겠어요.Right:어제 파티에 민수 씨도 왔으면 좋았을 텐데요.
Your turn
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The form
The patterns at a glance
Each row first says when or what the pattern is used for, then gives an example in Korean.
| after a vowel | 가다 → 갈 텐데 |
| after a consonant | 많다 → 많을 텐데 |
| at the end of a sentence | 늦을 텐데요 |
| a guess about the past | 힘들었을 텐데 |
| a wish that is not real | 있으면 좋을 텐데 |
| regret about the past | 알았으면 좋았을 텐데 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
In the middle of a sentence, it gives an expectation as background for advice, an offer or a question.
주말이라서 사람이 많을 텐데 일찍 갈까요?It will be crowded because it is the weekend — shall we go early?
At the end of a sentence, -(으)ㄹ 텐데요 voices a concern and leaves it there.
그 시간에는 길이 많이 막힐 텐데요.The roads will be very busy at that time, I'm afraid.
With -(으)면 좋을 텐데, it wishes for something that is not the case.
우리 집이 회사에서 가까우면 좋을 텐데.If only our home were close to the office.
For a regret about the past, both halves take the past.
어제 같이 갔으면 좋았을 텐데.It would have been nice if we had gone together yesterday.
Example sentences
오늘 많이 바쁘실 텐데 와 주셔서 감사합니다.You must be very busy today — thank you for coming.
비가 올 텐데 우산 가져가세요.It is probably going to rain, so take an umbrella.
지금 가면 문을 닫았을 텐데요.If you go now, I'm afraid it'll have closed.
혼자 하기 힘드실 텐데 제가 도와 드릴까요?That must be hard to do on your own — shall I help?
돈이 많으면 좋을 텐데.If only I had a lot of money.
그때 그 말을 했으면 좋았을 텐데.If only I had said it then.
7 more example sentences
먼 길 오시느라 피곤하실 텐데 좀 쉬세요.You must be tired after such a long journey — do have a rest.
그 식당은 예약해야 할 텐데요.I think that restaurant needs a booking.
아이가 배고플 텐데 빨리 집에 가요.The little one will be hungry, so let us go home quickly.
시험이 쉬우면 좋을 텐데.I hope the exam is easy — though I doubt it.
혼자 이사하느라 많이 힘들었을 텐데 왜 연락 안 했어요?Moving on your own must have been hard — why didn't you call?
조금만 일찍 출발했으면 좋았을 텐데.If only we had left a little earlier.
그 옷은 좀 작을 텐데요.I'm afraid those clothes might be a bit small.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
-았/었으면 좋겠어요 wishes for something that can still happen. Yesterday's party is over, so the wish has become a regret, and a regret takes the past on both halves: 왔으면 좋았을 텐데요.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
After a vowel the stem takes an l and then 텐데 as a separate word: 갈 텐데, 바쁠 텐데. After a consonant it is -을 텐데: 많을 텐데, 있을 텐데. 텐 is the same bound noun as in -(으)ㄹ 테니까, so it always stands after a space. At the end of a sentence the polite form is 텐데요.
In the middle of a sentence it sets the expectation as background for a question, an offer or advice: 내일 추울 텐데 따뜻하게 입으세요, “it will probably be cold tomorrow, so dress warmly”. Next to 테니까, which gives a firm reason, 텐데 sounds concerned and considerate rather than decisive.
At the end of a sentence, -(으)ㄹ 텐데요 voices a worry and stops: 지금 출발하면 늦을 텐데요, “if we leave now we'll be late, I'm afraid”. The listener hears the hint and draws the conclusion.
The ending is also the voice of a wish that does not come true. 시간이 있으면 좋을 텐데 is “it would be nice if I had time” — but I don't. About the past, both halves take the past: 미리 알았으면 좋았을 텐데, “if only I had known”. A guess about the past takes the past inside: 많이 힘들었을 텐데, “it must have been hard”.
A closer look
텐데, 테니까 and the plain -(으)ㄴ데
비가 오는데 우산 있어요? looks out of the window and sees rain. 비가 올 텐데 우산 있어요? has not seen any yet; the speaker expects it. And 비가 올 테니까 우산 가져가세요 turns the same expectation into a reason with an instruction attached.
Because 텐데 holds back from a conclusion, it is the polite choice whenever the expectation concerns the listener: 피곤하실 텐데, 배고플 텐데. It shows that the speaker has thought about how the other person feels.
Worth knowing (1)
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Spacing: always two words
텐데 is a bound noun fused with an ending, and a noun is a word of its own. It is written 갈 텐데, never 갈텐데, exactly like 할 수 있어요 and 갈 거예요.
내일은 바쁠 텐데 괜찮아요?You will be busy tomorrow — is that all right?
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