I. The Two Basic Forms & Particles
Korean fundamentally has two basic forms as follows:
- Type 1. Subject + Predicate (Verb or Adjective)
- Type 2. Subject + Object + Predicate (Verb)
Type 1 is almost identical to the forms found in most languages around the world, whereas Type 2 presents a substantial departure from other languages. Here, there’s another significant divergence: Korean uses particles after the subject or object.
- Type 1. 철수(subject)가 가요(predicate).
- ↑Chulsu goes.
- Type 2. 영희(subject)가 사과(object)를 먹어요(predicate).
- ↑Younghee apple eats
- = Younghee eats an apple.
When a nominative particle (이/가 or 은/는) is attached to a noun or a nominal form, it functions as the subject within the sentence, and when an accusative particle (을/를) is attached, it becomes the object. Simply put, particles serve a role similar to markers, much like markers do.
- Type 1. 철수가(n.p) 가요.
- Type 2. 영희가(n.p) 사과를(a.p) 먹어요.
II. A Variation of Type 2.
Type 3. Object +Subject + Predicate (Verb)
If both nominative and accusative particles are present, the positions of the subject and object can interchange like Type 3, depending on the speaker’s intention, without disrupting the conveyance of meaning.
- Type 3(1). 사과(object)를(a.p) 영희(subject)가(n.p) 먹어요.
- ↑apple Younghee eats
- = Younghee eats an apple.
- Type 3(2). 책(object)을(a.p) 도서관(object)에서(at / in) 영수(subject)가(n.p) 읽어요.
- ↑book library in Youngsoo reads
- = Youngsoo reads a book in the library.
And you might have already noticed, regardless of whether it is Type 1, 2, or 3, in any sentence structure, the predicate always comes at the end. Also, you may have realized that there are no articles in Korean. Because of this, Koreans often struggle with when to use or not use articles when learning English or European languages.
III. Omission of the Subject.
In Korean, when the subject is clear from the context, it is often omitted. This ability to omit the subject is another distinct feature of Korean, following the fact that the predicate comes at the end and that the subject and object positions can be switched.
- A : 지민은 뭐해요? (What is Jiming doing?)
- B: 춤연습중이에요. ((He is) practicing dancing.)
- A: 어디에 가는중이야? (Where are (you) going?)
- B : 학교에 ((I am going) to school)