# 을/ -ㄹ 때



## Jeffery801

What's the function of 을 in 놓쳤을 때 ? I couldn't figure it out.

Thanks in advance!

Jeffery


----------



## pcy0308

Hello Jeffery801,
So "...을 놓쳤을 때" could be translated as "when (someone) misses...(buses, taxi, etc.)", "when (someone) loses hold/grip on (something)", or even "when (someone) misses out on (for example, opportunity)" depending on different contexts. 

"...을..." serves to link a verb (usually in its *past* form *but* not necessarily) to "...때", which is translated as "when...". 
In this case, for better understanding of its function,  rather than treating "...을..." as a single element, it'd be more practical to look at "*-ㄹ 때...*". 

That being said, it is not necessarily "을" that precedes "...때"; depending on which verb is used, what comes before "...때" may be different.
For example, if you conjugate other random verbs, such as "하다" (to do), "놀다" (to play), "먹다" (to eat), or "자다" (to sleep), into the equivalent form as above, you get:
하다: ...할때 (when doing...)/했을 때 (when (someone) did...)
놀다: ...놀때 or 놀을 때 (when playing...)/놀았을 때(when (someone) played...)
먹다: ...먹을 때 (when eating...)/먹었을 때 (when (someone) ate...)
자다: ...잘 때 (when sleeping)

Hope this helps.


----------



## Jeffery801

pcy0308 said:


> Hello Jeffery801,
> So "...을 놓쳤을 때" could be translated as "when (someone) misses...(buses, taxi, etc.)", "when (someone) loses hold/grip on (something)", or even "when (someone) misses out on (for example, opportunity)" depending on different contexts.
> 
> "...을..." serves to link a verb (usually in its *past* form *but* not necessarily) to "...때", which is translated as "when...".
> In this case, for better understanding of its function,  rather than treating "...을..." as a single element, it'd be more practical to look at "*-ㄹ 때...*".
> 
> That being said, it is not necessarily "을" that precedes "...때"; depending on which verb is used, what comes before "...때" may be different.
> For example, if you conjugate other random verbs, such as "하다" (to do), "놀다" (to play), "먹다" (to eat), or "자다" (to sleep), into the equivalent form as above, you get:
> 하다: ...할때 (when doing...)/했을 때 (when (someone) did...)
> 놀다: ...놀때 or 놀을 때 (when playing...)/놀았을 때(when (someone) played...)
> 먹다: ...먹을 때 (when eating...)/먹었을 때 (when (someone) ate...)
> 자다: ...잘 때 (when sleeping)
> 
> Hope this helps.


Thank you so much, now I understand its usage.


----------

