Korean Grammar Point
~지 않다/지 못하다 [ji anhda/ji mothada] (Not, don't, can't)

Used to express negation (do not) or inability (cannot).

Formation

Verb Stem + 지 않다 / Verb Stem + 지 못하다

Examples

우리는 그 레스토랑에서 마음에 드는 음식을 찾지 못했어요, 그래서 다른 레스토랑을 찾아보기로 했어요.

Urineun geu reseutorangeseo maeume deuneun eumsigeul chajji mothaseoyo, geuraeseo dareun reseutorangeul chajabogiro haesseoyo.

We couldn't find food we liked in that restaurant, so we decided to look for another one.

그 학생은 그 문제를 이해하지 않아서 선생님에게 또 질문했어요.

Geu haksaengeun geu munjeleul ihaehaji anhaseo seonsaengnimege tto jilmunhaesseoyo.

That student did not understand the problem, so they asked the teacher again.

오늘 밤에 늦게 집에 돌아오지 않을 거예요, 왜냐하면 아직 해야 할 일이 있기 때문이에요.

Oneul bame neutge jibe doraoji anheul geoyeyo, waenamyon ajig haeya hal iri issgi ttaemunieyo.

I won't come home late tonight because I still have things to do.

영화도 보지 못하고, 책도 읽지 못했어요. 너무 바빴어요.

Yeonghwado boji mothago, chaekdo ilgji mothasseoyo. Neomu bappasseoyo.

I couldn't watch a movie or read a book because I was too busy.

Long Explanation

'~지 않다' is used to indicate that one does not or does not intend to perform an action, while '~지 못하다' expresses an inability to perform an action. The former is used for intentional negation, and the latter when one is prevented or unable to do something.

Detailed Grammar Notes

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