Example Sentences#

1. 잡으려 하면 멀어지는 꿈¹
   A dream that drifts away when I try to catch it
   • 잡다 means ‘to catch’ or ‘to grab’.
   • -으려 is a contraction of -으려고, a connective ending used to express intention or purpose, similar to ‘in order to’.
2. “곶감이 나를 잡았다!”²
   “The dried persimmon has caught me!”
   • 잡다 means ‘to catch’.
   • 았 is a past tense marker.
   • -다 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.
3. 잡을 수 없지만 눈에 남아¹
   Though I can’t catch it, it remains in my eyes
   • 잡다 means ‘to catch’ or ‘to grab’.
   • -을 is a modifier that turns the preceding statement into a phrase describing the following noun, conveying assumption, intention, or possibility and including future, potential, or unrealized actions and states.
4. 도둑은 떨어지면 호랑이에게 잡아먹힐까 봐 등을 꽉 붙잡았습니다.²
   The thief, afraid he would be eaten by the tiger if he fell off, held on tightly to its back.
   • 잡아먹히다 is a passive compound verb formed from 잡다 (to catch) and 먹다 (to eat), which together make 잡아먹다 (to catch and eat), plus the passive suffix -히-, resulting in the meaning ‘to be caught and eaten’.
   • -ㄹ까 is a sentence ending that indicates curiosity, wonder, or uncertainty about a potential event. In this context, it functions as part of the -ㄹ까 보다 pattern, expressing worry that the situation mentioned in the preceding clause might occur.