매튜의 한국어 연습 블로그

Easily the most embarrassing grammar point to mess up.

I know why I get it messed up. Since the subject is omitted in Korean so much, I forget exactly what I'm talking about from time to time. Also, the object doesn't always need to be said....but, when you want to say it, what does one say?

I know what's the main idea of the sentence but having to stop and give it a marker is a bit trying when one is talking at a normal speed can be frustrating. To help myself, I ask myself some questions. Take this sentence "효연 봤어", Let's break it down:

Who saw 효연? I did. I'm the one talking so clearly it was me that saw her.
Who did the subject see? 효연. (self-thought) She's an object of my fantasy (also the object of the sentence). Therefore, "내가 효연을 봤어요." would be appropriate. Too bad no one talks like that...

It should be noted that the whole "oh you don't need it" excuse is both lazy and bad advice. Sure, for simple sentences, it isn't needed but once someone is trying to move from basic baby sentences to complete thoughts, these markers are essential to keeping up the conversation and staying understood. Don't be scared, get comfortable with these markers and only when situation calls for mutual understanding should one start to drop them. Just my two cents.

Adverbs (부사) are represented in Korean by three cute little markers: ~게, ~히, ~이.
The ~게 marker would be equivalent to the commonness of ~ly in English, so let's start there.

A: 앞머리는 어떨게 발라 드릴까요? How should I cut your bangs?
B: 조금 짧게 잘라 주세요 Just a little short (lit. Cut it a little shortly)

A: 이모, 사과 씻을까요? Aunt So-and-so, should I wash the apple?
B: 응 깨끗하게 씻어 주세요 yeah make it nice and clean (lit. Wash it cleanly)

A: 잘 먹겠습니다 Thanks for making the food (lit. I'll eat well)
B: 네 맛있게 드세요 Eat up! (lit. Eat it deliciously)

A: 주사를 놓아 드릴께요 I'm going to give you a shot, now.
B: 안 아프게 해주세요 Please be gentle (lit. Do it not hurtfully)

A: 선생님....아...그개...어 이잖아..... Teacher.... um, I uh....well, you see....
B: 응? 뭐라고? 크게 말해 Huh? What'd you say? Speak up (lit. speak loudly)

The "~히"and "~이" adverbs are practical however not nearly as common as the "~게" adverb and are specific to certain verbs. My best advice is to just listen to what is used more often for a given verb.

A: 와!! 왠 일이야? whoa... what are you doing here?
B: 쉿! 조용히! Shhh be quiet (lit. speak silently)
(*this is a situation where one can instead say 작게 말해야해 but it's not as common)

A: 엄마 다녀올께요! Mom, I'm going (to school and I'll be back later)!
B: 응 빨리 와 Come (home) quickly

A: 예들아! 사탕 줄까? Hey kids! Should I give you some candy?
B: 네! 많이 주세요! Yes! Give me a lot! (lit. many give me)