Plain Style Statements

In this section, we are going to learn how to create past, present, and future
statements using the plain style of speech. We will be able to apply the conjugations
to both verbs and adjectives in all three tenses. Furthermore, we will begin to see
when and how the plain style of speech is used.

If you see a sentence that has a verb / adjective that appears to not be conjugated at
all (, ) or is only slightly different from what you see in the dictionary
form ( vs. , vs. ), then there is a good chance you are
looking at the plain style of speech.

Verbs
To form the present tense, plain style - take any (action) verb and attach either -
or - to the verb base. As you might be able to guess at this point, we are going to
add - to verb bases ending in a consonant, and we are going to add - to
verb bases ending in a vowel.
Dictionary

Base

Present Plain

()

()

()

English
go
eat
drink
learn
deliver
nap

take (photos)
write
blow, sing
Note: In , the is being dropped when adding . The same will happen with
similar verbs (, , etc) that drop the .
It's not too difficult to remember. The hardest thing to take note is there are two
endings, one for verbs ending in a consonant and one for verbs ending in a noun. By
itself, this is not a hard concept since we have seen this two-ending concept before.
However, if you have been through the Modifying Verbs lesson, you may be used to
all verbs taking the form.
Review:

When we want to move the verb before some other noun to describe the noun (the
student who is studying, the girl who lives in Seoul, etc), we take the verb base and
add . When using the plain style, we either add or depending on the
verb. Just watch out for this and remember that the plain style has two endings, not
one.
Let's look at a few example sentences.
. I read books a lot, so I go to the library.
. I get up at 7:00 am.
2 . Every two weeks I write a letter to my mother.
! I do not eat meat, but the
big athlete eats a lot of meat!
.* It's Friday, so I want to go to the theater
to watch a movie.
Note: is not treated like a verb, even though you may think it is (to want). It
follows the rules listed below for adjectives.
Adjectives
After covering verbs in the plain style, adjectives will be simple (verbs actually aren't
too difficult, but adjectives are even easier). To conjugate an adjective (sometimes
called 'descriptive verbs' since adjectives are treated like verbs in Korean), simply
take the verb base and add . Wait...doesn't that just give us the dictionary form?
YES! So to conjugate an adjective into the present plain style of speech, we just look
the adjective up in a dictionary and the correct conjugation will be staring back at us!
Simple.
Dictionary

Base

Present Plain

English
is clean

is beautiful
is tedious, dull

is hot

is tired
is fat
is bad

It could not get any easier than that.

Note the subtle difference in these adjectives that end in and the verbs that end
in . Since both kinds exist, we need to be sure to use vs. correctly
depending on if we are dealing with a verb or an adjective.
Let's look at some examples.
. That girl is smart and very pretty.
. I vacuumed the house, so it is clean.

 . I'm always working, so I'm tired.

. Math problems are very tedious.
. I haven't eaten today, so I am hungry.

We can also apply the plain style to past and future tense verbs. The technique we
use is the same regardless of what we are working with (verbs or adjectives). We
simply take the past tense base and add . If you are not sure what the past tense
base is, it's simply the past tense form up to and including the or part.
For example, here are some common verbs and adjectives in the plain style.
Dictionary

Past Base

Past Plain

English
went

learned
was clean

came

was good
was low
sang
wrote

It is pretty simple if you have covered the past tense (which you should have by this
point).
The future tense is just as easy. Just take the future base (up to and including )
and add .
Dictionary

Future Base

Future Plain

English

will read
will learn

will like

will meet
will be tasty

will be expensive

will be busy
will be boring

will sleep

Not too bad, right?

You may have noticed we have not had any examples using and few using .
These are often irregular (in their own ways), so let's take a closer look at them.
+ Plain Style

 is pretty much irregular in most conjugations. goes to / in the

present polite tense, / in the present casual, / in the past
polite, etc. So, as we might expect, it will be slightly different in the plain style.
For the present tense, we will treat it like an adjective. Drop the from the dictionary
form, and add a to complete the plain style present tense. Well, that puts us back
at , which is the correct conjugation for present plain style of speech.
In the past and future tenses, it is irregular, but only to the extent that it is irregular in
the past and future tenses you already know. The past tense in polite style is
. Converting to the plain style, take the past base (everything up to and including
), and add . The result is .
The same logic can be used for future tense. The polite future tense for is
. So the plain future tense will be .
If you think about how the plain style is formed, then is not so irregular (just
deciding whether to treat it as a verb or adjective). The irregularity here simply comes
from the standard past / future tenses that you learned back in Beginner's Korean.

has several different meanings, which is what brings about some things to
consider when using the plain style of speech. Remember, can be translated 'to
exist'. However, we can translate 'to exist' in a few different ways depending on the
situation. For example, a person exists at home. In English, we may simply write a
person stays at home. Or consider Some money exists (with me). A better way to say
this in English is I have some money. So we are mainly looking at the difference
between having something vs. staying somewhere.
These two situations bring about different results in the plain style. If you have
something, that is more like an adjective, describing the situation as opposed to
being some kind of 'action verb'. However, in the case of 'to stay', that is more of an
action verb.
With that in mind, you should be able to figure out the rest. When using when it
should be translated 'to have', simply treat it like an adjective. The plain style form
would be . When using to mean 'to stay', simply treat it like a verb. The
result is .
Again, this irregular form is only irregular to the extent that carries a few
different meanings, which you have known all along. Once you determine the correct
meaning, it's a regular conjugation to the plain style just like you would expect.
Do note that the opposite of , which is , is never used to mean 'does not
stay', as in . This is not correct. For this reason, you never need
to conjugate like a verb, because it is never used in such a way. It is only used
to mean 'does not have', so we will use it as an adjective in all cases.

Way back at the beginning of this lesson, you may have questioned the random bold
words see and looking. Well, the truth is if you encounter these, chances are you
are literally seeing the words. This is because you do not find these plain style
statements used in every day speech. If you use it, you will sound like a robot - we
are aiming for good communication skills here.
So if it isn't really spoken in speech, when is it used? How about online in an instant
message with your best friend? No. When the language formed, I highly doubt instant
messages were around. There were conversations, and there were "nonconversations". It's really only one or the other. Conversations then were talking with
your friend. Conversations now can include emails, telephone, text messages, instant
messages, voice messages, and anything in between.
So, the plain style statements are used in communication that does not really count
as a conversation. I tend to think about it as the ending being the 'written form',
but that excludes written conversations. Of course formal style of speech ends in
as well, which can actually be used in spoken conversation when formality is needed.
But the plain style is essentially the 'plainest' forms of verbs that you can write. It's not
exactly formal. It's not rude either. It is simply neutral. Hence used in speech you will
sound like a robot.
The key difference between the formal statements and plain style statements is this
- formal style statements show you are aware of the listeners or readers. You are
directing the text or speech towards them. The plain style is neutral - it is not aware
of readers or audience - it is simply factual and delivers the information, but it doesn't
carry that same honorific tone that the formal style has.
Do note that the plain style statements are saved for written form, whereas other
plain style forms (questions, suggestions, commands) are for speech. It is a little
confusing at first since it seems like they should be the same, but they are not.
We will see more in future sections, but for now just know that we will use plain style
statements in written form and not in our daily conversations with our friends.

In this section we have learned how to conjugate into the plain style of speech for
statements. We have covered both adjectives () and verbs (, ) in the
present tense. Furthermore, we learned how to apply the plain style of speech to
both past and future tenses ( / , ) for both adjectives and verbs. We
looked more closely at a couple situations that may be considered irregular, but are
truly only irregular in ways we have already learned in previous lessons. Finally, we
had an introduction to the plain style speech in general along with plain style

statements and how they are used today in communication.

Plain Style Suggestions

Section Goals
In this section we are going to take a look at plain style suggestions. We will learn
how to recognize them and conjugate them. Since suggestions can only be made to
do actions (meaning we cannot suggest an adjective), we only need to discuss how
to apply the ending to verbs.

The plain style suggestions can be recognized by the ending. For example, !
means Let's go! just as means Let's eat..

Now that you have learned plain style statements, let's take a look at something a
little bit easier, yet every bit as useful. Plain style suggestions are very commonly
used among peers while being very easy to implement at the same time.
To make a suggestion in the plain style, simply take the verb stem and add . It is
that simple. Just look up the word in a dictionary and replace the final with and
you should be ready to suggest.
Dictionary

Plain Suggestion

English
let's go
let's eat
let's drink
let's meet
let's swim
let's sing

I love simple.
All of the above are equivalent to the formal style of speech. For example, compare...
Plain Suggestion

Formal Suggestion

The meaning remains the same. The only difference is to whom you are speaking
(whether you "are allowed" to use plain style or not) and the formal style is slightly

harder to conjugate (and longer to write / type). Use with friends and those
younger than you. Use if you need to be more formal.
! I'm hungry, let's eat pizza!
. Let's go to the park.
. . I finished my homework, so let's watch tv now.
. Today I'm very busy, but let's
go to the department store tomorrow.
That is pretty much all there is to learn about the plain style suggestions. They are
very easy, so this section will be nice and short. However, they are key to
understanding Korean and are used all the time. Take advantage of this - learn them
quickly and instantly realize you have learned an essential piece of Korean grammar
that you will get plenty of use out of.

Now that we have seen how to use the plain style suggestions, let's discuss when to
use the plain style suggestions. In the previous section, we discussed the plain style
and how it consists of the 'plainest' endings we can put on a verb or adjectives. We
learned that plain style statements are only for written form, not conversations.
This is where the rest of the plain style seems to be different. For plain style
suggestions, we are going to use them in speech. We will use them often in
conversations. We will talk online with our friends and say ! We will talk on
the phone and say ! We will hang out together and say !
Just think about it - by using we are suggesting something. Since it is a
suggestion, we hope to hear an agreement or disagreement. Thus we are having a
conversation, which means we should be able to use in conversations.
Simply put, use frequently with your friends in a conversation if you have a
suggestion. It is easy to do, and commonly used.
Section Summary
In this lesson, we learned how to conjugate suggestions into the plain style of
speech. We learned that they are very easy to conjugate, yet very important and
show up a lot in Korean communication. Furthermore, we learned to use in
conversations whereas plain style statements are used in written form.

Plain Style Commands

Section Goals
In this section we will learn two plain style command forms. We will learn how to use
each and when to use each.

The command forms in the plain style both share a common final syllable - . So, if
you see a verb with attached to the end, it is very possible you are looking at a
command form of that verb.

There are two types of commands. One is used in the full meaning of a command, as
in 'do it'. The other is more of an inspirational command. It seeks to inspire people to
do something rather than force them to do something. Since we need to do what we
are told, we will cover the forceful command first, followed by the inspirational form.
But don't worry - they are both easy.
Commands - Required
The first command form is fairly simple to form if you know how to conjugate in the
present tense. You simply take the casual form of the verb and add , or you take
the polite form of the verb and replace with . However you think about it, you will
arrive at the same ending.
Dictionary

Middle Step

Command

English

drink

clean
study

read

watch

go
eat

Not too difficult, right?

! Eat your vegetables!
! Clean your room!
. There is an exam tomorrow, so study.
. I cooked last night, so
you cook tonight.
. The television is broken, buy a new
television.
. It is raining, take your umbrella with you.
As you can see, these can be excellent if you are a parent or need to tame your
spouse or significant other.
Commands - Inspiration
The second type of command is geared towards inspiring others to do something
rather than simply telling them to do it. It is not as common as the first type we
learned, but it will come up from time to time.
An example of this would be the government saying "Start a home business for

economic growth!" While it is written as a command, the goal is more to inspire

citizens to start a home business than to force them into it. While your mother could
say ! to a child that does not want to eat vegetables, the government
could say ! ! to inspire people to eat more vegetables (maybe to
increase the health and life expectancy of the citizens).
As you just saw in an example, it's very similar to the other command form we just
learned. still sits at the end - it's the middle that is different.
For this form, take your verb stem and add if the stem ends in a consonant and
if it ends in a vowel.
Dictionary

Middle Step

Command

English
go

eat

drink
clean

study

read
watch
Above you may notice a couple things. For example, uses for both
command forms. This is simply because the verb stem is the same as the casual
form of the verb (). Verbs that end in only vary from to in the
command form, a small change.
Overall, hopefully you saw that this command form is no more difficult than the other
command form. They are both easy to implement. The hardest thing to do is
remember which form goes with which meaning.
I simply recommend coming up with any way that helps you remember that
would be a required command and would be an inspirational command. For
me, I simply think when I think of a parent speaking with their kids (about food of
course), and thus would be a command to the kids that choose to not eat
properly. If so, must be the other form. This may or may not work for you. I
just advice you to use whatever way you can to remember. It can be silly. It doesn't
have to make sense. It just has to work for you.

We have somewhat covered the usage of the two command forms in the specifics
section above, so let's review the differences between them and compare the plain
style commands to other plain style forms.
First, we use the () ending when we want to inspire with a command. It is not as
commonly used, although it will show up from time to time. We use / when
we want to command something to be done, as in a parent telling his or her child to

clean a room.
Can we use them in speech? Conversations? Writings? These have been topics
discussed in previous sections so far. Well, you would think you could use them in
speech. Why not? It doesn't seem logical for a mother to write an essay to a child
ordering the child to eat some vegetables. So yes, you can use these in speech. In
fact, it doesn't make much sense to use them in an essay or written form, unless you
are quoting someone. So again, plain style statements are the only sentence endings
that are going to show up regularly in written form.
Of course, you could still see these written down. It's just what is being written that
determines whether it makes sense or not. If the government wants people to start a
home based business to boost economic growth, maybe they will sponsor a billboard
on the side of the road to inspire all the people driving to and from work. It is written
down in this case. That is ok. However, you probably won't see commands show up
in formal writings.
Section Summary
In this section we covered two command forms - one for required actions and one for
inspired actions. We discussed the differences in the two, how to conjugate them,
and concluded the lesson by learning if it is ok to use these in conversations or in
written form.

Plain Style Questions

Section Goals
In this section we will discuss how to form questions in the plain style. We will learn
two ways of doing so, and see examples of when to use each.

There are two forms of questions in the plain style of speech - one is the ? ending
and another ends in ? We should be able to recognize that we are dealing with a
question form of some style of speech simply because in text we will see a question
mark, and in speech the intonation of the voice will rise at the end of the sentence.
However, hearing or seeing or is also a wonderful hint that a question is being
asked.

There are two types of plain style statements, and we determine which to use
depending on to whom we are talking and who we are ourselves. It may sound a bit
strange, but you will understand better in a few minutes.
One tends to be used mostly by females, and the other tends to carry a little attitude

with it (which can make it natural for some guys).

? Feminine Questions
The first form is . We attach to the verb stem. Nice and simple.
Dictionary

Stem

Question
?
?

English

drink?

?
?

buy?
study?

is pleasant?

?
?

is good?
likes?

dislikes?

?
?*

is bad?
is open?

go?
eat?

Note: Cases such as , , etc. will drop the .

Pretty straight forward. The real catch is when to use and when not to. If you are a
girl, then use when speaking with friends or to younger people, just as you would
use the casual style of speech. If you are a guy, chances are you will want to avoid
using , because you will sound feminine and may be thought of as a "girly-man" or worse. Now, in some instances a guy will use to try and be romantic, and at this
point it's up to the girl to determine whether or not was a good choice. She could
fall for it, or she could vomit.
So for us men, we will tend to stay away from , be on the safe side, and not risk
anything. For girls, use it all you like.
? attitude
The second ending is . It's a little more complicated to attach than , although no
more complicated than some other grammar points we have seen.
is attached to verbs differently than it is attached to adjectives.
For verbs, we attach to the verb stem. However, in every day conversation, it is
often shortened to just .
Dictionary

Stem

Shortened
?

?
?

?
?

?
?

?
?

?
?

?
?

?
?
For adjectives, we attach to stems ending in a vowel and to stems ending in a
consonant.
Dictionary

Stem

?*
?*

?
?

Note: Remember, irregular + = . Thus becomes ? and

becomes ?
Slightly more to remember than using , but still pretty simple with a little bit of
studying.
Now let's discuss when to use . When is used there is a slight attitude. The
speaker may also appear slightly annoyed. Or, the speaker could simply be old, as
some old people use when speaking to young people. So in a sense, is more
friendly, but then again only girls tend to use . Guys would be more appropriate
using (as guys are "tough", so it sounds kind of natural). In the Usage section
below we will review the differences and mention one other question form commonly
used by guys (which you already know).

Past and future tense questions work as we would expect them to. We simply take
the past / future tense stem and attach the appropriate ending, rather than using the
present tense stem.
For past, this means up to the (, , etc). For future, it is up to and including
.
The main thing we need to remember is what to attach. For questions, we always
attach , regardless of if we are dealing with verb or adjective, consonant endings
or vowel endings. It makes it simple, although it is different than present tense which
can be a little confusing. With , simply attach to verb or adjective - same as
present tense.
Dictionary

Past
?

Past
?

Future
?

Future
?

Audio
Play

Play

?
?

?
?

? ?
? ?

Play
Play

? ?

? ?

Play

Not too difficult once we know the past and future tenses (which are covered in
Beginner's Korean)

We have already discussed the usage of and in the sections above. We will
review them here and review one other commonly used method for asking questions.
As we have learned, is used to ask questions, but tends to carry a feminine tone
with it. For this reason, guys rarely use it, although girls will use it regularly. is used
when speaking with friends or younger people.
is also used for questions, but it comes off with a bit of an attitude or annoyance.
Guys can use , and while it may be somewhat natural for them, it still packs a little
attitude, so it should not be used in all situations.
Instead, guys commonly use the casual style of speech for questions. We know the
casual style of speech is used with friends and those younger than yourself. It does
not carry attitude or come off as feminine, so it is commonly used by guys for
questions when speaking with friends and younger people. For example, a girl might
say ? A guy might say ? The meaning is the same. Nevertheless,
these rules are not written in stone, but this is how we will see questions spoken
today in Korean.
Section Summary
We discussed two plain style questions, and . We learned is commonly used
by females and has a little attitude with it, so it should be used carefully. We
learned how to conjugate both of these forms in the past, present, and future tenses.
Finally, we reviewed one more question form commonly used, the casual style of
speech, which is commonly used by guys since guys might seem a bit weird using .

Plain Style Examples

So now we have been introduced to the plain style for statements, questions,
commands, and suggestions, let's take a look at some of these ideas mixed together
and be sure we have a good understanding of each and can recognize them easily in
sentences.
1. .
2. .
3. ?
4. !
5. .
6. !

7. .
8. ?
9. .
10. .
11. ?
12. .
13. ?
14. ?
15. !
16. ?
17. ?
18. !
19. ?
20. .
21. ?
show/hide hints
show/hide translation
1. . In Korea there is a lot of tasty food.
2. . I study at the library every day.
3. ? Do I look cool today?
4. ! This summer break, let's go to Europe! (to
have fun)
5. . We go to the museum together.
6. ! We study hard so we receive a perfect score!
7. . Clean your house all the time.
8. ? Is that a fact?
9. . This city's water is really clean
10. . Eat many vegetables.
11. ? Have you played this game?
12. . Happy new year. (Receive many good fortunes next
year).
13. ? Where did you buy it?
14. ? What is your favorite food?
15. ! Let's eat at that restaurant!

16. ? Do you eat Korean food?

17. ? Why don't you come over this weekend?
18. ! Let's go home and take a rest.
19. ? Do you like this game?
20. . Study a lot so you receive a good grade.
21. ? Can your friend speak Korean?

Plain Style Readings

New Section?
No - not quite. If you have been with us through Beginner's Korean, we have seen
some conversation sections with lessons. The readings are an extension of that. At
this point, we are beginning to be able to understand different types of readings and
will get some practice with Korean away from basic conversations.
We will have readings from song lyrics, short stories, articles, and of course more
conversation practice. At first, we will look at edited versions of the original to make
things easier to understand. As we continue through the lessons, we will aim for more
and more authentic material and work our way towards understanding Korean texts
as they are written.
However, this does mean we will begin to see a lot more unfamiliar vocabulary show
up. We will provide translations for most unfamiliar vocabulary in the hints section.
When going through the readings, use the hints first. Also use any provided media
along with hints when trying to understand the material. Finally, use our translations
line by line at the end to make sure everything makes sense.
One final note - at first these may also include unfamiliar grammar. Sometimes it is
unavoidable. We will learn the grammar in time. If anything appears to be new
grammar, try to understand as much as you can, and fill in the rest with the provided
translations. Then after you recognize that grammar in a future grammar lesson, try
readings for previous lessons and see if it can be spotted anywhere. This will help
you both strengthen the grammar concept, and periodically review the vocabulary
learned in the readings in order to burn it into memory.
These readings will be a great way to learn vocabulary while experiencing Korean
culture at the same time. Let's get started.
Plain Readings
Now that we have covered the plain style and seen some examples, let's practice
using our Korean. Below we have a shortened version of a Korean children's story.
Try your best to read through it and understand as much of it as possible - use hints
if needed as well. Afterwards, watch the clip provided at Naver as it should help you
understand the story better.

You can play the text in full using the play buttons at the top of the text. Or, you can
play an individual line by clicking that line.
Play | Play Slowly

.
.
.

" " .
5 .
.
, .

" "
.
.
.
.
" ??"
.
.
.
.
" !!!"
show/hide hints
show/hide translation

People who look in a mirror for the first time.
.
A farmer living in the country side went to Seoul for the first time.
.
His wife told him (her husband) to buy a comb from Seoul.
.
But the farmer did not know what a comb was.

" " .
After his wife looked at the sky's half-moon, she said "A comb looks similar to the
moon."

 5 .
The farmer walked, so it took him five days to arrive in Seoul.
.
He arrived in Seoul, so the farmer met with relatives and friends.
, .
Before the farmer left Seoul, he thought to buy the comb.

" "
He went to the shop and saw the sky's round moon, and then said "I think it is like
that moon."
.
The shop owner gave a mirror to the farmer.
.
After that the farmer returned to the countryside.
.
The farmer gave the mirror to his wife.
.
The wife saw the mirror and was suddenly surprised.
" ??"
What! Who is this??
.
There was a young girl inside the mirror.
.
The wife glared at that girl.

The girl inside the mirror also glared (back) at the wife.
.
The wife knew (thought) that her husband brought a young lady with him, so she
cried a lot.
" !!!"
How can you do this!!!

Direct Quotations
Section Goals
In this section we will cover direct quotations and how to use them. We will be able to
quote all types of sentences (statements, questions, etc) word for word.

Quotations use the quotation particle . You may occasionally see "quotation marks"
around the quoted portion of the sentence, but this is not always true so you should
not count on them being there. Instead, look for + some-speaking-verb. Other
constructions are + some-speaking-verb. Read on to find out more.

We will start by learning direct quotations, since they are the easiest to implement,
spot, and start using right away.
A direct quotation is simply quoting what someone said word-for-word. You may see
the direct quotation in "quotation marks", just like we use quotation marks in English.
However, this is not required and is mostly used only in foreign textbooks. However,
a direct quotation is the same as one in English - the quotation marks just might not
be present.
Let's just look at a couple of examples, and then we will discuss what we see in those
examples.
. Mom said, "It's cold today."
. The teacher said, "There is a
hard exam on friday."
The two examples above demonstrate quoting a statement someone had made
earlier. In the first one, we first say to let the listener know 'Mom' was the
person who said the quotation that follows. Then we have the exact quotation word
for word. Finally, we add after the quotation.
In the second sentence, we start off with to let the listener know the teacher
made the following statement. After the quotation, we used the same construct
to end the sentence.
From these two sentences, we can see that we tend to state who said the quotation
at the beginning with the subject particle attached. Alternatively, we could use the
topic particle instead of the subject particle. Following the quotation is where we find
the "was said" type situation (although without quotation marks). This is similar to the
following expressions in English:
She said, "..."
He asked, "..."
The teacher requested, "..."
Get the idea? We will put some speaking related verb near the quotation, and in
Korean that verb follows the quotation at the end of the sentence. is the verb
used in the examples above, meaning "to say", and we simply conjugated it in the
past tense. However, we do not have to use every time. We can use

for "asked", for "requested", or even simply (similar to ).

The only piece left falls between the quotation and the "speaking verb" at the end of
the sentence. In general, the particle, in this sense, can be thought of a quotation
particle. With direct quotations, we will use either or . The difference is
subtle.
is more direct. It is like the quotation is an object of the verb. She says ______.
He stated _______. She asked _______. on the other hand is less direct, where
the quotation is kind of separate from the rest of the sentence. By this I mean there is
a quotation, which kind of stands on it's own, and then later you add is being said or
he is saying or was said. This second part feels like extra information.
With , it comes together better as one sentence and the + verb feels very
connected to the quotation - in fact it is an essential part of the sentence.
It's very confusing at first, so if it does not make any sense, rest assured that is ok.
Both are correct and both are understandable. It is a subtle difference. Whichever
you choose, follow these two simple guidelines:
If you use (), there should be no pause between the quotation and
+ verb. It all falls together like one sentence.
If you use , there should be a pause between the quotation and the rest of
the sentence. They are more separate.
You cannot use if you are using the verbs or at the end of the
sentence ( and are incorrect)
Follow the tips above and you will speak wonderfully.
Here are a few common verbs used to introduce (or conclude I suppose, since it falls
at the end of the sentence) the quotation. Any speaking-related verb works. If you
can use a verb in English to introduce the quotation (ask, said, stated, thought, etc),
you can use it in Korean.

Past Tense
Polite

Verb

Allowed

Allowed

English

said
to say
to say
to respond

to ask
to think
Those are the key parts for a direct quotation. Of course, you can add more to the
sentence as you deem necessary around the quotation to provide more of a
background about the quotation, but that part is up to you.
. Barry said, "I want to make a car at
school."

 ? . Anna asked, "Can I come over to

your house this evening?"
.The teacher was
thinking, "this test is too easy," but the students were thinking "this test is too difficult."
? .Hyun asked,
"This weekend I have a lot of homework - may I not work?"
See? It is not too difficult once you understand what to do, and direct quotations are
pretty straightforward. We will see more examples in the examples section.

Use direct quotations when you want to quote what someone has said word for word.
This usage is pretty simple.
The most difficult thing to learn about the usage is learning the difference in the
quotation particle and quotation particle. There is a subtle difference, with
being more direct than . However, both are generally correct and both can be
used. They simply sound different when used, but that does not make one less
correct than the other.
However, do remember that we cannot use if we want to use the verb or
to end the sentence. Thus, the constructs and are
incorrect. Use instead if you want to use one of those verbs.
Finally, if you do not care about quoting someone word for word, but simply want to
get the general point across, you may consider indirect quotations. These are very
common in both Korean and English. If this is what you are looking for, then check
out the next section.
Section Summary
In this section we learned that a direct quotation is used to quote someone word for
word. We learned that we can use either the quotation particle or the particle
immediately after the quotation, but there is a subtle difference between them. We
learned how to state who said the quotation, apply a quotation particle after the
quotation, and use a speaking-related verb (said, asked, thought, etc) to close the
sentence.

Indirect Quotations
Section Goals
In this section we will learn how to create indirect quotations in various verb tenses.

Indirect quotations are similar in structure to direct quotations. They both take some

variation of the quotation particle after the quoted portion of the sentence. Indirect
quotations attach to the end of a plain style verb, so whenever you see a plain
style verb + , you may be looking at an indirect quotation.

Indirect quotations are quotations that are not word for word. The speaker is simply
telling someone what someone else had said, although not necessarily verbatim.
These are much more common in speech and are very important to know. They
make use of slightly more grammar than direct quotations, although you have
already learned all the grammar you need to know.
As stated earlier, can be thought of as a quotation particle in some sentences. In
direct quotations, we used or as the particle. Indirect quotations will simply
use .
To form an indirect quotation, form the quotation as you would expect, but use the
plain style endings (, , , ) you learned in the previous lesson. Directly
attach to the plain style verb, followed by some speaking verb just as you learned
in the previous section.
Note: these are indirect quotations, therefore the actual quotation will vary from the
direct form of the quotation. You must change references to other people just as we
do in English. Compare the following english equivalents:
My mom said, "I want to go shopping with you." Direct Quotation
My mom said she wants to go shopping with me. Indirect Quotation
Just as the words referring people change in English, they will change in Korean.
Keep this in mind as we take a look at these next few examples.
. Mom wants to go shopping with me. indirect
. Mom says she wants to go shopping
with you. indirect
. Mom says, "I want to go shopping
with you." direct
Notice in Korean the references may not be as complicated to change, simply
because references are often left out. Here we only changed one reference per
sentence instead of two as we did in English.
Look at some variations of the above sentence using other plain style forms.
. My friend suggested to go shopping with me.
. My friend asked to go shopping together.
. My friend told me to go shopping.*
* Note we excluded in the final sentence. If we included it, the - suggestion
ending would be better (since the friend suggests they both go together)
We can put any of the plain style forms in the quotation, but we must use the plain

style.
Note with plain style commands, we will use the form and not / . In
normal plain style commands, / endings are more commonly used and are
closer to commands in English. However, we do use the other command form, ,
when using an indirect quotation, which is why we choose above instead of
.
Also note that for the question form we always use the ending in quotations,
whereas this is can be thought of as a rude question form in the plain style ( or the
casual form are often used instead). However, with indirect quotations we will always
use , and it is not considered rude and should be used.
Since indirect quotations are nearly identical to direct quotations except for
references in the quotation and the quoted verb, it will be easiest to just look at
examples and get a feel for them.
. Anna said she could come to my house
soon.
. The news reporter said it will
rain continuously this weekend.
. Mom says sister cleaned.

The verb shows up as usual in the irregular section. When the original quotation
ended with the verb in the present tense, we will use () + + speaking
verb. We saw this same change made when discussing the verb ending in
Beginners Korean Lesson Seventeen. Attach to nouns ending in a vowel and
to nouns ending in a consonant.
. My mom says it is a dog, but I
think it is a big cat. Note this is +
. A friend told me it is a good book.
If you want past tense, then is the same as it is in the normal past tense
(irregular still, of course). Just use (consonant) or (vowel) and add
your final verb.
. A friend says it was a good concert.
Or use the past tense in both verbs for the following effect:
. A friend said it was a good concert.

When the original quotation used the verb , to give, as the final verb, we must
use verb stem + instead of plain style + . For example:
Sister said to me, "Give me an apple."

This direct quotation would be as follows for indirect:

.
We use because sister wanted something done for her. It is actually
used a bit more often than simply for "to give". If the original speaker wants
something done for them (the speaker), then may be the best option.
Do note that we do not include the verb as we would normally see in the original
sentence (ending in most likely).
An example of when "to give" is not the best translation comes from the readings in
the previous lesson.
. The wife told her husband to buy a
comb (for her) in Seoul.
She wants her husband to buy something for her. The verb she originally said was
, + , to buy for her. It would have read ... . However, she wanted
him to buy it for her, which is the key point. Something is being done for her, so we
use .

There is a commonly used contracted form of indirect quotations as well, which takes
the ending or . is actually a contracted form of .
To use this contracted form, simply include up to the from the plain style ending,
but replace with . If you are using the verb , remember it is irregular and
would become . If we were to use an indirect quotation, we would end up with ...
. Here, we will end up with .
Here are a couple of examples:
. I hear the teacher goes to the bar every day.
. Hyun tells me Barry makes good
grades.
. Mom says she wants to go shopping with you.
Past tense works the same way. If the original sentence was past tense, just include
the past tense up to and then add . is not irregular in this case (past
tense is ). If you heard the quote in the past, then simply use or .
. Hyukju told me chess is fun.
. Hyukju tells me chess was fun.
. Hyukju told me chess was fun.
So it just depends on what happened in the past. Put the past tense form where it is
needed.
These contracted forms are very common in colloquial speech. However, there is
one difference to note between this contracted form and the regular indirect
quotation ending. The contracted form isvery colloquial, so it will only be used in

speech. It carries a very friendly tone, is used very often by kids, and is very informal.

As we have seen, indirect quotations are extremely useful and show up very
frequently in all types of conversations. Most of the time, we do not even think we are
saying a quotation with an indirect quotation, but the statements are indeed
quotations. This applies in English, and the same holds true in Korean. For this
reason, be sure to review this lesson very thoroughly, and practice using them. Try
turning things people around you say into a quotation as if you were telling a friend
what you heard. Make it become second nature to you just as it has become in
English.
Just remember, the key to indirect quotations is plain style ending + + speaking
verb. Besides this, just build the sentence as you would expect. Name the person
who said the statement, and then say what they stated. Just be sure to convert
references to people as necessary, just as we do in English.
So indirect quotations are not overwhelming with lots of grammar. Just remember the
basics of how they are formed, and then create some sentences in the same way
you create them in English. The most important thing for these is practice. With
practice, you will be able to use indirect quotations to tell other people what you have
heard from any given person, gossip all you wish, create wonderful excuses that
takes the blame off yourself, and make all sorts of wonderful statements - the best
thing about it is all this will happen naturally and you will forget you are even dealing
with quotations, but it takes practice.
Section Summary
In this section we discussed indirect quotations, which are ways of telling other
people what you heard from someone else, but the sentence does not necessarily
have to be word for word. We rarely remember sentences word for word, so indirect
quotations are very useful in relaying the general message. We learned a few
irregular expressions such as when or is the verb from the original
statement. We finished by a useful contracted form of indirect quotations that shows
up very often in colloquial speech, but it is not used in written form.

Quotations Examples
1. .
2. .
3. .
4. .

5. .
6. .
7. .
8. .
9. .
10. .
11. ! .
12. .
13. .
14. .
15. .
show/hide hints
show/hide translation
1. . Mom asked if I bought and brought
chicken at the super market.
2. . I said that I dislike going to school.
3. . Barry said, "Let's go (for enjoyment) to
Chicago."
4. . Dambi said, "Give me more food (lit: rice)"
5. . Dad thought that house was really
cool.
6. . The doctor said, " The patient's
illness looks grave.
7. . I asked the teacher up until
when we can do the homework.
8. . The salesman persuaded a
customer this car was the best.
9. . Russell suggested to Anna
to go on a date Sunday.
10. . Hyery invited Hyun to come to her
birthday party.
11. ! . I requested of my younger
brother, "Absolutely do not open this box!
12. . The woman commended me for
my beautiful face.
13. . The lawyer to his
mother,"Don't worry."
14. . My friend requested that I take a
few pictures.

15. . Dad said, "We are

going to Kangwondo for vacation."

Quotation Readings
Now that we have covered the plain style and seen some examples, let's practice
using our Korean. Below we have a shortened version of a Korean children's story.
Try your best to read through it and understand as much of it as possible - use hints
if needed as well. Afterwards, watch the clip provided at Naver as it should help you
understand the story better.
You can play the text in full using the play buttons at the top of the text. Or, you can
play an individual line by clicking that line.
Play | Play Slowly

.
.
.
".. .."
.
?
!
.
.
.
.
" .."
show/hide hints
show/hide translation

The Foolish Farmer
.
Once upon a time there was a farmer that had (possessed) a marvelous chicken that
laid golden eggs.
.
The farmer thought that it was (too) marvelous.
.
The farmer didn't even work and watched only the chicken
".. .."

Wow...it's a chicken that lays golden eggs...

.
One day the farmer was curious.
?
How many golden eggs do you suppose are inside the chicken's belly?
!
Let's not wait for them one by one, let's force open and see the stomach!
.
The farmer thought there were lots of golden eggs in the chicken.
.
He came carrying a knife, killed the chicken, and looked inside the belly.
.
There was not even a single golden egg inside the belly.
.
The pitiful farmer hugged the chicken and cried.
" .."
"I'm foolish. (realizing)"

VTN Introduction
Welcome back to the next lesson in the Intermediate section here at Learn Korean
Now. So far, we have covered plain style speech along with quotations - two big
grammar lessons. We are now going to dive into another large lesson, although the
grammar is easier, and there is not as much of it. We will learn a few key grammar
points, and then we will look at many different phrases that we can make using those
grammar points.

In this lesson, we will learn how to change verbs into nouns. At first you may think it's
crazy, but learning this concept is actually quite useful and we use it every day in
English. In fact, the previous sentence already contains an example of this concept.
To Learn is a verb we all know - we used this verb as a noun in the previous
sentence, though, by switching to learning. In English, we call this a gerund.
However, the grammar terms are far less important than the concept. It's an easy
concept, and we use it every day - let's keep it simple.
We will cover a few methods for changing verbs into nouns. They are as follows:
verb ending
verb ending

() / as part of a phrase
Many of the phrases use the verb ending, so give special attention to this form.
We do not cover all phrases that can be used involving , as that would be nearly
impossible. However, we cover a fair amount of common phrases, and through those
examples we will learn that creating the phrases and expressions is actually quite
easy. After a good understanding of (and seeing some examples), it will be much
easier to break apart future phrases involving and derive the correct meaning from
them.
Other useful phrases that change verbs into nouns do not make use of , and we
look at a few of this in this lesson as well.
Now that we have been introduced, let's dive in and take a deeper look at this
concept.

Verbs-to-Noun Concept
Section Goals
In this section, we will be learn a couple methods for converting a verb into a nounlike form. This is useful for phrases such as "walking is fun" where walking comes
from the verb to walk but is being used as something other than the verb in the
sentence. We will learn the mechanics of how to apply the endings, and then we will
look at some examples.

We will cover two common methods for changing a verb into a noun-like form. The
first is identified by the ending attached to the verb stem. The second is identified
by attaching the () / ending to the verb stem. Anytime you see either of
these two endings attached to the verb, then chances are high that the verb is in
some noun-like form standing by itself or working as part of a phrase.

One of the most common methods for turning verbs into nouns is using the
ending. It is also very easy to recognize in Korean, so this is an ideal verb form to
learn in this lesson.
The ending is attached to the verb stem.
Verb

Verb +

Meaning

going

eating
drinking
sleeping
reading
smoking
doing
listening
broiling

Verb

Verb +

Meaning

going

eating
drinking
sleeping
reading
smoking
doing
listening
broiling

? Easy, right?
Attaching to past tense or future tense forms is just as easy. Just attach it onto the
end of the past base or future base.
A few examples of past tense would be: - - having gone...., - having eaten...., - - having done...
A few examples of future tense would be: - , - , - ,
- , etc...
Now that we can attach the endings properly, actually using the new forms is just as
easy as using nouns in the sentence. We can use the new form as a subject, topic,
object - whatever works.
. I like drinking Korean liquor.
. I really like eating tasty Korean food.
. Because essays are boring, I dislike writing
(them).
Not bad at all. But we have only been introduced to the basic uses of . There are
many useful phrases that make use of - we will see these in the next section.

Another common ending for turning verbs into nouns is . The is attached to
in the same way we learned in Beginner's Korean Lesson Twelve. is attached
to both consonant and vowel ending bases. For past tense, we add to
consonant ending bases and to vowel ending bases.
This has a very similar meaning to and can be used interchangeably with the
form.
has the same meaning as
has the same meaning as
has the same meaning as
Similarly...
is the same as
is the same as
is the same as
These are just the past tense forms.
is a common ending just like the form we learned above. If we know how to
use one form, then we should be able to apply the other form in sentences as well

given we have an understanding of how to attach the ending to the verb correctly.
. I saw a beautiful girl
playing with her dog on campus yesterday.
. Dad wants to see me playing soccer.
Variations
In some common phrases (such as some we will see in the next section), we may
also see just or () attached to the verb, followed by some other word. For
example, to say after eating, we simply say . While not directly involving the
above concept, it is very similar and the meaning remains the same - in the phrase,
we are changing the verb into a noun.

Anytime you wish to use a verb as a noun, for phrases such asjogging is good for
your health or walking is a good alternative to driving, using either or as a
verb ending is a good choice. Furthermore, knowing how to do apply these endings
properly opens up many opportunities for other phrases (in the following sections),
and many of these phrases are very useful in every day language and you will often
find yourself wanting to use them.
You will often find that either or is a good choice when you want to translate
words that end in "ing" as that is usually a good sign that you need to convert a verb
into a noun-like form.
Use either or - they both can be used with the same meaning.
Section Summary
In this section we learned the meaning of the and endings. We saw a few
examples and learned both verb endings can be used interchangeably. In the next
section, we will take a look at common phrases that we can now create using these
verb endings.

Verbs-to-Nouns Phrases
Section Goals
In this section we will learn some useful phrases we can create now that we
understand the and (and variations) endings. We will see some examples for
each phrase. More examples will be covered at the end of the lesson.

These phrases are recognized using the same techniques as we saw in the previous
section - these phrases are built using the or ending along with some useful
verbs to create common phrases.

 is a way we can state the reason for something. means because - it

provides a reason for another action. However, the reason is usually an important
and direct reason.
First, let's take a look at by itself, and then we will cover how to pair it up with
.
follows nouns. For example, We could say to mean because of
homework or to mean because of price. Both and are nouns
and we simply follow them with .
Simple enough, right? Using with verbs is just as easy now that we know how
to turn verbs into nouns. Simply attach to the verb stem and add - the
result is a new phrase meaningbecause of (verb)ing or since.....
. Because the shoes were expensive, I did not buy
them.
. Since the house is not clean, I
have to clean today.
. Because I am going to Hawaii
next week, I will probably buy a new bathing suit.
Just remember, we want a direct, strong relationship between the two "halves" of the
sentence.

is a common phrase often taught - is a verb meaning to begin.

Put it together with a verb ending in and you have the phrase to start..(doing
something).. or to begin ...(doing something).... For example, to start running.
. Our friend started smoking when he
was 20 years old.
. I want to lose weight, so I started
eating health foods.
See - once we understand , learning some useful phrases involving aren't bad
at all. All we need to know is a few useful verbs that pair up well with and we are
well on our way to sounding like a native.

is a way of saying before ...(verb-ing).... This is different than the forms

above in that we are not pairing with another verb, but instead we pair it with ,
meaning before. With this construction, we can say things like Before going to
school..., Before I bought a new tv..., and Before I started studying Korean..... We will
still need another verb at the end of the sentence if we want to make a complete

sentence, but knowing provides a way to add in some useful phrases into our
sentences.
. Before studying Korean, I do my homework.
? Before watching tv, can you do the
laundry?
. Before going to bed, I take a shower and
brush my teeth.
. Before I started studying
Korean, I studied Spanish.
() - After ...
From here, if someone told us that means after, we may at first think we can
simply plug right into the phrase above and be able to say after ...(verb-ing)....
Unfortunately this is not the case. Instead, we have to use the ending () to
mean after ...(verb-ing).... However, note that the ending () is the same as that
used when modifying verbs in the past tense from Beginner's Lesson Twelve. Keep
this in mind, and let , after, be a reminder that something involves the past tense.
It is just grammar, and sometimes it does not work the way we (foreigners) wish.
Luckily it isn't too difficult. Just remember, , () ...
...
() ...
...
() ...
...
() ...
Got it? Good. Let's take a look at a few examples.
. After cleaning, let's go to the library.
. After the movie lets eat ice cream.
. After shopping let's take a break (rest).

can usually be translated as for or in order to. For example:

I'm going to work a lot for money.
You should study a lot in order to get good grades.
provides reason (ie: to earn money, to make good grades). However, we
need a noun to come before . So if we have a verb or verb phrase, we simply
turn it into a noun first by using . The result is verb + . When used with
verbs + , this usually translates naturally into in order to rather than for.
. I exercise in order to lose weight.
. I am studying Korean so that I can

live in Korea.
is commonly used, although there is another form that should be mentioned.
Instead of , you may see - especially in writing. is an older form
and is used more often in writing, whereas is used in speech. However, both
have the same meaning. If you learn to recognize and realize it is the same
as , then you should be good to go.
Finally, you will also see used. This is a shortened form of , and it tends
to be used often in casual speech.

We know that once we take a verb and attach the ending, the verb then functions
as any other noun would. Since we can attach other particles such as to nouns,
we can attach them to verbs + just as easily.
As we learned in previous lessons, means only. means only eat,
means only study. We are not introducing any new concepts here - just combining
a few old ones. This phrase or pattern is a good way to show that we can combine
concepts - if we use , we can treat the verb + just as we would any other noun.
Keep that in mind.
. I only play video games OR All I do is play video games.
- Once / As Soon As
If we go further and combine with to get , then things can get a
little more confusing since the meaning might change, but it is not too difficult.
. If you only eat pizza, you become fat.OR Once you eat
pizza, you become fat
It would be great if we could leave it at that, since the English translation uses the
original translation only does. If we are using (conditional form), then the
English translation depends on what the two phrases are before and after.
If the second phrase is a negative effect, such as becoming fat, then we may simply
translate it as only, and it will make sense. This is no different than any other form of
.
However, if it is a positive effect after , then we usually translate it as Once ...
(something happens)...then (something else happens)...or As soon as ...(something),
then (something). For example:
. Once you study, you get smart.
In the above example, getting smart is a positive effect, so it only makes since to use
the Once...or As soon as... translation.
Of course, we can use the Once... or As soon as translation for negative forms as
well. Once I eat pizza, I get fat makes perfect sense. This would be the easiest way
to translate.

So, to put it simply, if we are using - we can always translate this as

Once ...(something).. then (something). without any trouble. However, if it is a
negative effect, then we can also use the original translation Only does (something)
and it will also make sense in Korean. Just keep this in mind when you want to create
your own Korean sentence - the meaning varies a little bit when combined with .

is a phrase that is best explained through examples.

. I will meet
her, but I don't think I will like her.
. I
will study hard for the exam, but I don't think it will help.
. We went to the
movie, but we did not expect it to be good.
Note: The above sentences are a bit challenging with quite some grammar being
used - mainly in the second phrase. However, up through should be ok
in terms of grammar - we have covered the grammar used there. This is a good
chance to see some other useful phrases that we will learn shortly, however, such as
"I (don't) think that + verb" or "I (don't) expect + verb."
If you notice, all of the above sentences tend to have a weak phrase at the
beginning. By this I mean the speaker doesn't care too much for the action (meeting,
studying, going to movies), because the result is not very promising. These cases are
when we use . I tend to think of it as a weak verb or phrase at the
beginning, because the desire or incentive is weak. It works for me, but it may not
work for you. Think of it any way you like, as long as it helps you remember when to
use .
You may also see the same structure in a slightly different form. Instead of
, you might see a different verb in place of . For example, if we were saying
, then is also correct. is the same as
. If using another verb in place of , it must be the same as the verb before
.
Finally, is a more specific case of the general form . We do not
have to use the structure (remember, is a conjunction meaning but).
However, is used quite often, because when using , the speaker is hinting
that she does not care much for the action or phrase being said - using allows
the speaker to continue and state why she feels that way.

Two more easy phrases we can learn now that we know are and

. means to be easy and means to be hard. With that in mind, take a

look at these example sentences.
. Running is easy, but soccer is hard.
. Playing the guitar is easy, but playing the
piano is hard.
. Speaking Korean is really hard.
Nothing new here. We are just combining with the verb or . We use the
subject particle as we always do, although dropping the subject particle on
occasion does happen.

() / has a similar meaning to . We use to provide

reason for an outcome, but usually the outcome is something negative.
We attach () to adjectives, and to verbs.
. Since I didn't have any money, I could not buy it.
. Since I have lots of work to do this
week, I cannot meet my friend.
. Since my girlfriend is
in Europe this summer, I am really bored.

is the final phrase we will learn today. We use to mean plan to do

or decide to do. It is a fairly strong decision, meaning we have thought about doing
something and decided to do it. If we look at the two future tense forms we have
learned, and - these have two different "strengths" as well. For
example, means probably will do and means intend to do.
is simply the next step above . The decision has been made.
. I have decided to go to Seoul next
weekend with mom.
. I have decided to major in mathematics with
my friend.

As we have seen from the examples above, there are many different uses and
applications for changing verbs into nouns. We have not covered all phrases, but at
this point it should be clear how is used, and breaking down future phrases
involving should be much easier. As long as we know the proper vocabulary and
verbs, creating phrases and expressions in Korean becomes much simpler.
Section Summary
In this section we looked at many different phrases used when changing verbs into

nouns. Some are more difficult to understand than others, but overall the concept
usually comes down to simply understand the vocabulary and the use of . We saw
some examples of each and made note of any peculiar points for the particular
phrases introduced.

VTN Examples
We have learned the various meanings and phrases that we can create using and
now, so let's put it to practice and try out some examples. We have plenty of
examples with some variation, so try your best. Try to translate them first on your
own before using the hints, and only look at the translations as a final step.
1. .
2. .
3. .
4. .
5. .
6. .
7. .
8. .
9. .
10. .
11. .
12. .
13. .
14. .
15. .
16. .
17. .
18. .
19. .
20. .
21. .
22. .
23. .
24. !
25. !
26. .
27. .
28. .

29. .
30. .
31. .
32. .
33. .
34. .
35. .
36. .
37. .
38. .
39. .
40. .
41. .
42. .
43. .
44. .
45. .
show/hide hints
show/hide translation
1. . Broiling fish is difficult (cooking).
2. . Studying English is something my
younger brother hates the most. Lit: Studying English is the most hated thing for my
younger brother.
3. . I like practicing Korean very much.
4. . My family does not like reading books.
5. . It is not easy to speak several
foreign languages. Lit: Speaking several foreign languages is not easy work.
6. . You can save time if you study
using a computer. Lit: You can save time studying by means of a computer.
7. . Walking with a dog is good for a
change of mood.
8. . Sleeping a lot is good for the skin.
9. . I saw you playing soccer at
school yesterday.
10. . The thing my mom hates the most is
me drinking (alcohol).
11. . Because this car is big, our
(whole) family can ride in it.
12. .Because my mom

cannot cook (well), we go out to eat often.

13. . Because there are many islands in
Indonesia, there are lots of bridges.
14. . Because the internet is fast
in Korea, it is convenient to download (lit: receive down)
15. . Because my hair is long, it
takes a long time to dry it.
16. . It started snowing (since) last night.
17. . My older brother started playing
baseball in middle school.
18. . I started a diet last year.
19. . My mom always tells me to
wash my hands before eating a meal.
20. . I did not know English before (until)
I came to America.
21. . My sister sprays (puts on) perfume
before meeting her boyfriend.
22. . I clean (wash) my body before I wash my hair.
23. . After we came back from
Mexico we all had a cold.
24. ! After moving the desk, let's move the chairs!
25. ! After eating the meal, let's eat watermelon!
26. . After going to the arcade frequently, my
eyes became bad.
27. . In order to get a
French boyfriend, I am studying French. Lit: In order to make a French boyfriend, I
am studying French.
28. . I made a birthday cake for my
mom.
29. . In order to sleep well, I bought a
terribly expensive bed.
30. . In order to arrange flowers well, I
ordered a vase.
31. . If all you do is study you cannot make
friends.
32. . Once my brother runs, he
always gets first place.
33. . If you only watch tv, your eyes get bad.
34. . Once my family goes on a trip, we fight.

35. . I study, but I don't know why.

36. . We dug the ground, but we don't
know why.
37. . Earning money is hard, but spending it is
easy.
38. . Getting last place is easy, but getting
first place is hard.
39. . Making Korean food is
hard, but making American food is easy.
40. . Since my head hurt, I could not listen to
the lecture.
41. . Since my father's friends were
coming, I stayed home.
42. . Since the weather became
bad all of the sudden, I could not go out for boating.
43. . We decided to go to church on
Sunday from now on.
44. . My family decided to talk a lot.
45. . The soccer players decided to win (get
first place) that day.

Adverbs Intro
As we continue our study, we will now take a look at various types of adverbs in
Korean. As you may know, in English an adverb is a word that modifies a verb. For
example, He traveled slowly has the adverbslowly - it describes how someone
traveled (the verb being 'to travel').
It is a little different in Korean, but the overall concept is the same.

In Korean, there are a few different types of adverbs. We can divide them into the
following three categories:
Sentential Adverbs -
Conjunctional Adverbs -
Componential Adverbs -
So, let's get started. Our first section will be on sentential adverbs, and then we will
discuss the other two, followed by some exercise and practice.

Sentential Adverbs
Section Goals
In this section, we will cover sentential adverbs, or . We will learn what they
are, what the endings are, and when to use them.

Sentential adverbs often have the endings , , , , , and

attached to verbs.

, or sentential adverbs, are used to modify the entire sentence. The adverb
usually expresses the speaker's mind and attitude, which influences the mood of the
whole sentence.
Some examples are (luckily), (definitely), (probably),
(please), and (anyways). Usually, the will appear at the front of the
sentence, or after the subject.
Common Endings for
Common endings are , , , , , and . These
endings modify the verb ending similar to adding "-ly" to the end of a verb in English.
For example...
, . Luckily, he avoided the car accident.
. He luckily avoided the car accident.
In the first case, the sentence begins with the . The second example places
it after the subject (he).
A person who is listening to this sentence could respond "", meaning "It is
lucky" or "" if the speaker is older than the listener.
The appendix is one of the more common endings used when making an adverb.
It attaches to the end of the verb. However, note that becomes . The
ending is dropped, and we attach to , which means fortune or good luck.
is a combination of + . It places greater emphasis on the adverb than when
is used.
Thus, emphasizes the luck in the sentence.
. Luckily he returned alive. (We thought he had died, but
luckily he safely returned).
Similarly, we can use . It attaches in the same way.
. I think it is lucky that you have
recovered.
Another form is . Continuing with our example, we have (luckily).
On a similar note, we can attach to form an adjective - (lucky).

These are all various forms, but they generally have the same meaning and can be
used interchangeably without any significant alteration of the original meaning of the
sentence. There is no strict rule to follow for which form of adverb ending should be
used, although some adverbs are typically only found with certain endings.
Let's look at another adverb, . means definitely, surely. It can be varied
as or , but it does not vary as or .
, . This summer was definitely hot.
. This product is definitely excellent.
. This book is surely a great textbook.
. Solve this problem, clearly.
Other Adverbs
Not all adverbs follow the endings above, but instead are single words that must be
learned individually. However, they are used in the same way as adverbs created
using the endings above.
Another commonly used adverb is . means probably, maybe, perhaps.
It can also be varied as .
, . Perhaps she may come tomorrow.
, . Probably it may rain tomorrow.
. Probably, he must have arrived in the USA by
now.
is another adverb, meaning please. It is used when a person requests
something very politely. It is rarely used in spoken Korean but used more often in
written form. In spoken Korean, people usually use (short for ) instead of .
Some examples of are...
. Please, come by all means.
. Please forgive my mistakes.
. Would you please help me move this box?
. Please give me a light.
. Would you please open the door?

are used to modify the whole sentence compared to other adverbs which
might modify a specific word. They are typically placed at the beginning of the
sentence of following the subject of the sentence.
Section Summary
In this section, we learned that , or sentential adverbs, are used to modify
the whole sentence. They commonly consists of verb forms with the endings , ,
, , and , although not all use these verb endings and
must be learned as specific words. Some examples we discussed are "please",

"probably", "definitely" and "luckily".

In the next section, we will take a look at conjunctional adverbs ().

Conjunctional Adverbs
Section Goals
In this section, we will learn what conjunctional adverbs () are, and take a
closer look at adverbs and how they relate to the Korean parts of speech. We will
then cover many different conjunctional adverbs.

Conjunctional adverbs are usually in the form of verb endings used in the middle of a
sentence. They are conjunctions, connecting two sentences or phrases. When you
read a sentence that appears to have a verb + an ending in the middle of the
sentence, it might be a conjunctional adverb.

, or conjunctional adverbs, are adverbs that connect two sentences in order

to modify the following sentence or phrase. demonstrate cause and effect,
contrast, comparison, sequence, etc. between two sentences.
In Beginner's Lesson 9, we covered conjunctions such as...
- and (between sentences)
- and so, therefore
- nevertheless, even so
- change of topic
- but
/ - in that case, then
These conjunctions are like - conjunctional adverbs. The above are all
individual words, but there are many forms that are treated as verb endings,
attaching to verbs in the middle of a sentence to form a conjunction. We will see this
in many examples later in this section.
Unlike English, Korean conjunctions do not belong to one of the 9 parts of speech (
) - the nine parts are:
- Determiners
- Nouns
- Pronouns
- Particles
- Numbers
- Adverbs
- Verbs

 - Adjectives
- Interjections
As we can see, conjunctions are not listed - instead Korean has conjunctional
adverbs, which are .
Examples of conjunctional adverbs are (and), (therefore, thus),
(furthermore, besides), (but), (however), (moreover),
(or), (so), (nevertheless), (moreover),
(accordingly), (in other words), (besides), etc...
Many of the above conjunctional adverbs were covered in Beginner's Lesson 9.
Here, we will present many more.

Translation

either / or

Example

.
I don't care whether I pass
this test or fail.

if / when

.
When you enter the
University, study hard.

.

although

Although I have studied

English so long, my
spoken English is not so

expectation

and

good.

.
I expected that he had
passed the exam.

.
We sang and danced
together.

and / after

.
After I studied, I watched
TV.

because

.
I cannot watch TV today
because I have lots of
homework to do.

together.

and / after

.
After I studied, I watched
TV.

because

.
I cannot watch TV today
because I have lots of

before doing something

homework to do.

.
Before watching TV, finish
your homework first.

.

far from it

The price of this bag is far

from cheaper than that
bag.

.

because of

I thought you could not

come because of bad
weather.

.

because

I put the parcel in front of

your door because nobody
opened the door.

(/)

while, during

.
Your friend visited you
while you were outside.

.

(/)

while

There was a call for you

while you were out for a
business trip.

(/)

as a result of

.
As a result of working
hard, he succeeded.
TV

(/)

(//)

after doing something

as it is

.
After dinner, I watched TV.
.
I slept with my clothes on.

business trip.

(/)

as a result of

.
As a result of working
hard, he succeeded.
TV

(/)

after doing something

(//)

as it is

(///)

as if

.
After dinner, I watched TV.
.
I slept with my clothes on.

.
The dog barked as if he
was surprised.

.

()

for / in order to

He could not sleep in

order to read books all
night long.

When (as soon as)

.
When you arrive in Seoul,
please call me.

because of

if / whether

while doing

.
I am late to class because
of a traffic jam.

.
I am wondering if you
have arrived safely?

.
While I was going to
school, I met my teacher.

if only

.
We know his intention if
only seeing his behavior.

.

even though

Even though he studies

hard, his grade is not
good.

.

until to a point

He poured water into the

jar until it was completely

even though

Even though he studies

hard, his grade is not
good.

.

until to a point

He poured water into the

jar until it was completely
filled.

.

whenever

She looks at the mirror

whenever she wears a
dress.
.

around / about (time)

It is about time to have

dinner.

.

not only...but also

He is not only good at

studying but he is also
good at sports.
.

the more

The more we study, the

more difficult it is.

()

()...

although

no matter how

.
Although he studied hard,
his grade is not good.

.
No matter how hard it is,
let's do our best.

.

()

as soon as

As soon as you get to

London, please contact

although, but

let alone

us.

.
Although I ran fast, I
missed the bus.

.
Let alone soccer, I am not
good at volleyball.

although, but

let alone

us.

.
Although I ran fast, I
missed the bus.

.
Let alone soccer, I am not

good at volleyball.
Now that's a lot of ! I definitely advise that you split this lesson up and study
it in chunks. It will be much easier if you study it in chunks, and then go back for a
second or third pass through the lesson as well. These are important to know and
they come up a lot.

are used to connect two sentences or phrases to create more complex

sentences. They are often attached to verbs as verb endings.
Section Summary
In this lesson, we briefly introduced (conjunctional adverbs) and how they
relate to the parts of speech. We then presented many along with example
sentences.
In the next lesson, we will conclude with componential adverbs ().

Componential Adverbs
Section Goals
In this section, we will learn about componential adverbs, which are very similar to
English adverbs. We will discuss several different types of componential adverbs.

Componential adverbs can be recoginized differently depending on which type of

componential adverb is being used. Place adverbs are recognized by seeing a
location particle attached to a location. Negative adverbs can be recognized if or
preceeds a verb. Derived adverbs can be recognized by , , or being
attached as verb endings.
Yet other componential adverbs do not have any noticeable identifying marks, they
typically come right before a noun or verb that is being modified. If you are unsure
what the word is, and it does not have any particles attached to it that you are familiar
with, check a dictionary for the word and it might be an adverb providing a better
description of the verb or noun to follow.

, or componential adverbs, is the last category of adverbs we will learn in

this lesson. are used to modify a specific verb or adjective in the sentence.

Recall that are used to modify the entire sentence, whereas are
used as conjunctions.
There are various types of (componential adverbs) according to what type
of conditions they modify. We can divide them into the following types...
- place adverbs
- time adverbs
- frequency adverbs
- degree adverbs
- negative adverbs
- mimic adverbs
- derived adverbs
- miscellaneous adverbs
The names of the types are pretty descriptive in that we can guess what types of
words will fall into each. Now we will take a look at each section individually.
- Place Adverbs
represent where something or someone is located or where something
happens. In Korean, place adverbs can be made by simply attaching or to a
location, and then placing this before a noun or place pronoun such as "this", "that",
"here" or "where".
We have already encountered these in Beginner's Lesson Four - Locations.
. Please park your car here.
is a pronoun meaning "here", and we combine it with to form a place adverb
.
Remember, in Korean grammar, words such as , , , and are called
particles or a postposition since it is placed after nouns or pronouns. There are more
than 100 particles in Korean, but in this lesson we will cover uses of adverbial
particles, some of which we introduced in the Beginner's section.
Some examples of (place adverbs) are (here), (there),
(far), (this way), and (somewhere).
. Don't leave this dangerous object here.
. I came here on business.
. I worked there.
. My mother lived there for the rest of her
life.
. Our house is far away from the village.
. I will visit my parent's house far
away this week.
. We will go this way.
. Let's go this way.

 . The notebook is somewhere in my house.

. I heard a strange sound from
somewhere in my car.
- Time Adverbs
, or time adverbs, tell when something happens. Examples of time
are (then), (early), (before), (after), (lately), (already),
(occasionally), and (soon).
. Prices were not expensive then.
, . Since then, he studied hard.
. . That sounds good. Let's meet early tomorrow.
. They saved a lot, thus they could retire
early.
. I've seen this movie before.
. I worked for that company before.
. They lived happily ever after retired.
. After school, I played tennis.
. I haven't seen him lately.
. I have started to play golf lately.
- Frequency Adverbs
, frequency adverbs, show how often something happens. Examples include
(often), (usually), (seldom), (occasionally), and
(sometimes).
. Come over (to hang out, play) often.
. I go to watch movies often.
. Korean people usually eat a lot of kimchi.
. I usually get up early.
. He seldom goes out.
. She seldom sleeps.
. I walk to school sometimes.
. He comes to visit us sometimes.
- Degree Adverbs
, or degree adverbs, show the degree of the verb or adjective it is modifying.
Examples of are (very), (extremely), (a little), (far), and
(perfectly).
. He studies very hard.
. This is a very hard problem.
. This is an extremely urgent matter.
. I extremely dislike standing in line.
? What did you say a little while ago?

 . This winter is a littler colder than last winter.

.Unfortunately, the
museum he recommended fell far short of my expectations.
, . To tell the truth, the movie falls far
short of my expectation.
. I am perfectly capable
of handling this problem without your help.
3 ,
. If you practice Korean three hours every day, you will speak Korean perfectly
within a year.
- Negative Adverbs
is not a new concept to you. We already covered these inBeginner's Lesson
Ten. We are simply including them here for a brief reminder and the sake of being
thorough with our study of adverbs.
Negative adverbs make the following verb negative, similar to "not" in English. If you
recall, they are and . means cannot (unable), whereas means not (by
choice).
. He could not go to the office today.
. I could not sleep yesterday.
. That student did not take today's exam.
. She has not watched a movie in a long time.
- Mimic Adverbs
Mimic sound adverbs are used to sound out the actions of the object it is modifying.
These are very similar to onomatopoeia in English. Onomatopoeia is when the sound
of the word imitates the sound the object makes, but is used as a verb and not an
adverb. More specific than , we can call these mimic sound adverbs
.
. The magpie cried caw caw.
. The clock went tick tock.
We also have examples where they describe the shape or look of an object. More
specifically, these mimic shape adverbs are called .
. The coastal roads were squiggly.
. The diamond was sparkly.
If you notice, many times, these types of adverbs appear to 'repeat' themselves.
+ . + . This is a good indication that the sentence or phrase is trying to
mimic something.
- Derived Adverbs
Another big category is . These are derived from other adjective or verbs.
For example, is derived from (to be silent). The adverb is

derived from (to be right, just). You may also see examples that end in
instead of . There is generally no specific rule to follow when choosing - it is rather
traditional or a preference of sound.
However, there are times when one is used instead of the other. If the verb stem
ends in (the consonant ), then is used. For example, becomes
. Similarly, becomes .
Another case is those that end in such as (to be annoying) and (to be
easy). The is dropped and is used. becomes and becomes
.
The last case is situations when the is clearly alive when heard. In those cases,
is used instead of . Examples are becomes and becomes
.
In other cases, it is generally just a matter of tradition or preference. Let us take a
look at a few more examples.
. When he woke up in the morning, he silently
read a book.
. During class time, the
students silently listened to the teacher's lecture.
. If there is more work to do, of course
there would be less time.
. I should pay money, of course.
. He worked sincerely.
. The parents raised the kids sincerely.
. They greeted me warmly.
. I took care of the puppy warmly.
. Take plenty of money with you.
. Take plenty of water when you go to the
mountains.
Also note that an adverb ending in or can be changed to one ending in
without changing the meaning of the sentence, as we saw in an earlier section.
. -> . He walked silently.
. -> . He worked sincerely.
. -> .He took care of
the puppy warmly.
- Miscellaneous Adverbs
Finally, there are some adverbs that do not fit into categories above very well. We will
call them , or miscellaneous adverbs. A few examples include (all),
(together), (only), and (promptly).
. The books all looked clean.

 . As the teacher began to

tell a funny story, all the students laughed.
. Let's have a dinner together next Saturday.
. Our family is going to take a trip
together this weekend.
. This elevator stops only on evennumbered floors.
. Only this shop opens on Sunday.
. Thank you for promptly providing us with
products.
. As soon as he got up, he promptly went to the
company.

Componential adverbs have plenty of uses and can be used whenever the sentence
requires more description. They are often used right before the verb or noun to be
modified.
Section Summary
In this section, we learned about many different types of componential adverbs. We
learned how we can describe place, time, degree, frequency, etc. of events as
needed.

Adverbs Example
1. .
2. .
3. .
4. .
5. .
6. .
7. .
8. .
9. , .
10. .
11. .
12. . .
13. .

14. .
15. .
16. ?
17. .
18. .
19. .
20. .
21. .
22. .
23. .
24. .
25. .
26. .
27. .
28. .
29. .
30. .
31. .
32. .
33. .
34. .
35. ?
36. .
37. .
38. .
39. .
40. .
show/hide hints
show/hide translation
1. . Luckily my house was in the
safe area from the earthquake.
2. . Definitely this math problem is harder
than the other ones.
3. . Maybe mom is going to come back

late in the evening.

4. . Please just come back alive.
5. . Anyways let's keep doing the work we have
been doing.
6. . My father used to live here.
7. . I used to attend school there.
8. . If you come this way, I will explain it to you.
9. , . Don't go far, it is dangerous there.
10. . I am sure he hid money somewhere.
11. . At that time I was a lot younger.
12. . . I am going to sleep early
tonight, because tomorrow I have a test.
13. . Before eating, please surely wash your hands.
14. . After eating, please brush your teeth.
15. . Lately I do not drink a lot of alcohol.
16. ? Did you already finish your homework?
17. . Sometimes I ride a bicycle and go on a trip.
18. . Soon my parents will come here.
19. . If you exercise often, it is good for your health.
20. . I normally go to the public bath
house with my mom on Sundays.
21. . Dad rarely watches tv.
22. . Sometimes I go watch a movie by myself.
23. . Every now and then we went to
eat Dokboki after school.
24. . Meuntang is very spicy.
25. . I rarely go out during winter because
it is cold.
26. . Soon it is going to be the new year.
27. . My mom told me that I look a
lot prettier than Miss Korea.
28. . I cannot go out to play if I do not
finish my homework.
29. . It is not that I cannot solve this

problem, but I do not solve it.

30. . I promised that I will never do
anything bad again.
31. . The teacher shook his head
after seeing my grade.
32. . The chickens in front of the school are
chirping.
33. . This chair is rocking therefore it is dangerous.
34. . It seems like people work just
for money.
35. ? Won't you go see a movie with me?
36. . He hid behind the street as soon
as he saw the police.
37. . Everyone, come here and eat.
38. . I do not care if you like me or not.
39. . If you want to get the gift, win the race.
40. . Let alone being surprised, I did not even
blink.