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Korean grammar

The object particle 을/를 and Korean word order

Korean marks the thing a verb acts on with 을 or 를, and puts the verb at the very end of the sentence. Once you have the order (topic, then object with 을/를, then verb), most beginner sentences fall into place.

Examples are written in Hangul. New to it? Start with the hangul chart.

In short

  • 을 after a consonant, 를 after a vowel: 밥을, 커피를.
  • The verb comes last: 저는 밥을 먹어요.
  • 좋아하다 (to like) is a verb and takes 을/를: 커피를 좋아해요.

을 (after consonant) / 를 (after vowel)

Mark the object of a verb with 을 or 를. Use 을 after a consonant: 밥을 먹어요 ('I eat rice', 밥 ends in ㅂ). Use 를 after a vowel: 커피를 마셔요 ('I drink coffee', 커피 ends in 이). In casual speech Koreans often drop it — but learn to use it.

  • 밥을 먹어요

    I eat rice.

  • 커피를 마셔요

    I drink coffee.

Korean word order: object before verb

The verb comes LAST in Korean. 저는 밥을 먹어요 = 'I eat rice' (literally: I / rice / eat). Topic (저는) → object (밥을) → verb (먹어요). The verb anchoring the end is the rhythm of every Korean sentence.

좋아하다 takes 을/를

좋아하다 ('to like') is a VERB and takes the object marker 을/를: 커피를 좋아해요 = 'I like coffee.' Don't confuse it with the adjective 좋다 ('to be good', M8) which takes 이/가 (커피가 좋아요 = 'coffee is good (to me)'). To like an ACTIVITY, use 는 것을 좋아해요: 영화 보는 것을 좋아해요 = 'I like watching movies.'

  • 좋아해요

    joahaeyo

    to like (likes)

  • 영화를 좋아해요

    I like movies.

  • 커피를 좋아해요

    I like coffee

Check yourself

Questions from the course. Open each one to see the answer.

  1. 1. 영화 ends in a vowel. 'I watch a movie.' Pick the Korean.

    • 영화를 봐요
    • 영화을 봐요
    • 영화가 봐요
    • 영화에 봐요
    Show answer

    영화를 봐요

    영화 (vowel) → 를; it's the object of 봐요.

  2. 2. 'I drink coffee.' Pick the Korean.

    • 커피를 먹어요
    • 커피을 마셔요
    • 커피를 마셔요
    • 커피를 봐요
    Show answer

    커피를 마셔요

    Drink → 마셔요; 커피 (vowel) → 를.

  3. 3. 'I like coffee.' Pick the Korean.

    • 커피를 좋아해요
    • 커피가 좋아해요
    • 커피를 좋아요
    • 커피를 좋아하고
    Show answer

    커피를 좋아해요

    좋아하다 is a verb → object 를: 커피를 좋아해요.

  4. 4. 'I like watching movies.' Pick the Korean.

    • 영화 보고 좋아해요
    • 영화 봐서 좋아해요
    • 영화 보는 것을 좋아해요
    • 영화 보는 것이 좋아해요
    Show answer

    영화 보는 것을 좋아해요

    Nominalize the action: 보는 것을 ('the watching') + 좋아해요.

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