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Sentence Patterns
A sentence is composed of two essential parts: the subject (주어) and the predicate (서술어), and the predicate has a different pattern depending on the nature of the verb.
#1 (Subject + Verb)
톰이 말한다 (Tom is talking)
제리가 행복하다 (Jerry is happy)
나는 잤다 (I slept)
Pattern #2 (Subject + Subject Complement + Verb)
If a predicate contains special intransitive verbs such as “이다 (to be)”, “아니다 (not to be)”, and “되다 (to become)” it requires a subject complement (highlighted in red color).
나는 학생이다 (I am a student)
존은 학생이 아니다 (John is not a student)
나는 선생님이 되었다 (I became a teacher)
Pattern #3 (Subject + Object + Verb)
If a predicate contains a transitive verb, it requires the object.
톰이 저녁을 먹는다 (Tom eats dinner)
제리가 차를 샀다 (Jerry bought a car)
Pattern #4 (Subject + Dative phrase + Object + Verb)
If a predicate contains a dative verb (transitive) such as “주다(to give),” “보내다(to send),” “보여주다(to show),” etc., it requires the dative phrase (“Noun+에게/한테”) and the object.
톰이 제리에게 가방을 주었다 (Tom gave a bag to Jerry)
제리가 존한테 문자를 보낸다 (Jerry is sending a text to John)
나는 제리에게 사진을 보여주었다 (I showed Jerry a picture)
Pattern #5 (Subject + Object + Object complement + Verb)
If a predicate contains verbs like “만들다 (to make),” “생각하다/여기다 (to consider),” “선택하다 (to choose),” etc., it requires an object and an object complement “Noun+(으)로.”
톰이 제리를 바보로 만들었다 (Tom made a fool of Jerry)
제리가 나를 친구로 생각했다 (Jerry considered me as his friend)
우리가 그 사람을 대통령으로 선택했다 (We chose him to be president)
We have discussed the 5 sentence patterns in Korean. These are the examples of each pattern, so you can also create more sentences based on these patterns on your own. For example, you can add an adverbial in Patterns #1 and #3 so that the sentences appear more lively and complex.
Pattern #1 (Subject + Adverb + Verb)
제리가 아주 행복하다 (Jerry is very happy)
Pattern #3 (Subject + Adverb + Object + Adverb + Verb)
톰이 집에서 저녁을 일찍 먹는다 (Tom eats dinner early at home)
Word order is generally structured in these 5 ways, presenting a skeleton or a basis for the sentence. However, as shown in patterns #1 and #3 it is possible to add other parts of speech within the existing basis.
Sentence Types
Korean sentences are classified into different categories depending on the ending. There are four main types. I used the formal honorific endings because it is a distinguishing feature of the Korean language.
Statement/declarative sentences
A type in which the speaker states a fact.
Sentence ending (-ㅂ니다/습니다)
제리가 학교에서 공부합니다. (Jerry is studying at school)
톰이 숙제를 안 했습니다. (Tom did not do homework)
Question/interrogative sentences
A type in which the speaker asks a question.
Sentence ending (-ㅂ니까/습니까?)
저를 좋아합니까? (Do you like me?)
에이미가 음악을 듣습니까? (Does Mary listen to music?)
Command/imperative sentences
It is a type in which a speaker instructs the listener.
Sentence ending (십시오/으십시오)
여기 오십시오. (Please come here)
의자에 앉으십시오. (Please sit on the chair)
Proposition/propositive sentences
It is a type in which a speaker suggests doing something together.
Sentence ending (ㅂ시다/읍시다)
내일 다시 만납시다. (Let’s meet again tomorrow)
같이 점심을 먹읍시다. (Let’s eat lunch together)
Note: Pay attention, in the first case the ending that is attached to the verb starts with a consonant because the last letter of the verb is a vowel. If, on the other hand, the verb ends with a consonant then you attach the second ending. Learning endings in Korean is essential and there are more types to discover.
Word Order in Sentence
The basic word order in Korean is arranged as “Subject-Object-Verb.” This is just the default order in Korean, the actual word order is relatively free, compared to other languages.
However, there are three rules you need to follow when building a sentence:
1. The verb must be at the end of the sentence.
2. You can rearrange the word order in a sentence within the boundary of the clause, as long as the sentence remains grammatically correct.
3. The modifier must be placed right before the modification.
톰이 에이미를 좋아합니다 (Tom likes Amy)
에이미를 톰이 좋아합니다 (Tom likes Amy)
The two sentences did not change the meaning after switching the subject and the object. Since the subject and the object were switched along with the case markers, there is no problem in identifying what function they carry in the sentence. However, you cannot move the verb to another position (according to the first rule above).
톰이 좋아합니다 에이미를 (X)
좋아합니다 톰이 에이미를 (X)
You can understand what it means when you read it, but it is grammatically incorrect since the verb always has to be at the end of the sentence.
Another rule is that a movement cannot cross over a clause boundary as shown in the sentences below.
톰이 (제리가 책을 샀다고) 선생님에게 말했습니다.
(Tom told the teacher that Jerry bought a book)
톰이 (책을 샀다고) 제리가 선생님에게 말했습니다.
(Jerry told the teacher that Tom bought a book)
톰이 (제리가 샀다고) 책을 선생님에게 말했습니다. (x)
The red parentheses indicate the boundary of a clause, which is a dependent clause from the principal clause. If you move one of the elements out in the dependent clause (indicated in brackets) it will change the meaning (second example) or become grammatically wrong (third example).
The last rule is that a modifier must be placed right before the modified noun.
제리가 새 옷을 샀습니다. (Jerry bought new clothes)
The modifier is “새(new)” and the modified noun is “옷(clothes)” in this sentence. If you move the modifier to another position, it interrupts the modifier-modified relationship and makes a grammatically incorrect sentence.
새 제리가 옷을 샀습니다. (X)
제리가 옷을 새 샀습니다 (X)
Omission in Sentence
This is a special grammar feature in Korean. It often appears in daily conversation, and seldom in written text. You don’t need to repeat the same thing that was already mentioned before, so Koreans usually shorten their sentences to answer. It could be awkward for non-native speakers, but it is very natural among Korean speakers as long as it does not interrupt the flow of the conversation and both parties are on the same page about the omitted information.
Conversation #1
A : 어디에 있어요? (Where is Tom?)
B : (톰은 학교에) 갔어요. (Left, Tom went to school)
Conversation #2
A : 제리, 아침 먹었어? (Jerry, did you have breakfast?)
B : (나는 아침을) 먹었어. (Ate, I ate breakfast)
Conversation #3
A : (에이미가 서울에) 갔어? (Went? Did Amy go to Seoul?)
B : (에이미가 서울에) 갔어. (Went, Amy left for Seoul)
Conversation #4
A : (나랑 같이 영화 보러) 가자 (Let’s go, Let’s go to the movies together)
B : (그래, 같이 영화 보러) 가 (Go, Ok, let’s go to the movies together)
If the given context is not enough to understand, you can simply ask a question again to clarify the point being made, such as “Who?” or “Where?.”
Conversation #5
A : (에이미가 서울에) 갔어? (Went?, Did Amy go to Seoul?)
B : 누구? (Who?, Who are you talking about?)
A : 에이미 (Amy, I am talking about Amy)
B : 어디에? (Where?, Which place are you talking about?)
A : 서울에 (To Seoul, I am talking about Seoul)
B : 응, 갔어 (Yes, went. Yes, she left for Seoul)
In written text, it is very difficult to deliver the meaning of the missing information to readers if the information is omitted. For this reason, it is important to provide as much detailed information as possible. Therefore when you read news or reports, they are written by applying the 6 Wh questions (“who/when/where/what/how/why”).
No Subject-Verb Agreement
Unlike English, there is no subject-verb agreement rule in Korean.
나는 학생이다. (I am a student)
너는 학생이다. (You are a student)
우리는 학생이다. (We are students)
However, the sentence ending is changed depending on the honorific system in Korean.
저는 학생입니다. (I am a student)
너는 학생이다. (You are a student)
우리는 학생이에요. (We are students)
Koreans use the honorific system to show respect to the subject of a sentence. You might have seen some sentences in formal and informal styles in Korean. We are going to discuss this honorific system in more detail in another book.
Another example is the number agreement between the subject and the verb.
여기에 사람들이 많이 있다 (plural subject)
여기에 사람이 많이 있다 (singular subject)
(There are many people here)
The plural suffix “-들” is a meaning-carrying functional marker that indicates that the subject is plural. However, this actually does not play an important role in Korean language. It is attached to a countable noun to represent the plurality, but it is optional in the sentence.
제리가 책들을 많이 읽었다
제리가 책을 많이 읽었다
(Jerry read many books)
우리 반 학생들이 책들을 많이 읽었다
우리 반 학생들이 책을 많이 읽었다
우리 반 학생이 책들을 많이 읽었다
우리 반 학생이 책을 많이 읽었다
(The students in my class read a lot of books)
Additionally, when the speaker wants to emphasize that more than one noun is involved in a situation the plural suffix “-들” can also be attached to any element in a sentence.
얘들아, 빨리들 가자 = 얘들아, 빨리 가자
(Guys, let’s go quickly)
아이들이 예쁘게들 생겼네요 = 아이들이 예쁘게 생겼네요
(Your kids are cute)
모두 여기들 계시네요 = 모두 여기 계시네요
(All of you are here)
안녕들 하세요? = 안녕하세요?
(Hello)
As you can see there is no subject-verb agreement in Korean. However, instead, the honorific system is used.