# 이렇게 물가가 많이 올라서야 어디 살 수 있겠어요?



## 82riceballs

Hi all,

I get the overall meaning of the sentence but need help with the grammar... it is from a Yonsei Korean textbook

이렇게 물가가 많이 올라서야 어디 살 수 있겠어요? 

I'm having trouble understanding the use of 서야 here... usually we learn 서야 in the context 애인이랑 헤어지고 나서야 얼마나 좋은 사람인지 알게 됐다, where 서야 corresponds to "it wasn't until (we break up) that (I realized how great he was)." 

1. What does 서야 mean here? Can you replace it with other Korean grammars?

2. How is this different from 이렇게 물가가 올라가면 어디 살 수 있겠어요? 

3. And 이렇게 물가가 올라가서는 어디 살 수 있겠어?요? 

Any help is appreciated, thanks so much!


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## lala8888

Please bear with my English. Those 3 examples basically means the same. 'because'. however, each has slightly different nuance as below.
--서야  ex. 그렇게 밥을 많이 먹어서야 살을 뺄 수 있겠어?
--면 ex. 그렇게 밥을 많이 먹으면 당연히 살이 찌지.
--서는 ex. 이렇게 밥을 많이 먹어서는 도저히 다이어트를 성공할 수 가 없겠어. 

애인이랑 헤어지고 나-서야 얼마나 좋은 사람인지 알게 됐다. but, in this sentence, -서야 used as a different usage. It means 'after' here.

Hope it helps!


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## Kross

82riceballs said:


> 2. How is this different from 이렇게 물가가 올라가면 어디 살 수 있겠어요?


 ~면 in 올라가면 helps change a sentence including it into a conditional. So I think the full sentence means, "If prices go up like this how could one survive?" 



82riceballs said:


> 3. And 이렇게 물가가 올라가서는 어디 살 수 있겠어?요?


 ~올라가서는 here has the same construction and meaning as ~올라서야 in your first example. The word can be divided into 3 pieces like 올라가~+~아서+~는. The middle part serves as 연결어미 here and gives the reason. The final part functions as 종결어미 and intensify the whole word including it. So the ~아서는 part can be equal to 'because' in English, I think. source: 국립국어원.


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## Environmentalist

I'm sure there is little difference between 이렇게 물가가 올라서야 어디 살 수 있겟어요 and 이렇게 물가가 올라가면 어디 살 수 있겠어요.
I would slightly prefer the first sentence(only because ~서야 어디 ~ 할 수 있겠어요 is more idiomatic), but both are almost the same.
I bet no one will split hairs over it.


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## 82riceballs

I see- thank you There are so many idiomatic/grammar patterns.


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