Particle: Noun+도 also, too, even

-도 means ‘also’ or ‘even’, however it is different from English. It is a particle, so -도 is attached to a noun. -도 cannot be used with subject particles -이/가 and object particles -을/를 at the same time. For example, 

저는 미국 사람이에요. 제 아내 미국 사람이에요. I am American. My wife is American.
-> 저는 미국 사람이에요. 제 아내 미국 사람이에요. I am American. My wife is also American.

저는 사과를 좋아해요. (저는) 바나나 좋아해요. I like apples. I like bananas.
-> 저는 사과를 좋아해요. (저는) 바나나 좋아해요. I like apples. I also like bananas.

A : 제 사과를 안 좋아해요. I don’t like apples.
B: 저 사과를 안 좋아해요.  I don’t like them either.

However when -도 comes with other particles, it takes a place after other particles. For example,

저는 도서관에서 한국어를 공부해요. (저는) 집에서 (한국어를) 공부해요.   I study Korean at the library. I study Korean at home.
-> 저는 도서관에서 한국어를 공부해요. (저는) 집에서도 (한국어를) 공부해요. I study Korean at the library. I also study Korean at home.

월요일에 커피를 안 마셨어요. 수요일 커피를 안 마셨어요. I didn’t drink coffee on Monday. I didn’t drink coffee on Wednesday.
-> 월요일에 커피를 안 마셨어요. 수요일에도 커피를 안 마셨어요. I didn’t drink coffee on Monday. I didn’t drink coffee on Wednesday either.

Q: 저는 강남에 살아요.  I live in Gangnam.
A: 저요. Me too.
** A lot of students ask me how to say ‘me too’, it is very simple. It is ‘저도요(polite)‘ or ‘나도(casual)‘.

-도 can express ‘even‘ which emphasize the previous noun. In this case, we use negative expression in the sentence. For example,
하나 안 먹었어요. Even one, I didn’t eat. (I didn’t eat anything)
아무것 못 봤어요. Even anything, I didn’t see.
사람이 한 명 안 왔어요. Even one person didn’t come.

Lastly, particle 도 and adverb 또 can be very confusing. If you want to learn the difference, please click here.

Practice> Let’s translate these sentences in Korean.

  1. I am a teacher, my younger sister is also a teacher.
  2. A: I don’t like watermelon. B: I don’t like it either.
  3. I can speak Korean and I can also speak English.
  4. I don’t work on Monday, I don’t work on weekend either.

You can listen to audio files by clicking here. 

Korean Particles part 2

If you haven’t studied ‘Korean particles part 1, you can click here. 

9. -의
-의 means possessive and you read it as [에], not [의].  But you don’t see them very often because we can skip them very often in conversations.  For example,
1) 그 사람 이름을 기억할 수 없어요. I cannot remember that person’s name.
2) 컵 색깔이 참 예뻐요. The color of the cup is very pretty.
If it is used with 저, 나 or 너, we usually combine them together.  For example,
저의 => 제 my  
나의 => 내 my
너의 => 네 your (For distinguish between 내and 네, Korean people usually say 네 as 니)

10. -(으)로
-(으)로 has several meanings,
1) with, by, in which means using some tools.
으로 쓰세요.  Please write with a pen.
기차 가요.  Going by train.
영어 말하세요.  Please speak in English.
2) for, to, toward which means directions.
이쪽으로 오세요.  Please come this way.
부산으로 이사했어요.  Moved to Pusan.
If a noun ends with ‘ㄹ’ final consonant, you don’t put -(으) like 연필로, 지하철로.

11. -한테, -에게
-한테 means ‘for someone’ or ‘from someone’ .  -에게 is the formal form of -한테.  For example,
1) 친구한테 말했어요. I talked to my friend.
2) 동생한테 전화했어요.  I called my younger sister/brother.
3) 강아지한테 물을 주세요. Please give water to the puppy.

12. -한테서, -에게서
-한테서 means ‘from someone’.  -에게서 is the formal form of -한테서. For example,
1) 친구한테서 편지를 받았어요. I got a letter from my friend.
2) 동생한테서 전화가 왔어요.   I got a phone call from my younger sister/brother.

13. -부터
-부터 means ‘from sometime’ or ‘since sometime’.  For example,
1) 3월부터 한국어를 공부했어요.  I have been studying Korean since March.
2) 월요일부터 금요일까지 학교에 가요. I go to school from Monday to Friday.

14. -까지 
-까지 means ‘to, by, until for time and place’.  For example,
1) 집에서 학교까지 1시간 걸려요.  It takes an hour from my house to school.
2) 12시부터 1시까지 점심을 먹어요. I eat lunch from 12 to 1.
3) 5시까지 우리 집에 오세요. Please come to my house by 5.

15.-마다 
-마다 means ‘every’, it is the same meaning as ‘매’ that you usually see in 매년, 매달, 매주and 매일.
1) 해마다 = 매년 every year
2) 달마다 = 매달 every month
3) 주마다 = 매주 every week
4) 날마다 = 매일 every day

You can listen to the audio by clicking this link. 

To be continued…

Korean Particles part1

There are lots of particles in Korean, some books call them markers.  I will call them particles here. Korean Particles mostly attached to a noun, so there is no space between nouns and particles.  Let’s see what kind of particles are in Korean.

1. Subject particles -이/가 
Noun(ends with a consonant) + 이
Noun(ends with a vowel) + 가
Subject particles attach to a noun to tell us that noun is a subject in a sentence.  For example,
     선생님이 여자예요.  The teacher is a female.
     의자가 어디에 있어요?  Where is the chair?

Koreans often drop the subject particle –이/가  when they make conversations.
i.e) 사과 있어요? Do you have apples?
사과 없어요. I don’t have apples.
돈 있어요?    Do you have money?

2. Object particles -을/를
Noun(ends with a consonant) + 을
Noun(ends with a vowel) + 를
Object particles attach to a noun to tell us that noun is an object in a sentence. For example,
    밥을 안 먹었어요.   I didn’t eat a meal.
    커피를 마셔요.  I am drinking coffee.

3. Topic particles or comparison particles -은/는
Noun(ends with a consonant) + 은
Noun(ends with a vowel) + 는
When -은/는 are topic particles, they substitute subject particles or object particles, which means you cannot use -이/가(or 을/를) and 은/는 at the same time.  Thus, many students get confused by subject particles and topic particles.  I explain these two particles in this post(click). For example,
     선생님은 한국 사람이에요.  The teacher is Korean.
     저는 진우예요.  I am Jin-woo.

-은/는 also can mean ‘comparison’.   For example,
     사과는 좋아해요. 그런데 수박은 안 좋아해요.  I like apples, but I don’t like water melons. (사과를 => 사과는  수박을 => 수박은 )
     제 친구는 영어를 잘해요. 그런데 저는 영어를 못해요.  My friend speaks English very well, but I don’t. (제 친구가 => 제 친구는, 제가 => 저는 )

If you are confused subject 이/가 and 은/는, please click here and learn more.

4. Time and place particle -에 
-에 has lots of meanings, however I only want to talk about time and place here.  For example,
1)  어디에 있어요?  Where is it? : It means ‘existence‘, so it is used with 있다/없다/살다
2)  학교에 가요. I am going to school.  : It means ‘destination‘, so it is used with 가다/오다/다니다
3)  2 시에 만나요.  Let’s meet at 2.  : It means ‘time‘ for this verb/adjective happens.
(However some nouns such as 지금, 어제, 오늘, 내일, 매일, 언제etc don’t add -에)

5. Place particle -에서 (at, in, on)
-에서 is a place particle with “action verbs“.  Many students get confused this with -에, but remember this is for “action verb” and -에 is for ‘있다/없다’.  For example,
백화점에서 만나요.  Let’s meet at the department store.
식당에서 점심을 먹어요. I am eating at a restaurant.

It also means ‘from somewhere’, for example
서울에서 왔어요. I am from Seoul.
서울에서 부산까지 멀어요.  It is far from Seoul to Busan.

6. -하고 : ‘and’ and ‘with’ = 와/과 or (이)랑
-하고 has two meaning, which are ‘and’ between two nouns and ‘with someone/animal’.  For example,
1) 수박하고 사과를 안 먹어요.  I don’t eat watermelons and apples.
2) 엄마하고 백화점에 갔어요.  I went to the department store with my mom.
* For formal form of 하고 is 와/과.  For example,
1) 수박 사과를 안 먹습니다.
2) 의사 이야기하세요.
* You will see (이)랑 sometimes instead of 하고.  (이)랑 is very casual form, so you only use it in a casual situation.  For example,
1) 수박이랑 사과를 안 먹어요.
2) 엄마 백화점에 갔어요.

7. -도  : ‘also’ and ‘even’ 
As I said earlier, it is a particle, so we shouldn’t use this as an adverb.
1) 고기를 먹었어요. 그리고 소주도 마셨어요.  I ate meat and also drank Soju.
고기를 먹었어요. 도 소주 마셨어요. (X)
2) 한 명도 안 왔어요. Even one person didn’t come.  : -도 is usually used with numbers, and means ‘even’.

8. -만 : ‘only’
Many students use this like an adverb because in English ‘only’ is an adverb. BUT 만 is ONLY attached to a noun.  For example,
사과만 안 먹어요.  Apples are only fruit I do not eat.
저만 한국 사람이에요.  I am the only Korean person.

9. -밖에 + negative word: ‘only’ 
It means similar to ‘-만’, however it needs an negative word such as ‘안’,  ‘못’,  ‘없어요’ or ‘몰라요’. For example,
저는 사과밖에 안 먹어요. I only eat apples.
저밖에 안 왔어요. I am the only one who came.
영어밖에 몰라요. I only know English.

You can listen to the audio by clicking this link. 

If you want to study ‘Korean particles part 2’, please click here. 

#에 #에서 #도 #이가 #이/가 #은/는 #을/를 #하고 #만 only #밖에 only #subject particle #object particle #place particle #particle #이 subject #가 subject #은 topic #는 topic #marker #time particle

[Grammar] 이/가 vs 은/는 : Subject particle vs topic particle

We have learned Korean particles in the previous post(click).  This post is about subject particles and topic particles. The subject particles are  이 and 가, the topic particles are 은 and 는

Noun(ends with a consonant) + 이 

Noun(ends with a vowel) +

For example,

뭐예요?.  What is your name?
며칠이에요? What date is today?
예뻐요. The baby is pretty.

And many people are confused the subject particle with the topic particle -은/는.

-은 and 는 are not subject particle. 

-은/는 can substitute -이/가(subject particle) and -을/를(object particle), which means you CAN’T use the topic particle and the subject/object particle for one noun.  We should use either topic particle or subject/object particle.

Noun(ends with a consonant) +

Noun(ends with a vowel) +

For beginners, we just need to know -은/는 are used for

1. when you introduce a noun

For example,

이민수예요.  I am Lee Minsu.
한국 사람이에요. I am Korean.
28살이에요. I am 28 years old.
우리 한국어 선생님 남자예요. My Korean teacher is a male.

2. when you compare two nouns

For example,

민수 씨는 사과를 좋아해요. 그런데 유진 씨는 사과를 안 좋아해요.
(Minsu likes apples, but Yujin doesn’t like apples)
– 민수 씨 and 유진 씨 are subjects.
* 민수 씨가는(X), 유진 씨가는(X)

민수 씨가 사과는 좋아해요. 그런데 (민수 씨가) 바나나는 안 좋아해요.
(Minsu likes apples, but he doesn’t like bananas.)
– 사과 and 바나나 are objects. 
* 사과를은(X), 바나나를은(X)

3. When you ask about new information, it is safe to use -이/가 and when you answer the question, you should -은/는

For example,

A: 이름이 뭐예요? What is your name?
B: 제 이름은 이민수예요. My name is Lee Minsu.

A: 오늘이 며칠이에요? What date is today?
B: 오늘은 8월 7일이에요. Today is August 7.

A: 이 분이 누구예요? Who is this person?
B: (이 분은) 제 어머니예요.  (This person is) My mother.

You can also listen to the pronunciation here.

#이 subject particle #가subject particle #subject particle #topic particle #topic #은는 #은topic #는topic #은subject #는subject #이/가vs은/는 #은는 topic #이가subject #subject marker #subject topic #Korean topic #은는 subject

[Grammar] 조사 particles

조사 particles

 

There are lots of particles in Korean such as the subject particle, the object particle, the place particle, the time particle and the destination particle etc.  What are particles’ function?  Particles tell us constituents of a sentence, which means particles tell us which one is a subject, an object, place, time or a destination. In English, it is similar to preposition.  For example,

엄마 아들 사랑해요 (mom, son, love)

In this sentence, I can’t tell who love whom.  So we need particles like this,

엄마 아들 사랑해요. (The mom loves her son.)

아들 엄마 사랑해요. (The son loves his mom.)
and are subject particles, – and are object particles.

Or,

학교 회사 있어요. (school, company, is)

I can’t tell whether ‘There is the company in the school’ or ‘There is the school in the company’.

학교 회사 있어요. (The company is at the school.)

학교 회사 있어요. (The school is at the company.)
is the place particle.

 

If you want to learn more particles, please click

한국어 조사1 here
한국어 조사 2 here