A study on the meaning and grammatical status of ‘-을걸(eulgeol)’

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the syntactic and semantic characteristics of ‘-을걸(eulgeol)’, which means ‘inference’ and ‘regret’, and to explain what these characteristics show. So, the syntactic and semantic characteristics of ‘-을걸(eulgeol)’ are sexamined and ummarized and when ‘-을걸(eulgeol)’ means ‘inference’, it corresponds to a epistemic modality and when it means ‘regret’, it corresponds to a dynamic moality. In addition, It can be understood that the syntactic and semantic characteristics, when it means ‘regret’, derives from ‘egophoric’ property. On the other hand, there is a difference in grammatical status by meaning of ‘-을걸(eulgeol)’. When ‘-을걸(eulgeol)’ means ‘inference’, it is the final ending, while when it means ‘regret’, it is the connecting end. It can be seen as a result of the difference in the degree of insubordination.