I can say what I do and what I study — 한국어를 공부해요, 운동을 해요 — choose 을 or 를 by the last sound, and put the predicate at the end.
What you do: 을 / 를 and 해요체
What you do: 을 / 를 and 해요체
What for: say what you do. In Korean the predicate (here, the verb) always comes last, unlike in English: who — what — do. 민준 씨는 운동을 열심히 해요.
What you do takes the object particle 을 / 를: after a 받침 을 (책을), after a vowel 를 (요리를). The last sound of the word decides, as with 은 / 는.
하다 “to do” in 해요체, the polite style of everyday talk, is 해요: the ending -요 makes it polite. This is how you talk to a coworker, a salesperson, a new acquaintance. A word + 하다 is one verb, written as one word: 공부하다 → 공부해요. It also works with 을 / 를: 운동해요 = 운동을 해요. See the table.
The verb doesn't change for person: 해요 is “I do”, “you do”, “he does”, “we do”. Who does it is clear from the conversation, so you can leave it out: 공부해요? — 네, 공부해요. Where English needs “he” or “she”, Korean uses the name or nothing.
A language is country + 어: 한국 → 한국어, 러시아 → 러시아어; English is 영어.
Common mistakes:
• ×해요 숙제를 → 숙제를 해요 (the predicate comes last).
• ×숙제을 → 숙제를; ×운동를 → 운동을.
• ×공부 해요 → 공부해요 (one word).
What you do: 을 or 를
Chosen by the last sound of the word, like 은 / 는.
| The word ends in | Particle | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 받침 | 을 | 책을, 시험을, 수업을 |
| a vowel | 를 | 숙제를, 영어를, 요리를 |
하다 → 해요
A word + 하다 is one verb, written as one word.
| Dictionary form | The -요 form | The same with 을 / 를 |
|---|---|---|
| 하다 | 해요 | — |
| 공부하다 | 공부해요 | 공부를 해요 |
| 운동하다 | 운동해요 | 운동을 해요 |
| 요리하다 | 요리해요 | 요리를 해요 |
| 청소하다 | 청소해요 | 청소를 해요 |
Lesson notes
What you do: 을 / 를 and 해요체
What for: say what you do. In Korean the predicate (here, the verb) always comes last, unlike in English: who — what — do. 민준 씨는 운동을 열심히 해요.
What you do takes the object particle 을 / 를: after a 받침 을 (책을), after a vowel 를 (요리를). The last sound of the word decides, as with 은 / 는.
하다 “to do” in 해요체, the polite style of everyday talk, is 해요: the ending -요 makes it polite. This is how you talk to a coworker, a salesperson, a new acquaintance. A word + 하다 is one verb, written as one word: 공부하다 → 공부해요. It also works with 을 / 를: 운동해요 = 운동을 해요. See the table.
The verb doesn't change for person: 해요 is “I do”, “you do”, “he does”, “we do”. Who does it is clear from the conversation, so you can leave it out: 공부해요? — 네, 공부해요. Where English needs “he” or “she”, Korean uses the name or nothing.
A language is country + 어: 한국 → 한국어, 러시아 → 러시아어; English is 영어.
Common mistakes:
• ×해요 숙제를 → 숙제를 해요 (the predicate comes last).
• ×숙제을 → 숙제를; ×운동를 → 운동을.
• ×공부 해요 → 공부해요 (one word).