Lesson 1 - Sentence Order

Sentence Order

In regards to the order of a sentence, there are four basic sorts in Korean. These are:

    S + N
    S + V
    S + A
    S + O + V


* S = subject, N = noun, A = adjective, O = object and V = verb.

The tense of a sentence is decided by the last a part of a sentence, namely, by a noun, verb or adjective.

In Korean, adjectives perform like verbs in this they'll be regenerate to completely different forms to work out the tense of a sentence.

For example,

    In English, the past of "go" is "went."
    In Korean, the past of "가다" (gada, go) is "갔다" (gatta, went).

The verbs perform within the same means in English and Korean.

However, within the case of adjectives, the past of "good" in English isn't "gooded" however it's written, "was good."
Contrary to the current, in Korean, "좋다" (jota, good) features a past kind of "좋았다" (joatta, was good).


Compare:

    In English, "good" (present) → "was good" (past)
    In Korean, "좋다" (present) → "좋았다" (past)


Therefore, the adjectives in Korean perform like verbs in this they'll be regenerate to a past or future, or the other tense forms.

This conversion of a verb(or adjective) to its past, future, gift continuous or past tense forms is termed a verb (or adjective) "conjugation."

Before continuing to the reason section below, i like to recommend that you just browse the "particles" aboard this post.


To understand Korean descriptive linguistics, it's crucial that you just become conversant in the thought of a definite a part of speech referred to as, "particles."

Particles ar perform words that indicate what the topic or object is during a sentence.

For example,

    는/은 could be a topic particle
    가/이 could be a symbol particle
    를/을 is Associate in Nursing object particle

For additional data and clarification on particles, please discuss with (Particles - 는, 도, 를, 가, 에).


Now, let's have a glance at the four main sorts of Korean sentences.

Note: S = Subject, N = Noun, V = Verb, A = Adjective, O = Object

1. S + N

    나는 학생이다 = i'm a student
    리사는 선생님이다 = Lisa could be a teacher
    앤드류는 의사였다 = Saint Andrew was a doctor
    저는 중학생이에요 = i'm a secondary school student [polite spoken form]


For additional explanations on the S + N pattern, please browse Nouns - gift, Past.

나 = I
학생 = student
리사 = Lisa
선생님 = teacher
앤드류 = Saint Andrew
의사 = doctor
저 = I (polite)
중학생 = a secondary school student


2. S + V

    주영은 달린다 = Ju-young runs [written form]
    주영은 달려요 = Ju-young runs [polite spoken form]
    주영은 힘차게 달린다 = Ju-young smartly runs


*An adverb comes before a verb.

주영 = Ju-Young (a Korean male name)
달리다 = run
달려 = run [spoken form]
달려요 = run [polite spoken form]
힘차게 = smartly

For additional data and explanations on verbs, please browse Verbs - gift, Past and Verbs - Polite [Present, Past].


3. S + A

    그는 크다 = he's massive
    그녀는 작다 = She is tiny
    앤은 예쁘다 = Anne is pretty [written form]
    앤은 정말 예뻐요 =  Anne is actually pretty [polite spoken form]
    산이 아름답다 = The mountain is gorgeous
    날씨가 정말 좋다 = The weather is incredibly sensible


그 = he
크다 = big
그녀 = she
작다 = small
앤 = Anne
정말 = extremely, very
예쁘다 = pretty
산 = mountain
아름답다 = lovely
날씨 = weather
좋다 = good

For additional data and explanations on adjectives, please browse, Adjectives - gift, Past, Adjectives - Polite [Present, Past] and Adjectives - Connective.


4. S + O + V

    나는 사과를 먹었다 = I Greek deity Associate in Nursing apple.
    지성은 물을 마신다 = Ji-sung drinks water.
    새들이 노래를 부른다 = The birds ar singing songs.
    안나는 대학을 다닌다 = Pakistani monetary unit attends faculty (university) [written form]
    안나는 대학을 다녀요 = Pakistani monetary unit attends faculty (university) [spoken form]
    영희는 어제 정원에 꽃을 심었다 = Young-hee planted a flower within the garden yesterday.


*Notice that the time(어젯밤) and place(정원에) ar inserted between S and O.

나 = I
사과 = apple
먹었다 = ate
물 = water
마시다 = drink
새  = a bird
새들 = birds
노래 = song
부르다 = sing
다니다 = attend [written form]
다녀요 = attend [polite spoken form]
어제 = yesterday
정원 = garden
꽃 = flower
심다 = plant (verb)


In addition, not like English, it's quite common to go away out the topic during a sentence in Korean. once the topic is thought by the readers or speakers, it's typically missed. Therefore, reckoning on a scenario or context, it's okay to write or speak while not starting the sentence with a topic.

A subject might not be employed in a sentence if it's renowned UN agency or what the topic is. So, the sentences below also are correct and it's common in spoken Korean (conversations).

    학생이다 = (am/is) a student
    선생님이다 = (am/is) a tutor
    의사였다 = was a doctor
    중학생이에요 = (am/is) a secondary school student


    달린다 = runs
    힘차게 달렸다 = smartly ran


    크다 = (am/is/are) massive
    작다 = (am/is/are) tiny
    정말 좋아 = (am/is/are) specific [spoken form]


    사과를 먹었다 = Greek deity Associate in Nursing apple
    물을 마셨어 = drank water  [spoken form]
    노래를 불렀어 = herb songs [spoken form]
    어제 꽃을 심었어요 = planted a flower yesterday [polite spoken form]