Giving a Task Update | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 일은 어떻게 되어 가고 있어요?

   How is the task going?

   일

   task; work

   어떻게

   how

   되어 가고 있어요

   is progressing; is going

   More detail

   일 means “work” or “task” here. It is a noun, so it can be reused with descriptions such as 많은 일 (“a lot of work”) or 이 일 (“this task”). The fixed translation identifies the intended sense as a task or piece of work, rather than a general question about employment. 어떻게 asks about the manner, condition, or progress of something: “how.” It is useful in questions such as 어떻게 해요? (“How do you do it?”). Here it asks for the state or progress of 일, not for a method of performing it. 되어 가고 있어요 is a polite ongoing expression built from 되다 (“become; work out; be in a resulting state”), -어 가다 (“continue or progress toward a later state”), and -고 있다 (“be in the middle of an ongoing process”). In this sentence, the combined expression naturally means “be going” or “be progressing.” The polite ending -어요 makes the question suitable for ordinary courteous conversation. A useful pattern is N이/가 되어 가고 있어요 for asking or saying that something is gradually taking shape or progressing; the subject marker after 일 is omitted here because 일은 uses the topic marker instead. Together, 일은 어떻게 되어 가고 있어요? asks, “How is the task going?” 일은 sets the task as the topic, 어떻게 asks about its condition or progress, and 되어 가고 있어요 describes that progress as an ongoing process.

2. 대부분 끝났어요.

   Most of it is done.

   대부분

   most of it

   끝났어요

   is finished

   More detail

   대부분 means “most of it” here. It refers to the greater part of the task or work already under discussion, without stating that all of it is complete. The same word can also mean “for the most part” when it modifies an action, but this sentence uses it as the amount that is complete. 끝났어요 comes from the intransitive verb 끝나다, “to end” or “to be finished.” The form 끝났어요 marks a completed past event in the polite -어요 style: 끝나다 → 끝났어요. Because 끝나다 is intransitive, it describes something reaching its end; 끝내다 is the related transitive verb meaning “to finish something.” For example, 수업이 끝났어요 means “The class is over.” Together, 대부분 + 끝났어요 means “Most of it is done.” The sentence says that the greater part of the relevant task has finished, while leaving open that some part may remain. This is a natural polite statement in the situation established by the preceding question about how the task is going.

3. 무엇을 확인해야 해요?

   What needs checking?

   무엇을

   what (object)

   확인해야 해요

   need to check

   More detail

   무엇을 means “what” as the object being checked. 무엇 is the question word “what,” and -을 marks an object when the preceding noun ends in a consonant. The object marker shows that the checking is directed at this unspecified thing. For example, 무엇을 읽어요? means “What are you reading?” 확인해야 해요 expresses that checking is necessary. The verb 확인하다 means “to check” or “to confirm.” Its -아/어야 하다 pattern expresses necessity: 확인해야 하다 is literally the “must/need to check” form. Here, the polite ending -해요 gives the conversational form 확인해야 해요. The subject is not stated, so the Korean does not specify who needs to do the checking. For example, 숫자를 확인해야 해요. means “I need to check the numbers.” Together, 무엇을 identifies the thing to be checked, and 확인해야 해요 says that checking it is necessary. The whole utterance means “What needs checking?” or, more literally, “What do [we/you/I] need to check?” The subject remains unexpressed, while the context establishes that the question concerns something that needs checking.

4. 숫자를 확인해야 해요.

   I need to check the numbers.

   숫자

   numbers

   확인해야 해요

   need to check

   More detail

   숫자 means “number” or “numbers.” The plural meaning here comes from the fixed translation and context; Korean nouns do not require a plural ending in every plural context. The form is useful for referring to numerical values or figures. 확인해야 해요 expresses “need to check” here. The lexical verb is 확인하다, “to check” or “to confirm.” Its pattern is 확인해야 해요: verb stem + -아/어야 하다, used for necessity or obligation, followed here by the polite ending -해요. For example, 시간을 확인해야 해요. means “I need to check the time.” Together, 숫자를 marks “the numbers” as the object, and 확인해야 해요 says that checking them is necessary. The omitted subject is understood as “I” in the fixed translation, so the whole utterance means “I need to check the numbers.”

5. 일정대로 진행되고 있어요?

   Are we on schedule?

   일정

   schedule

   대로

   according to; as

   진행되고 있어요?

   is progressing?

   More detail

   일정 is a noun meaning “schedule” or “timetable.” It refers here to the planned timing, not to a particular event by itself. Example: 일정을 확인해요. — “I check the schedule.” 대로 follows a noun and means “according to” or “as [that noun] specifies.” The reusable pattern is 명사 + 대로: 계획대로 means “according to the plan,” and 일정대로 means “according to the schedule.” Here it connects the schedule with the way the work is proceeding. 진행되고 있어요? comes from 진행되다 (“to proceed; to be carried out”) plus -고 있다, which shows that the situation is currently in progress. 진행되다 is the form used when an activity or process proceeds or is carried out; it is not the same as 진행하다, “to proceed with or conduct” something. The polite ending -어요 becomes a question through the question intonation and question mark. Example: 회의가 진행되고 있어요. — “The meeting is in progress.” Together, 일정대로 means “according to the schedule,” and 진행되고 있어요? asks whether the ongoing process is proceeding that way. With the intended reading supplied by the translation, the complete utterance is: “Are we on schedule?” Korean commonly leaves the subject unstated when the situation makes the participants clear. The polite question is suitable for checking current progress in a work-related situation.

6. 오늘 오후에 끝낼 수 있어요.

   We can finish this afternoon.

   오늘

   today

   오후

   afternoon

   끝낼

   finish

   수 있어요

   possibility exists

   More detail

   오늘 means “today.” It can function as a time expression and can combine directly with another time noun: 오늘 오후 means “this afternoon.” 오후 means “afternoon.” In 오후에, the particle 에 marks the time when something happens. Thus 오늘 오후에 means “this afternoon,” with 오늘 specifying which afternoon. 끝낼 comes from the verb 끝내다, “to finish” or “to bring to an end.” In the ability pattern 동사-(으)ㄹ 수 있다, this verb takes the -ㄹ form because its stem ends in a vowel: 끝내다 → 끝낼. Here, 끝낼 수 means “be able to finish.” This differs from 끝나다, “to end” or “to be finished”: 끝내다 presents an agent as finishing something, while 끝나다 describes something ending. 수 있어요 is the polite ending part of the pattern 동사-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요. Literally, 수 refers to a way or possibility, and 있어요 is the polite present form of 있다; together with the preceding verb form, the pattern means “can” or “be able to.” Example: 갈 수 있어요 means “I/we can go.” Putting the parts together, 오늘 오후에 sets the time, and 끝낼 수 있어요 says that finishing is possible. The subject is omitted in Korean; the fixed translation identifies it here as “we.” The whole utterance means “We can finish this afternoon.”

7. 팀에 알려야 할까요?

   Should we update the team?

   팀

   team

   알려야 할까요?

   Should we update/inform?

   More detail

   팀 means “team.” It is a noun, and in 팀에, the particle 에 marks the team as the recipient or destination of the informing. Example: 친구에게 알려요. — “I tell my friend.” 알려야 할까요? asks whether informing someone is the appropriate or necessary action. The useful base form is 알리다, “to inform” or “to let someone know.” Before -어야 하다, it appears as 알려야: 알리다 → 알려야 하다. The -어야 하다 pattern expresses that something should or must be done. 할까요? is the polite question form of 하다 and turns this into a suggestion or request for the listener’s view: “Should we…?” The Korean subject is omitted; the fixed translation identifies it as “we.” Example: 지금 알려야 할까요? — “Should we let them know now?” Together, 팀에 (“to the team”) and 알려야 할까요? (“should we inform [them]?”) produce: “Should we update the team?” In the surrounding context, the update is discussed as happening after finishing the relevant part, but this question itself asks whether informing the team should be done; it does not by itself state that the task has already been finished.

8. 이 부분을 끝낸 다음에 팀에 알려요.

   Let's update them after we finish this part.

   이

   this

   부분

   part

   끝낸

   finished

   다음에

   after

   팀

   team

   알려요

   let someone know

   More detail

   이 points to a nearby or contextually identified thing and appears before the noun it describes. In 이 부분, it means “this,” but the sentence itself does not specify exactly which part it is. Korean demonstratives include 이 “this,” 그 “that” (often associated with something already mentioned), and 저 “that over there.” 부분 means “part” or “section.” It is a noun, so 이 부분 means “this part.” In the sentence, 이 부분을 marks “this part” as the object of the finishing action; 을 is the object marker after a consonant-ending noun. 끝낸 is the form of 끝내다, “to finish” or “to complete.” The ending -ㄴ makes a past/completed modifier before a noun: 끝낸 일 means “work that someone finished.” Here, 끝낸 modifies 다음, giving the idea of “the next time/point after finishing.” This form is different from 끝내는, which presents the action as ongoing or habitual, and 끝낼, which presents it as prospective. 다음에 means “after that” or “next,” with 에 marking the relevant time or point. In 끝낸 다음에, the preceding clause identifies the condition or event that comes first, so the reusable pattern is [verb modifier] 다음에 = “after doing [the verb].” Example: 수업이 끝난 다음에 만나요. — “Let’s meet after class ends.” 팀 means “team.” It is followed here by 에, as in 팀에, marking the recipient or target of the informing action. The translation identifies this target as “them,” namely the team mentioned in the fixed meaning; Korean uses the noun 팀 explicitly here rather than an English-style pronoun. 알려요 is the polite present-style form of 알리다, “to inform” or “to let someone know.” The form is built from 알리- plus the polite -어요, with contraction to 알려요. This is not 알아요, which comes from 알다 and means “know.” A useful pattern is [person or group]에게/에 알리다 = “inform [person or group].” Example: 동료에게 결과를 알려요. — “I let my colleague know the result.” Together, 이 부분을 끝낸 다음에 means “after we finish this part,” with the completed action placed before 다음에. 팀에 알려요 means “let the team know” or “update them.” The omitted subject is understood from the fixed translation as “we,” and the whole utterance is therefore: “Let’s update them after we finish this part.”