href="#ulink_c74086ca-edfc-59d6-98b0-c96920ca5b1f">69).
EXAMPLE SENTENCES
돈이 많이 모으면 뭘 해요? 건강이 제일 중요한데요.
Doni mani moeumyeon mwol haeyo? Geongangi jeil jungyohandeyo.
What’s the point of saving a lot of money? Health is the most important thing.
건강에 대해서 계속 걱정하면 뭘 해요? 한번 검진 받았으니까 걱정할 필요가 없어요.
Geongange daehaeseo gyesok geokjeonghamyeon mwol haeyo? Hanbeon geomjin badasseunikka geokjeonghal pillyoga eobseoyo.
What’s the point of constantly worrying about your health? If you’d just get a checkup, you won’t need to worry.
Asking Questions
어제 늦었나요? Eoje neujeonnayo? Were you late yesterday?
Let’s face it: life in Korea can be pretty confusing sometimes, and you’ll probably have a few questions about things. You can (and Koreans, more often that not, do) ask questions using standard verb forms like 해요? or 가세요?, but what fun is that? Here’s how to sound better when you’re actually clueless.
HOW IT’S CONJUGATED
If your question ends in an action verb like 가다 or 먹다 or with a past tense form, you can end it with 나요. If it ends in a descriptive verb like 예쁘다 or 똑똑하다 ttokttokhada, end with (으)ㄴ가요.
| Past | Present | Future | ||
| Action verbs ending in a vowel | 하다 | 했나요? haennayo? | 하나요? hanayo? | 할 건가요? hal geongayo? |
| Action verbs ending in a consonant | 먹다 | 먹었나요? meogeonnayo? | 먹나요? meoknayo? | 먹을 건가요? meogeul geongayo? |
| Descriptive verbs (adjectives) ending in a vowel | 예쁘다 | 예뻤나요? yeppeonnayo? | 예쁜가요? yeppeungayo? | 예쁠 건가요? yeppeul geongayo? |
| Descriptive verbs (adjectives) ending in a consonant | 작다 | 작았나요? jagannayo? | 작은가요? jageungayo? | 작을 건가요? jageul geongayo? |
TAKE NOTE
ㄴ가 and 나 reappear later on in expressions such as ㄴ가/나 봐 (see page 138), so they’re really useful to learn. They also appear at the end of 뭐 mwo, 언제 eonje, 누구 nugu, 무엇 mueot, and 어디 eodi.
In writing, you’ll often see these endings as 나? and (으)ㄴ가? such as in a newspaper interview where a reporter is asking questions:
| 뭔가 mwonga | Whatever it is/something | ||
| 언젠가 eonjenga | Whenever it is/sometime | 언제나 eonjena | any time |
| 누군가 nugunga | Whoever it is/someone | 누구나 nuguna | anyone |
| 무언가 mueonga | Whatever it is/something | 무엇이나 mueosina | anything |
| 어딘가 eodinga | Wherever it is/somewhere | 어디나 eodina | anywhere |
EXAMPLE SENTENCES
여자친구가 예쁜가요?
Yeojachinguga yeppeungayo?
Is your girlfriend beautiful?
아버지가 선생님인가요?
Abeojiga seonsaengnimingayo?
Is your father a teacher?
어디로 가야 하나요?
Eodiro gaya hanayo?
Where must I go?
쓰레기 봉투가 있나요?
Sseuregi bongtuga innayo?
Do you have trash bags?
어제 숙제를 했나요?
Eoje sukjereul haennayo?
Did you do your homework yesterday?
And: Basic Forms
These are all added to the ends of nouns and are fairly easy to use.
Somewhat counterintuitively, 와 goes with words ending in vowels and 과 goes with words ending in consonants. They both simply mean “and” and can also be used to mean “together with,” depending on the context. When used to mean “together with,” they are often paired with either 같이 gachi or 함께 hamkke, but you can leave these out, unless you really need to clarify the context.
매운 음식과 짠 음식을 좋아해요.
Maeun eumsikgwa jjan eumsigeul joahaeyo.
I like spicy foods and salty foods.
홍대와 이태원에 술집이 많아요.
Hongdaewa Itaewone suljibi manayo.
There are many bars in Hongdae and Itaewon.
친구와 같이 영화 봤어요.
Chinguwa gachi yeonghwa bwasseoyo.
I saw a movie with a friend.
These have exactly the same meaning as 와/과; in other words, “and” or “together with.” They are somewhat more colloquial, but otherwise the same. 이랑 is used after vowels and 랑 after consonants.
매운 음식이랑 짠 음식을 좋아해요.
Maeun eumsigirang jjan eumsigeul joahaeyo.
I like spicy foods and salty foods.
홍대랑 이태원에 술집이 많아요.
Hongdaerang Itaewone
