Example Sentences#

1. 앨리스: “여기서 어느 쪽으로 가야 할지 말씀해 주시겠어요?”¹
   Alice: “Would you please tell me which way I should go from here?”

   • 주다 means ‘to give’.
   • -여 주다 is a grammar pattern where 주다 (to give) is used as an auxiliary verb to indicate that the action is done for someone else’s benefit.
   • (으)시 is an honorific marker used to show respect to the subject of the verb.
   • -겠 is a suffix indicating an indirect polite proposal with some degree of future supposition.
   • 어요 is a polite ending used in informal polite speech.

2. “아니에요, 저는 그러지 않았어요.²
   “No, I didn’t do that.

   • 아니다 is the verb ‘to not be’.
   • 에요 is the informal polite ending used with 아니다.

3. 앨리스: “어디든 상관없어요—” 앨리스가 말했다.¹
   Alice: “I don’t care where—” said Alice.

   • 상관없다 combines 상관 (correlation or relation) and 없다 (to not exist), literally meaning ‘there is no relation’, conveying the idea of ‘it doesn’t matter’ or ‘I don’t care’.
   • 어요 is a polite ending used in informal polite speech.

4. 앨리스: “—어디든 가기만 하면 돼요,” 앨리스가 덧붙였다.¹
   Alice: “—so long as I get somewhere,” Alice added.

   • 되다 means ‘to be okay’ or ‘to work out well’.
   • -기만 하면 되다 is an expression used to indicate that, as long as one performs a certain action, there is no problem or it is enough.
   • 어요 is a polite ending used in informal polite speech.

5. 앨리스: “하지만 저는 미친 사람들 사이에 가고 싶지 않아요,” 앨리스가 말했다.¹
   Alice: “But I don’t want to go among mad people,” said Alice.

   • 않다 is an auxiliary verb that makes the clause negative.
   • 아요 is a polite ending used in informal polite speech.

6. 앨리스: “제가 미쳤다는 걸 어떻게 아세요?” 앨리스가 말했다.¹
   Alice: “How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice.

   • 알다 means ‘to know’.
   • 세요 is a polite ending used in questions or requests in informal polite speech, formed by adding the honorific suffix (으)시 to the verb stem and combining it with the informal polite conjugation -어요.

7. “그렇다면 당신은 어떻게 자신이 미쳤다는 걸 아세요?”¹
   “If so, how do you know that you are mad?”

   • 알다 means ‘to know’.
   • 세요 is a polite ending used in questions or requests in informal polite speech, formed by adding the honorific suffix (으)시 to the verb stem and combining it with the informal polite conjugation -어요.

8. 앨리스: “그럴 것 같아요,” 앨리스가 말했다.¹
   Alice: “I suppose so,” said Alice.

   • 같다 means ‘to be the same’ or ‘to be like’.
   • -ㄹ 것 같다 is a grammar pattern meaning ‘it seems that…’
   • -아요 is a polite ending used in informal polite speech.