Using paper to write new words | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 공책을 가져오는 것을 잊었어요.

   I forgot to bring my notebook.

   공책

   notebook

   가져오는

   bringing

   잊었어요

   forgot

   More detail

   공책 means “notebook.” It is a noun referring to a notebook or exercise book. In this sentence, 공책을 marks “notebook” as the object of the action. 가져오는 comes from 가져오다, “to bring.” The form 가져오는 is the present attributive form: it modifies 것, so 가져오는 것 means “bringing” or “the act of bringing.” 가져오다 is used when something is brought toward the relevant place or person. Example: 책을 가져와요. — “I bring the book.” 잊었어요 comes from 잊다, “to forget.” 잊었어요 is its polite past form, meaning “forgot.” The past element -었- presents the forgetting as completed. The polite ending -어요 makes the statement suitable for ordinary courteous conversation. Example: 이름을 잊었어요. — “I forgot the name.” The pattern 가져오는 것을 잊었어요 means “forgot to bring.” More literally, it says “forgot the act of bringing.” Here 공책을 is inside that verb-based noun phrase: 공책을 가져오는 것 means “bringing a notebook.” The object marker 을 marks 공책 as what is brought, while 것을 marks the entire action as what was forgotten. Together, 공책을 가져오는 것을 잊었어요 means “I forgot to bring my notebook.” The subject “I” is not separately written in Korean; it is supplied by the fixed translation and the context. The polite verb ending does not itself identify the subject as “I.”

2. 이 종이를 사용해도 돼요.

   You can use this paper.

   이

   this

   종이

   paper

   사용해도 돼요

   may use / can use

   More detail

   이 이 is the demonstrative used before a noun for something near the speaker: “this.” In Korean, it does not change for grammatical gender, and its form does not change just because the noun is singular or plural. The nearby forms 그 (“that,” often associated with the listener or shared context) and 저 (“that over there,” distant from both) express different relative locations. Example: 이 책 — “this book.” 종이 종이 means “paper.” In this sentence, the object-marker form is 종이를: 를 marks 종이 as the thing affected by the action. The noun itself remains 종이; 를 is attached because the noun ends in a vowel sound. Example: 종이를 읽어요 is not natural for “read the paper,” because 읽다 normally takes something readable such as a document or book; 종이를 사용해요 means “I use paper.” This illustrates that the noun’s meaning and the verb determine the natural combination. 사용해도 돼요 사용하다 is the base form meaning “to use.” Here it appears in the permission pattern -아/어도 되다: 사용해도 되다 means “to be allowed to use” or “it is okay to use.” 사용해도 돼요 is the polite spoken form, with 돼요 from 되다 (“become/be okay”). The form 사용해도 is made from 사용하다 plus -아/어도; the final 하다 changes to 해도. This pattern asks or states whether an action is permitted. For example, 여기 앉아도 돼요? means “May I sit here?” The fixed sentence has no question marker, so 사용해도 돼요 is presented as “You can use it” or “It is okay to use it,” matching the fixed translation rather than being treated as a question. Putting the parts together, 이 종이를 means “this paper” as the object, and 사용해도 돼요 means “it is okay to use.” The whole utterance is therefore “You can use this paper.”

3. 고마워요. 새 단어를 쓰고 싶어요.

   Thank you. I want to write the new words.

   고마워요

   Thank you

   새

   new

   단어

   word

   쓰고

   write

   싶어요

   want to

   More detail

   고마워요 is a polite, conversational way to say “Thank you.” It is the 해요-style form of 고맙다; this adjective has the irregular ㅂ pattern, giving 고마워요. A less formal form is 고마워. 새 means “new” here and comes before the noun it describes: 새 단어 means “new word(s).” Korean does not require a plural ending on 단어 in this context, so the fixed translation’s plural “words” is compatible with the Korean phrase. 단어 is the noun “word.” In 새 단어를, 를 marks 새 단어 as the object of the following action. 쓰고 is the form of 쓰다, “to write,” followed by -고. Together with 싶어요, it forms the reusable pattern verb stem + 고 싶어요, meaning “want to [verb].” Here, 쓰고 does not mean a separate “write and then” action. 싶어요 is the polite 해요-style form of 싶다, “to want.” In 쓰고 싶어요, it expresses the speaker’s desire to write. The understood subject is the speaker, matching “I” in the fixed translation. Together, 새 단어를 쓰고 싶어요 means “I want to write the new words”: 새 단어를 marks the new words as the object, and 쓰고 싶어요 expresses the desire to write them. With the opening 고마워요, the whole utterance means “Thank you. I want to write the new words.”

4. 좋은 생각이에요. 저도 새 단어를 쓸게요.

   Good idea. I will write them too.

   좋은

   good

   생각

   idea

   저도

   I too

   새

   new

   단어

   word

   쓸게요

   I’ll write

   More detail

   좋은 means “good” here and appears before the noun it describes. It is the form of 좋다 (“to be good”) used before a noun: 좋다 → 좋은. Example: 좋은 책 means “a good book.” 생각 means “idea” or “thought.” In 좋은 생각, it is the noun described by 좋은; together they mean “good idea.” 저도 combines 저 (“I,” a humble/polite form) with 도 (“also/too”). Here, 도 adds the speaker to the same activity, so 저도 means “I too.” Example: 저도 가요 means “I’m going too.” 새 means “new” before a noun. It is used directly in combinations such as 새 단어 (“new word”). Example: 새 책 means “a new book.” 단어 means “word.” In 새 단어를, it identifies what will be written, and the following 를 marks it as the object of the action. The fixed translation and context support the intended meaning “the new words,” even though Korean does not require a plural marker here. 쓸게요 is the polite form of 쓰다 (“to write”) with -ㄹ게요. In this form, the final ㅡ of 쓰다 is dropped and ㄹ is added before -게요: 쓰다 → 쓸게요. This ending presents the speaker’s decision or commitment to do something, often in response to the listener. Example: 내일 연락할게요 means “I’ll contact you tomorrow.” As a whole, 좋은 생각이에요 means “It’s a good idea.” Then 저도 새 단어를 쓸게요 means “I will write the new words too”: 저도 adds the speaker to the activity, 새 단어를 identifies what will be written, and 쓸게요 expresses the speaker’s decision to write them.

5. 수업 후에 새 단어를 확인해 볼까요?

   Can we check them after class?

   수업 후에

   after class

   새

   new

   단어

   word

   확인해

   check

   볼까요?

   shall we try?

   More detail

   수업 후에 means “after class.” 수업 is “class,” and 후 is “after” or “the time after.” The particle 에 marks the time when something happens, so the pattern 명사 후에 is reusable for “after [noun].” For example, 식사 후에 만나요. means “Let’s meet after the meal.” 새 means “new” here and directly describes the following noun. It is placed before 단어, giving the pattern 새 + noun for “a new noun.” 새 does not change for grammatical gender or plural number. For example, 새 책 means “a new book.” 단어 means “word.” The object particle 를 marks it as what is checked: 새 단어를 is “the new words” in this context. The Korean phrase itself does not mark English-style plural number here; the fixed translation and surrounding context support “them,” referring to the new words. 확인해 comes from 확인하다, “to check” or “to confirm.” The ending changes 하다 to 해 before another verb in this construction. The object-marked pattern 명사(를) 확인하다 means “check/confirm a noun,” as in 주소를 확인해요. — “I check the address.” 볼까요? comes from 보다, “to see” or “to try,” with -(으)ㄹ까요?. After another verb in the -아/어 보다 pattern, 보다 acts as an auxiliary expressing trying something; here 확인해 보다 means “try checking.” The question form 볼까요? makes a suggestion to the listener, comparable to “Shall we?” or, in this translation, “Can we?” Together, 새 단어를 확인해 볼까요? means “Shall we try checking the new words?” The time phrase 수업 후에 places this action after class, so the whole utterance is: “Can we check them after class?”

6. 우리 같이 읽을 수 있어요.

   We can read them together.

   우리

   we; us

   같이

   together

   읽을

   read

   수 있어요

   can

   More detail

   우리 means “we” here, serving as the subject. Korean 우리 can also mean “our” before a noun, but in this sentence it is the standalone subject form. 같이 is an adverb meaning “together.” It describes the shared manner of the reading: the participants read together. Example: 같이 가요. — “Let’s go together.” 읽을 comes from the verb 읽다, “to read.” The form 읽을 is the -(으)ㄹ form used before 수 in the ability pattern 동사-(으)ㄹ 수 있다/없다, meaning “can/cannot do something.” Because the verb stem 읽- ends in a consonant, it takes -을: 읽- + -을 → 읽을. 수 있어요 completes that ability pattern. 있어요 is the polite present form of 있다; with -(으)ㄹ 수, it expresses ability or possibility. Thus 읽을 수 있어요 means “can read.” The ending -어요 gives a polite everyday style. Putting the parts together, 우리 같이 읽을 수 있어요. means “We can read them together.” The object represented by “them” is understood from the fixed translation; it is not overtly stated in the Korean sentence. The pattern 주어 + 같이 + 동사-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요 is reusable for saying that someone can do something together: 우리 같이 공부할 수 있어요. — “We can study together.”