Basic Evaluation, Size, and Difficulty | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 이건 아주 좋아요.

   This is very good.

   이건

   this; as for this

   아주

   very

   좋아요

   is good

   More detail

   이건 is a shortened form of 이것은: 이것 means “this,” and -은 marks the topic. The form presents the relevant thing as the topic, without by itself specifying exactly what that thing is. A useful contrast is 그건, meaning “as for that”; the source sentence uses the near demonstrative 이건. 아주 means “very” and strengthens the description that follows. It is a degree adverb, so it modifies 좋아요 here rather than naming a separate object or action. 좋아요 comes from 좋다, “to be good.” In this sentence, 좋아요 is the polite present-style sentence ending used for a positive statement. The form 좋다 is the dictionary form; 좋아요 is the form commonly used in polite conversation. Example: 날씨가 좋아요. — “The weather is good.” Together, 이건 아주 좋아요 means “This is very good.” The topic is “this” (이건), and the predicate says that it is good (좋아요), with 아주 increasing the degree to “very good.”

2. 그건 좋지 않아요.

   That is not good.

   그건

   that (topic)

   좋지 않아요

   is not good

   More detail

   그건 is the contracted form of 그것은: 그것 means “that,” and 은 marks it as the topic. The form identifies the item as a topic, but the supplied sentence does not specify what that item is. The contrasting topic form 이건 means “this” (이것은 contracted), as in the provided context. 좋지 않아요 means “is not good” here. 좋다 is the base form meaning “to be good”; its stem is 좋-. Korean commonly places negation before the polite ending with -지 않다: 좋지 않아요 combines 좋-, -지 않-, and the polite present ending -아요. A shorter alternative is 안 좋아요, which also means “is not good.” Together, 그건 + 좋지 않아요 gives “That is not good.” The topic is “that,” and the predicate negatively describes it as good. This is a polite everyday statement; -요 makes the ending polite without making the statement especially formal.`

3. 이건 너무 커요.

   This is too big.

   이건

   this

   너무

   too

   커요

   is big

   More detail

   이건 means “this” here. It is the shortened spoken form of 이것은: 이것 (“this thing”) plus the topic marker 은, which becomes 는 after a vowel and is written here as part of 이건. The demonstrative 이- points to something near the speaker or otherwise treated as “this”; the sentence itself does not identify exactly what that thing is. 너무 means “too” or “excessively.” It strengthens the following description by saying that the size exceeds what is suitable or wanted in this context. For example, 너무 비싸요 means “It is too expensive.” 커요 means “is big” in this sentence. Its base form is 크다 (“to be big”), and 커요 is the present polite form. The vowel change is 크다 → 커요: the final ㅡ drops before the polite ending. Korean descriptive verbs such as 크다 commonly function as predicates equivalent to English adjectives. The contrasting form in the supplied context is 작아요, from 작다 (“to be small”): 작다 → 작아요. Together, 이건 너무 커요 means “This is too big.” The topic is “this,” 너무 marks excessive degree, and 커요 describes its size politely in the present. The sentence is a reusable pattern: [topic]은/는 너무 [descriptive verb]어요/아요, meaning “[topic] is too [described quality].”

4. 이건 너무 작아요.

   This is too small.

   이건

   this (topic)

   너무

   too; excessively

   작아요

   is small

   More detail

   이건 is the contracted form of 이것은: 이것 means “this,” and 은 marks the topic. The supplied translation supports “this,” but does not identify what object it refers to. In Korean, 이것은 is more fully written, while 이건 is a common shortened form in ordinary speech. 너무 means “too” or “excessively” here. With a descriptive word, it says that the degree goes beyond an acceptable or suitable limit. This differs from 아주 in the nearby example 그건 아주 쉬워요, which means “very easy” without asserting that the degree is excessive. 작아요 comes from the descriptive verb 작다, “to be small.” The form 작아요 is the present-tense polite form used in this utterance. The ending -아요 is part of the polite 해요-style ending; it does not itself mean “is.” Example: 방이 작아요. — “The room is small.” Together, 이건 sets “this” as the topic, 너무 says the degree is excessive, and 작아요 describes it as small. The whole utterance therefore means “This is too small.”

5. 그건 아주 쉬워요.

   It is very easy.

   그건

   as for that; it is

   아주

   very

   쉬워요

   is easy

   More detail

   그건 is a shortened spoken/written form of 그것은: 그것 means “that,” and 은 marks it as the topic. Here, the fixed translation supports the neutral meaning “it” for the topic; it does not identify a more specific referent. The same topic pattern can be reused with other nouns or pronouns. Example: 이건 책이에요. — “This is a book.” 아주 means “very” and intensifies the description that follows. It is a degree adverb, so it does not change form for the topic. Example: 아주 좋아요. — “It is very good.” 쉬워요 means “is easy” here. Its base form is 쉽다 (“to be easy”), and the observed form is the polite present-style form. 쉽다 is a ㅂ-irregular descriptive verb: before this ending, it becomes 쉬워요, not *쉽어요. The contrasting descriptive verb in the supplied context, 어려워요, means “is difficult” and comes from 어렵다. Together, 그건 + 아주 + 쉬워요 means “It is very easy.” The topic is “that/it,” 아주 raises the degree, and 쉬워요 supplies the description. The sentence is polite and suitable for ordinary conversation.

6. 그건 아주 어려워요.

   It is very difficult.

   그건

   as for it

   아주

   very

   어려워요

   is difficult

   More detail

   그건 is the shortened form of 그것은: 그것 means “that” or “it,” and 은 marks it as the topic. In this sentence, the fixed translation supports “it.” The form does not by itself identify what “it” refers to. The contraction 그건 is common in ordinary Korean; the fuller form is more formal or deliberate. 아주 means “very” and intensifies the description that follows. For example, 아주 좋아요 means “It is very good.” 어려워요 is the polite present form of the descriptive verb 어렵다, “to be difficult.” Its ending presents the description politely in the current context. 어렵다 changes to 어려워요 through the ㅂ-irregular pattern: the final ㅂ changes before the polite ending. The supplied preceding sentence provides a useful contrast: 쉬워요 comes from 쉽다, “to be easy,” and means “is easy”; it is not the base form of 어려워요. Together, 그건 sets “it” as the topic, 아주 intensifies the description, and 어려워요 says politely that it is difficult. The whole utterance means “It is very difficult.”