Korean Sentence Structure
Take the English Sentence “Mary hit Jason.” In this Sentence, Mary is our
Subject - the main focus of the Sentence and the one who performs the action
of the verb, “to hit” is the verb, and Jason is our object - the person or thing that
the verb is acting on. In English, sentences are always constructed in this
Subject-Verb-Object order.
In Korean sentences, you also begin with the Subject, 맬리, but then the object
goes next, 재이슨, and the verb 때리다 goes at the end. This is the basic
structure that Korean sentences will follow, but just like in English, sometimes
you will hear natives messing up word order, forgetting details and tracking
them onto the end, and so on. There are a few grammatical principles that
clarify meaning when they do this and we will start talking about them in just a
few weeks.
For now, just start trying to think of sentences in the SOV order. Given the
sentence “Jordan drank Susie’s coffee,” what would be the subject? Who is
doing the drinking? Right, Jordan. So what is the object? The thing that is being
drank is Susie’s coffee, so that is the object. Clarifying that it is Susie’s coffee is
just adding a detail. This sentence would also be fine if it was “Jordan drank the
coffee.” So this Sentence in SOV is Jordan Susie’s coffee drank.”
INTRODUCTIONS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE
Introductions
안녕하세요- Hello
안녕- Well being, peace
하세요 Comes from the verb 하다 and the ending -(으)세요, which is an honorific conjugation.
만나서 반갑습니다- It’s nice to meet you
만나다- To meet
~아/어서- Because/and
반갑다- To be glad/happy
감사합니다- Thank you
고마워요 or 고맙습니다 from 고맙다 has the same meaning.
감사 Thanks, appreciation
하다 To do
죄송합니다- I’m sorry
죄송- Sorrow; regret
하다- To do
INTRODUCTIONS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE
미안합니다 - I’m sorry
미안- Sorrow; regret
하다- To do
잘 지내요?- Are you doing well?/How are you?
잘- Good/Well
지내다- To spend time doing something
잘 지내요.- I’m good/well.
괜찮아요- I’m fine.
요즘은 그저 그래요.- These days are alright/so-so.
요즘- These days
그저- Just; only
그래요- Yeah; yes; okay; alright
INTRODUCTIONS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE
저도/저도요- Me too
저- I/Me
도- Also
~요- Adds element of politeness
이름이 뭐예요?- What is your name?
제 이름은 __________이에요/예요.- My name is ________.
Use 이에요 if your name ends in a consonant and 예요 if it ends in a vowel.
Attach 이에요/예요 directly to your name. Example: 저단이에요 not 저단 이에요.
저는 ___________이에요/예요.- I am _________.
So to clarify, you can respond with either 제 이름은 저단이에요 or
저는 저단이에요 and both are perfectly fine.
네- yes
아니요- no
진짜?- really?
INTRODUCTIONS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE
대박- cool/awesome
제발- please
NOTE: I’ve included this word in this lesson so I can tell you not to use it. This is
not the type of please you would use if you want to ask someone to “please
pass me the potatoes” or “please help me with my suitcase.” 제발 has an air
of begging or desperation to it, so please don’t use it in place of the word
“please” in English sentences. Often times direct translations like this don’t
work.
알겠어요.- I understand.
몰라요.- I don’t know.
어디에서 왔어요?- Where are you from?
어디 - where
에서 - location particle
오다 - to come (past tense)
저는 _____________에서 왔어요.- I am from ______________.
INTRODUCTIONS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE
미국- USA
캐나다 - Canada
오스트리아 - Austria
뉴 질란드 - New Zealand
이집트 - Egypt
스웨덴- Sweden
영국- England
오스트레일리아- Australia
Again, this is another instance where you want to make sure you attach the location directly to 에서. 미국에서 not 미국 에서.
저는 _____________ 좋아해요.- I like ____________.
좋아하다 - to like
잠시만요- Just a minute/Excuse me
NOTE: This is used when you’re passing by someone, similar to “sorry, excuse me,
passing by” in English.
저기요- Excuse Me!
NOTE: This is used when you want to get someone’s attention, especially in a
restaurant. You’ll use this phrase to call your waiter/waitress over.
한국어 잘 못해요.- I can’t speak Korean very well.
도와주세요- Help me please.
INTRODUCTIONS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE
다시 말해주세요?- Can you say that again?
천천히 말해주세요.- Please speak slowly.
Comments
Post a Comment