Grammar
-게 되다
Meaning
Intermediate-ge doeda
Attaches to a verb stem to express that a situation has come about or changed, usually due to circumstances rather than the subject's own direct will — roughly 'it came to be that / it ended up that / it turned out that'.
Form
Attaches directly to a verb stem regardless of the final sound: 알다 → 알게 되다 ('come to know'), 만들다 → 만들게 되다. Past tense: -게 되었다/됐다 ('came to be / ended up'). Mainly pairs with action verbs describing a change of situation, not adjectives. Contrast with -기로 하다, which marks a decision the subject made on their own.
Examples
연구팀은 온도 조절로 DNA를 만들 수 있게 되었습니다.
The research team became able to make DNA by controlling temperature.
물건을 편리하게 받을 수 있게 되었습니다.
It has become possible to receive goods conveniently.
많은 사람들이 쓰레기를 줄이려고 더 노력하게 되었습니다.
Many people came to make more effort to reduce their trash.
From: Korea's Volume-Based Waste Fee: Pay-As-You-Throw Since 1995
다음 달에 새 아파트로 이사하게 되었어요.
It's turned out that I'm moving to a new apartment next month.
Common mistakes & nuance
-게 되다 implies the change happened because of circumstances rather than the subject deciding it directly — a common mistake is using it when you actually chose to do something yourself, where -기로 하다 or a plain past tense fits better.
Similar grammar
- -기로 하다
-기로 하다 means 'decided to do' — an explicit, deliberate decision by the subject — while -게 되다 means 'came to / ended up doing', implying the change arose from circumstances rather than a direct decision.
- -(으)ㄹ 수 있다
-(으)ㄹ 수 있다 states that something is currently possible, while -게 되다 (often combined as -(으)ㄹ 수 있게 되다) emphasizes that this possibility is new — a change from a previous state where it wasn't possible.