1.7 Sentence Structure and Order
Language & Culture Lessons
In today's grammar section you're going to learn about how sentences are structured in Korean. It's a little different to
most other languages, but it won't take long for you to get the hang of it. Following that, we'll take a look at how the
language varies all over Korea.
Language Lesson
Sentence Structure & Order
"Somebody Something Does"
Understanding the grammar in Korean sentences is an important part of learning to speak the language. Korean
sentences are organized in a different order from English ones. English sentences are organized in the pattern
“subject-action word-object”, whereas Korean sentences are organized in the pattern like “subject-object-action word”.
For example, in English we say “Sam throws a ball”. But in Korean, we say the equivalent of “Sam a ball throws”.
ENGLISH
Subject
Sam
Action word
throws
Object
a ball.
Korean:
Subject
샘은
Sameun
Object
Action word
공을
던진다.
gongeul
dunjinda.
샘은 공을 던진다.
Sameun gongeul dunjinda.
Sam throws (the) ball.
수는 그림을 그린다.
Suenun grimeul geurinda.
Sue draws a picture.
영수는 밥을 먹는다.
Youngsoonun babeul mukneunda.
Youngsoo eats rice.
영희는 물을 마신다.
Yeongheenun mul ul mashinda.
Yeonghee drinks water.
마이클은 편지를 쓴다.
Michael eun pyunjirul ssunda.
Michael writes a letter.
"Somebody Does"
However, when Korean sentences contain no objects, the sentence order is seemingly the same as that in English.
ENGLISH
Subject
Sam
Action word
drinks.
Korean:
Subject
샘은
Action word
마신다.
Sameun
mashinda.
샘은 논다.
Sameun nonda.
Sam plays.
수는 공부한다.
Suenun gongbu handa.
Sue studies.
영수는 뛴다.
Youngsoonun ddwinda.
Youngsoo runs.
영희는 생각한다.
Yeongheenun senggak handa.
Younghee thinks.
마이클은 먹는다.
Michael eun muknunda.
Michael eats.
To understand Korean sentence structures better, it is worthwhile to explain the word “predicate” first. A predicate
tells us what the subject of the sentence “do” or “does”. In other words, a predicate is the action word in a sentence.
Take the sentence “Sam gives me an apple” as an example. “Gives” is the action word, or the predicate, because it tells
us what the subject “Sam” does. Both a subject and a predicate are compulsory in a complete English sentence. Yet in a
Korean sentence, a predicate is compulsory, while the subject is not. For example, if someone asks you what do you
do, in English you would reply “I study”. But in Korean you can simply say:
"공부해/Gongboohae." (study)
Sameun mashinda - Sam drinks
Changing the suffix at the end of the action word can give people some idea of who or what you are referring to.
Please note that Korean action words and descriptive words can be conjugated. By changing the suffix after the word
root, you can change an action word into a descriptive word and vice versa.
"Somebody Something in Such a Way Does."
In an English sentence with the main structure of “subject-action word-object”, we can sometimes put something else
at the end of the sentence to give additional information. For example, after the main structure “ Sam throws a ball”,
we can add the word “away” for better illustration. That additional part is called “complement” in grammar. Thus the
English sentence pattern goes like “subject-action word-object-complement”. Yet in Korean, a sentence with a
complement should be organized in the pattern of “subject-object-complement-action word”.
Here are some more examples to help you understand that better.
ENGLISH
Subject
Sam
Action word
paints
Object
the house
Complement
blue.
Korean:
Subject
샘은
Sameun
Object
집을
jibeul
Complement
파랗게
parake
Action word
칠합니다.
chilhamnida.
샘은 집을 파랗게 칠합니다.
Sameun jib eul parake chilhapnida.
Sam paints the house blue.
수는 밥을 맛있게 먹습니다.
Suenun babeul masitge muksupnida.
Sue eats rice (meal) deliciously.
영수는 공을 높이 던집니다.
Youngsoonun gongeul nopi dunjipnida.
Youngsoo throws the ball high.
영희는 그림을 예쁘게 그립니다.
Yeongheenun geurimul yebbuge geuripnida.
Yeonghee draws (the) picture beautifully.
마이클은 의자에 조용히 앉습니다.
Michael eun euijae joyonghi anssupnida.
Michael sits on the chair silently.
Culture
Dialects & Regions
When we first started our Rocket Korean Premium Language and Culture lessons, I mentioned about dialects in
Korea. In today’s cultural section, we are going to look at how the dialects of various regions are different from one
another, as well as the basic characteristics of some major dialects and their roles in Korean culture and society.
"표준어/Pyojoonuh"
First of all, the standard dialect used in South Korea is called "표준어/Pyojoonuh ". It is the dialect of Seoul, the capital
and biggest city in Korea. Most of the country's media industry is based in Seoul, so "표준어/Pyojoonuh " is very
influential in the society. It is defined by the National Institute of Korean Language as “the modern speech of Seoul
widely used by the well-cultivated”. It is also known as "서울말/Seoulmal", meaning ‘the language of Seoul’.
In standard Korean, questions and statements are grammatically organized in the same order. But yes-no questions
sound different in tone from those questions starting with words like when, who, where, which etc. The tone of yesno questions goes up at the end, whereas the tone of the questions of who, which, where etc, doesn’t, just like in
English.
"사투리/Satoori"
All the other dialects from other regions are called "사투리/Satoori". There are mainly 6 of them in total. We are going
to look at some of the most spoken ones.
The second most spoken dialect is "동남방언/Dongnambang-un", which is more commonly known as "경상도 사투
리/Gyoungsangdo Satoori". It is widely used in the "영남/Youngnam" region which includes "부산/Busan", the second,
and "대구/Daegu ", the third biggest city in Korea. Each city has its own distinctive words and accents. The main feature
of "경상도 사투리/Gyoungsangdo Satoori" is that it lacks some consonant sounds, for example, the tensed consonants
like "ㅆ/ss".
The feature of each regional dialect also has an impact on how people sound when they talk. For example, people
speaking "사투리/Satoori" always sound like arguing or shouting.
Social Impact
The existence of different dialects also has a lot of effect on the society too. People from "서울/Seoul" tend to believe
that their standard dialect is the language of the educated. So, in work places for example, they may look down on
people who speak "사투리/Satoori". And it could even have an effect on people’s social status, title and promotions.
On the other hand, people from the same region or hometown will treat each other better because by custom they
believe they are more closely related. People are proud of their hometown and region within Korea and there is a bit
of prejudice or rivalry between each region. Especially people from "전라/Junra" region have hard feeling against
those from "경상/Gyoungsang" region due to historical reasons.
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