Reading 1–2 Choosing the right grammar for the blank

Reading · Easy

Must secure. Roughly 100 grammar points cover this.

You choose the grammar form (an ending or connective) that fits a blank inside a single short sentence. What matters is not the deep meaning of the whole sentence but how the blank agrees with what sits on either side of it — cause, condition, concession, time. This is the most basic pure-grammar item in TOPIK II Reading.

Choosing the right grammar for the blank

• -는 바람에 — Use it only when an unintended cause produced a negative result. Never for good outcomes.
• -기 때문에 — Use it to explain a reason objectively and logically. It is the safest choice in written style.
• -아서/어서 — The most basic form for a reason or a sequence of actions. Do not combine it with propositive (-읍시다) or imperative (-세요) endings.
• -니까 — The speaker's subjective reason. Unlike -아서, it works naturally with propositive and imperative endings.
• 아무리 -아도/더라도 — A concessive form that pairs with '아무리'. It says the result does not change under any condition.
• -는 한 — A condition meaning 'as long as that state holds'. It is also common with negation, as in '~하지 않는 한'.
• -다가 — Use it when one action is under way and the situation shifts to another.
• -자마자 — Use it when the next action follows immediately after one action ends.
• -더니 — A result that follows a situation you observed directly in the past. It is rarely used about yourself.
• -길래 — Used in spoken style when a situation you happened to notice or find out becomes the cause.

• The verb/adjective stem before the blank, and the adverb in front of it (아무리, 만약, 아직, and so on)
• The relation between the clauses on each side of the blank — cause-effect / condition / concession / time
• Whether the result clause is positive or negative

• First decide what the part before the blank is doing — cause, condition, concession, or time
• Separate the grammatical meanings of the four options
• Read your choice back inside the whole sentence and confirm it sounds natural

• Missing the difference between forms that look similar but carry a different nuance (for example '-아서' and '-니까')
• Overlooking a signal adverb such as '아무리' and picking a form that does not agree with it

The points are low (2 points), but this is where your accuracy should be highest. Organize your basic grammar and you can clear it without slips.