-(으)ㄹ 마당에
at a time like this, when things are this bad
Names a dire situation and uses it to dismiss something as unthinkable. 마당 means a yard — figuratively, the ground you find yourself standing on.
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When to use it
Attachment is the standard rule with the ㄹ short form: 만들다 gives 만들 마당에. The completed form -(으)ㄴ 마당에 is equally common. 마당 takes a space.
The situation named is serious or desperate — a business failing, a deadline collapsing, a relationship ending. It does not work with ordinary circumstances.
The second clause dismisses something as out of the question, and it very often takes the form of a rhetorical question: 회사가 망할 마당에 승진이 무슨 소용이에요?
The tone is emphatic and emotional. It belongs to speech and to dramatic writing rather than neutral reports.
How to attach it
| Situation | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Ends in a vowel | -ㄹ 마당에 | 망하다 → 망할 마당에 |
| Ends in a consonant | -을 마당에 | 먹다 → 먹을 마당에 |
| Completed situation | -(으)ㄴ 마당에 | 헤어진 마당에 |
| Ends in ㄹ | nothing added | 만들다 → 만들 마당에 |
| Second clause | dismissal, often a question | … 무슨 소용이에요? |
| Situation must be | serious | ordinary situations don’t fit |
In use
회사가 망할 마당에 승진이 무슨 소용이에요?
With the company about to go under, what use is a promotion?
이미 헤어진 마당에 이유를 따져서 뭐 하겠어요.
Now that we’ve split up, what’s the point of arguing over why?
마감이 내일인 마당에 새로 시작할 수는 없다.
With the deadline tomorrow, we can’t start over.
당장 먹을 것도 없을 마당에 여행이라니요.
We haven’t even got food, and you’re talking about a trip?
다시 만들 마당에 굳이 고칠 필요가 있을까요?
If we’re going to remake it anyway, is there any point in repairing it?
이렇게 된 마당에 숨길 이유가 없습니다.
Things being as they are, there’s no reason to hide it.
Compared with
-(으)ㄴ/는 이상
이상 takes a settled fact and states an obligation; 마당에 takes a crisis and dismisses an option. One commits, the other rules out.
시작한 이상 끝내야 한다. (we must finish) / 망할 마당에 무슨 소용인가. (what use is it)
-(으)ㄹ 지경이다
지경이다 describes the extreme state itself; 마당에 uses it as a premise for dismissing something else.
쓰러질 지경이에요. (I’m about to collapse) / 쓰러질 마당에 일이라니요. (work, in this state?)
-는데
-는데 sets up background neutrally; 마당에 loads it with urgency and usually leads to a rhetorical question.
바쁜데 어떻게 가요? (I’m busy) / 망할 마당에 어떻게 가요? (with everything collapsing)
Watch out
날씨가 좋을 마당에 산책을 갔어요.
날씨가 좋아서 산책을 갔어요.
마당에 requires a serious or desperate situation. For ordinary circumstances, use a plain reason ending.
다시 만들을 마당에 고칠 필요가 있을까요?
다시 만들 마당에 고칠 필요가 있을까요?
A stem ending in ㄹ already supplies it, as with 만들 거예요 and 만들 지경이다.
회사가 망할 마당에 승진했어요.
회사가 망할 마당에 승진이 무슨 소용이에요?
The second clause dismisses something as pointless. A plain statement of fact leaves the construction unresolved.
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