Example Sentences#

1. 체셔 고양이: “너는 여기 왔으니까,” 고양이가 말했다.¹
   Cheshire Cat: “Because you came here,” said the cat.
   • 오다 means ‘to come’.
   • 았 is a past tense marker.
   • (으)니까 is a connective ending used to indicate the cause or reason for an action, emphasizing the speaker’s subjective reasoning or justification that leads to the resulting action or decision.
2. 몇 달 후 그 말이 돌아왔고, 몇 마리의 다른 말도 데리고 왔습니다.²
   A few months later, the horse returned, bringing a few other horses.
   • 오다 means ‘to come’.
   • 았 is a past tense marker.
   • 습니다 is a formal polite ending used in declarative sentences.
3. 내 맘에 들어오는 바람³
   A breeze that touches my heart
   • 들어오다 is a compound verb formed from 들다 (to enter) and 오다 (to come), meaning ‘to come in’ or ‘to enter’.
   • 마음에 들다 is a common expression meaning ‘to be pleasing’ or ‘to win one’s favor’, often implying that something or someone enters one’s heart figuratively.
   • -는 is a present tense modifier that turns the preceding statement into a phrase describing the following noun.
4. 나연: 야, 너 인스타 보니까 최근에 콘서트 갔다 왔더라?⁴
   Nayeon: Hey, I saw on your Instagram that you went to a concert recently?
   • 오다 means ‘to come’.
   • 갔다(가) 오다 is a construction meaning ‘to go and come back’, emphasizing the completion of a round trip and often corresponding to ‘have been to’ in English.
   • -았- is a past tense marker.
   • -더라 is a grammar pattern used to state a fact the speaker has realized through personal experience or observation, often conveying a sense of newfound understanding. It’s composed of -더- (a retrospective suffix conveying past personal experience or observation) and -라 (an exclamatory declarative sentence-ending used to state a fact or observation).
5. 감정이 너무 깊게 와닿더라고.⁵
   The emotions touched me so deeply.
   • 와닿다 is a compound verb formed from 오다 (to come) and 닿다 (to touch or reach), meaning ‘to come and touch’. It is used idiomatically to express ‘to resonate’ or ‘to touch emotionally’.
   • -더라고 is a grammar pattern used to report a personal observation or experience from the past. It’s composed of -더- (a retrospective suffix conveying past personal experience or observation) and -라고 (a quotative marker grammaticalized as a sentence-final ending in this structure to report the speaker’s inner thoughts or experiences).
6. 아마 실제로 십자가형을 당해야 하는 상황이 온다면, 저는 그것을 이겨낼 수 있을 것입니다.⁶
   Perhaps if a situation were to come where I had to actually be crucified, I would be able to overcome it.
   • 오다 means ‘to come’.
   • -ㄴ다면 is a speculative conditional expression. It is a contracted form of -ㄴ다고 하면, where -ㄴ다고 is a quotative marker indicating reported speech or thoughts, and 하면 combines 하다 (to say) with 면 (if). This structure implies ‘if it were the case’ or ‘suppose that,’ adding a hypothetical nuance to the statement.
7. 비가 와도 우산은 필요 없어⁷
   Even if it rains, I don’t need an umbrella
   • 오다 means ‘to come’.
   • -아도 is a connective ending that acknowledges or assumes the truth of the preceding statement while implying that it does not affect or influence the following statement. It is often translated as ‘even if’ or ‘although.’
8. “같은 시간에 왔으면 더 좋았을 텐데.” 여우가 말했다.⁸
   “It would have been better if you had come at the same time,” said the fox.
   • 오다 means ‘to come’.
   • 았 is a past tense marker.
   • -으면 is a conditional ending meaning ‘if’ or ‘when’.
9. 호랑이가 온다.”⁹
   The tiger is coming.”
   • 오다 means ‘to come’.
   • -ㄴ다 is the plain declarative ending used to state facts or describe events in an impersonal, neutral tone without addressing a specific listener, found in objective narration (stories, articles, diaries), self-directed speech, announcements, and emphatic exclamations.
10. 밥 먹으러 와서 떡볶이만 먹을 거야?¹⁰
    You came here for a meal, and you’re just going to have tteokbokki?
    • 오다 means ‘to come’.
    • -아서 is a connective ending that indicates a sequence of related events, cause and effect, or ways or means.
11. “그렇지 않으면 여기에 오지 않았을 테니까.”¹
    “Otherwise, you wouldn’t have come.”
    • 오다 means ‘to come’.
    • -지 않다 is a negation pattern, with 지 attached to the verb stem and 않다 as an auxiliary verb for negation.
12. 근데 간신히 도착했더니 비까지 오고, 줄도 정말 길고 입구 찾기도 힘들었어.⁴
    But when I finally managed to get there, it even started raining, the line was super long, and even finding the entrance was hard.
    • 오다 means ‘to come’.
    • -고 is a connective ending used to link two actions or states, meaning ‘and’, or to join the main verb to auxiliary verbs.
13. 사람들이 가까이 오면 저는 즉시 싫어하게 됩니다.⁶
    When people get close to me, I immediately start to dislike them.
    • 오다 means ‘to come’.
    • 면 is a conditional ending meaning ‘if’.
14. “네가 오후 네 시에 온다면, 나는 세 시부터 벌써 행복해지기 시작할 거야.⁸
    “If you come at four in the afternoon, then at three o’clock I shall begin to feel happy.
    • 오다 means ‘to come’.
    • -ㄴ다면 is a speculative conditional expression. It is a contracted form of -ㄴ다고 하면, where -ㄴ다고 is a quotative marker indicating reported speech or thoughts, and 하면 combines 하다 (to say) with 면 (if). This structure implies ‘if it were the case’ or ‘suppose that,’ adding a hypothetical nuance to the statement.
15. 하지만 특정 사람을 미워할수록 인류 전체를 더욱 사랑하게 되는 것은 언제나 그래왔습니다.⁶
    But the more I hate any particular person, the more I come to love humanity as a whole, and it has always been so.
    • 그렇다 means ‘to be so’ or ‘to be like that’.
    • -어 오다 is a grammatical construction where 오다 (to come) is used as an auxiliary verb to indicate that an action or state has been continuing up to the present.
    • 았 is a past tense marker.
    • 습니다 is a formal polite ending used in declarative sentences.
16. 하지만 네가 아무 때나 온다면, 나는 몇 시에 마음의 준비를 해야 할지 알 수 없을 거야…”⁸
    But if you come at just any time, I shall never know at what hour to prepare my heart…”
    • 오다 means ‘to come’.
    • -ㄴ다면 is a speculative conditional expression. It is a contracted form of -ㄴ다고 하면, where -ㄴ다고 is a quotative marker indicating reported speech or thoughts, and 하면 combines 하다 (to say) with 면 (if). This structure implies ‘if it were the case’ or ‘suppose that,’ adding a hypothetical nuance to the statement.