Basic Home Actions and Choices | Learn Korean in English

Korean lesson set in a contemporary Seoul everyday setting: A beginner practices six useful English phrases about basic home actions and choices..

EN → KO / Level: A1

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About This Lesson

Use Basic Home Actions and Choices to practice Korean conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

문을 열어 주세요.

moon-UL YUH-ruh joo-SEH-yuh Please open the door.
B

창문을 닫아 주세요.

chang-MOON-ul tah-DAH joo-SEH-yuh Please close the window.
A

그것을 켜 주세요.

guh-GUHS-ul kyuh joo-SEH-yuh Please turn it on.
B

그것을 꺼 주세요.

guh-GUHS-ul kkuh joo-SEH-yuh Please turn it off.
A

이것을 주세요.

ee-GUHS-ul joo-SEH-yuh Please give me this.
B

이것을 가져갈게요.

ee-GUHS-ul ga-jyuh-gal-GEH-yuh I will take this.

Sentence explanations

  1. 문을 열어 주세요.

    Please open the door.

    문
    door
    열어 주세요
    please open
    More detail

    문 means “door” here. It is a noun; its usual basic form is also 문. In the full sentence, 문을 marks “the door” as the object: 을 is the object particle attached after a noun ending in a consonant, while 를 is used after a vowel-ending noun. Example: 창문을 열어요. — “I open the window.” 열어 주세요 is a polite request meaning “please open.” 열어 is the 아/어 form of 열다 (“to open”): 열다 → 열어. The verb 열다 is used for opening a door, window, or similar object. 주세요 literally contains 주다 (“to give”), but after an 아/어 verb form it makes a polite request: [verb stem] + 아/어 주세요 = “please …”. Example: 기다려 주세요. — “Please wait.” Together, 문을 (“the door,” as the object) and 열어 주세요 (“please open”) produce 문을 열어 주세요. — “Please open the door.” This is a polite, reusable request pattern: [object]을/를 [verb]-아/어 주세요.

  2. 창문을 닫아 주세요.

    Please close the window.

    창문
    window
    닫아 주세요
    please close
    More detail

    창문 means “window” here. It is a noun and can be reused with different actions, for example 창문을 열어 주세요. means “Please open the window.” The particle 을 marks 창문 as the object of the action; it is attached because 창문 ends in a consonant. 닫아 주세요 is a polite request meaning “please close.” The lexical verb is 닫다 “to close.” Its stem 닫- takes -아 here, producing 닫아; this connective form combines with 주세요 to make a polite request. 주세요 comes from 주다 “to give” and, in this construction, adds the meaning “please do it for me.” For comparison, 열어 주세요 uses 열다 “to open”: 문을 열어 주세요. means “Please open the door.” Together, 창문을 identifies the window as the object, and 닫아 주세요 politely asks the listener to close it. The whole utterance therefore means “Please close the window.”

  3. 그것을 켜 주세요.

    Please turn it on.

    그것을
    it
    켜 주세요
    please turn on
    More detail

    그것을 consists of 그것 and the object marker 을. 그것 means “that thing” or, as here, “it”; the specific thing is not identified by the sentence itself. Korean demonstratives distinguish distance or discourse reference, such as 이것 “this thing,” 그것 “that thing,” and 저것 “that thing over there.” 을 marks the noun or pronoun receiving the action. It follows a consonant-final form; the vowel-final counterpart is 를. 켜 주세요 uses the verb 켜다, “to turn on” or “to switch on,” followed by the polite request pattern -아/어 주세요, literally asking someone to do the action for the speaker. Here, 켜다 changes to 켜 before 주세요, giving a courteous “please turn on.” The opposite action is expressed with 끄다 “to turn off”: 꺼 주세요 means “please turn it off.” Example: 불을 켜 주세요. — “Please turn on the light.” The structure is object + requested action: 그것을 identifies what should receive the action, and 켜 주세요 politely requests turning it on. Together, the utterance means “Please turn it on.”

  4. 그것을 꺼 주세요.

    Please turn it off.

    그것을
    it
    꺼
    turn off
    주세요
    please
    More detail

    그것을 means “it” here and marks that item as the object of the action. 그것 is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” or, in context, “it”; 이것 is the corresponding “this” form. The final 을 is the object particle, used after a consonant-ending form such as 그것. The specific item referred to is not identified in the supplied sentence. 꺼 is the form of 끄다 used before 주세요. 끄다 means “to turn off” (or “to switch off”); its 어-form is 꺼, showing the stem change from 끄- to 꺼-. For contrast, the preceding sentence uses 켜 from 켜다, meaning “turn on.” 주세요 is a polite request pattern. With an action form before it, [action]-아/어 주세요 means “please do [the action].” Here, 꺼 주세요 asks the listener politely to turn something off. 주다 itself means “to give,” but in this pattern it contributes the polite request meaning rather than a literal transfer of an object. Together, 그것을 identifies the thing affected, 꺼 supplies the action “turn off,” and 주세요 makes the request polite: “Please turn it off.”

  5. 이것을 주세요.

    Please give me this.

    이것을
    this
    주세요
    please give
    More detail

    이것을 means “this” as the object being acted on. 이것 is the demonstrative noun/pronoun “this thing,” and 을 is the object marker; after a noun ending in a consonant, 을 is used, while 를 is used after a vowel. For example, 이것을 읽어요 means “I read this.” 주세요 is the polite request form of 주다, “to give.” In this sentence it asks the listener to give the speaker the object. The request pattern N을/를 주세요 means “Please give me N.” 주다 can also appear in other forms, such as 줘요 in a less formal polite style and 주세요 as the standard polite request here. Together, 이것을 주세요 means “Please give me this.” The object marker identifies 이것 as what is to be given, and the subject and recipient are understood from the request situation; the fixed translation identifies the speaker as the recipient. 이것을 can be replaced with another object, such as 물을 주세요, “Please give me water.”

  6. 이것을 가져갈게요.

    I will take this.

    이것을
    this (object)
    가져갈게요
    I’ll take it
    More detail

    이것을 means “this” as the object being taken. It consists of 이 (“this,” for something near the speaker), 것 (“thing”), and the object marker 을. 을 is used because 것 ends in a consonant sound. In everyday speech, 이것을 is often shortened to 이걸, but the fixed sentence uses 이것을. 가져갈게요 is the polite form of 가져가다 (“to take” or “to carry away”) with the ending -ㄹ게요. In this use, -ㄹ게요 presents the speaker’s willing intention or commitment, so 가져갈게요 means “I’ll take it,” rather than being just a neutral prediction. The underlying verb is 가져가다; its stem is 가져가-, and the ending produces 가져갈게요. Do not treat 가져 as a separate verb here: 가져가다 is the relevant verb as a whole. Example: 제가 가져갈게요. — “I’ll take it.” Here 제가 explicitly marks “I” as the person committing to the action. Together, 이것을 가져갈게요 means “I will take this.” 이것을 identifies “this” as the object, and 가져갈게요 says that the speaker will take it. The polite ending -요 makes the utterance suitable for ordinary polite conversation.

Grammar Points

N을/를 V-아/어 주세요

문을 열어 주세요.

moon-UL YUH-ruh joo-SEH-yuh

Please open the door.

Use 을/를 to mark the object and -아/어 주세요 to make a polite request.

Korean Vocabulary

가져가다 verb
ga-jyuh-GAH-dah to take; to take away 가져갈게요

이것을 가져갈게요.

그것 pron
guh-GUHT it; that 그것을

그것을 켜 주세요.

끄다 verb
kkuh-DAH to turn off 꺼

그것을 꺼 주세요.

닫다 verb
taht-TAH to close 닫아

창문을 닫아 주세요.

문 noun
moon door 문을

문을 열어 주세요.

열다 verb
yuhl-DAH to open 열어

문을 열어 주세요.

이것 pron
ee-GUHT this 이것을

이것을 주세요.

주세요 phrase
joo-SEH-yuh please give; please

이것을 주세요.

창문 noun
chang-MOON window 창문을

창문을 닫아 주세요.

켜다 verb
kyuh-DAH to turn on 켜

그것을 켜 주세요.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Please open the door.

Show Answer문을 열어 주세요.

Please close the window.

Show Answer창문을 닫아 주세요.

Please turn it on.

Show Answer그것을 켜 주세요.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

to take; to take away

Show Answer가져갈게요

to close

Show Answer닫아

please give; please

Show Answer주세요

this

Show Answer이것을