Working Together on a Close Deadline | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 마감일이 얼마 안 남았나요?

   Is the deadline coming up soon?

   마감일

   deadline

   얼마 … 안

   not much

   남았나요

   remains?

   More detail

   마감일 means “deadline.” It is a noun formed from 마감 (“closing; cutoff”) and 일 (“day”), referring here to the date by which something must be finished. Example: 마감일이 내일이에요. — “The deadline is tomorrow.” 얼마 안 is part of the reusable pattern 얼마 안 남다, meaning that only a small amount remains. 얼마 asks “how much” or “how long,” and 안 negates the following predicate. With 남다 (“remain; be left”), the pattern can mean “not much time is left.” Example: 시간이 얼마 안 남았어요. — “There isn’t much time left.” 남았나요 comes from the base form 남다, “to remain; to be left.” It contains the past/result form -았- and the polite question ending -나요?. Here 남았나요? asks about the amount that remains now; the -았- form does not by itself mean that the remaining situation is over. Example: 시간이 얼마나 남았나요? — “How much time is left?” In 마감일이, -이 marks 마감일 as the subject. The construction 마감일이 얼마 안 남다 is an idiomatic way to say that little time remains until the deadline, so the deadline is close. Adding -나요? makes it a polite question. The complete meaning is “Is the deadline coming up soon?” or, more literally, “Is there not much time left until the deadline?”

2. 마감일이 얼마 안 남았어요.

   The deadline is close.

   마감일

   deadline

   얼마 안 남았어요

   not much time is left

   More detail

   마감일 means “deadline.” It is a noun formed from 마감, “closing” or “completion,” and 일, “day,” and refers to the final date by which something must be completed. The particle 이 marks 마감일 as the subject. Example: 마감일이 내일이에요. — “The deadline is tomorrow.” 얼마 안 남았어요 expresses that only a small amount remains. 얼마 refers to an amount, 안 negates the following verb, and 남았어요 is the polite form of 남다, “to remain.” More precisely, 남았어요 has the past-tense ending but here describes the amount that remains now, as a resulting current state. In 얼마 안 남다, the amount is understood from context; here it is the time left before the deadline. Example: 시간이 얼마 안 남았어요. — “There isn’t much time left.” Together, 마감일이 marks the deadline as the subject, and 얼마 안 남았어요 says that little time remains before it. Thus 마감일이 얼마 안 남았어요. means “The deadline is close,” or more literally, “There isn’t much time left until the deadline.”

3. 그럼 중요한 부분부터 시작해요.

   So let's start with the main part.

   그럼

   then; so

   중요한

   important

   부분

   part

   부터

   from; starting with

   시작해요

   start; begin

   More detail

   그럼 is a transition meaning “then” or “so.” It is commonly used as a shortened form of 그러면 (“then, in that case”) to move to the next action or conclusion. Example: 그럼 시작해요. — “Then, let’s start.” 중요한 means “important” here and directly modifies 부분 (“part”). It is the attributive form of the descriptive verb 중요하다 (“to be important”): 중요하다 → 중요한 before a noun. Example: 중요한 문제 — “an important problem.” 부분 is a noun meaning “part,” “section,” or “aspect.” In this sentence it identifies the part that will be used as the starting point. Example: 이 부분을 읽어요. — “I read this part.” 부터 is a particle attached to a noun or noun phrase to mark the starting point: N부터 means “starting with/from N.” Here, 중요한 부분부터 means “starting with the important part.” Example: 첫 장부터 읽어요. — “I read starting with the first page.” 시작해요 means “start” or “begin” here. Its base form is 시작하다; 시작해요 is its polite 해요-style nonpast form. Korean often leaves the subject unstated when the context makes it clear. In this fixed translation, the form is understood as a proposal for the shared action “let’s start,” rather than as a statement naming an explicit subject. Example: 수업을 시작해요. — “Let’s start the class.” Together, 그럼 sets up the next step, 중요한 부분부터 marks the point where that step begins, and 시작해요 supplies the polite suggestion to begin. The whole utterance means: “So, let’s start with the main part.”

4. 지금 그 일을 맡을래요?

   Do you want to take that on now?

   지금

   now

   그

   that

   일

   task; work

   맡을래요

   want to take it on?

   More detail

   지금 means “now” and sets the time of the proposed action. It can be placed before the relevant clause: 지금 시작해요 means “Let’s start now.” 그 is the demonstrative placed before a noun, meaning “that” in this utterance. Here it modifies 일, producing 그 일, “that task/work.” Unlike a standalone pronoun, 그 directly describes the following noun. The specific task is identified by the fixed translation as “that” task. 일 is a noun meaning “work” or “task.” In 그 일, the intended sense is “that task,” not a general statement about work. A useful contrast is 일 “work/task” versus 사람 “person”; 그 can modify either: 그 사람 means “that person.” 맡을래요 comes from the verb 맡다, “to take responsibility for, take charge of, or take on.” The form uses -(으)ㄹ래요, a pattern for asking about someone’s willingness or intention. Because 맡다 ends in a consonant, it takes -을래요: 맡다 → 맡을래요. In this question, it asks whether the listener wants or is willing to take the task on. 할래요? is a similar willingness question with the more general verb 하다, “to do,” while 맡을래요? specifically emphasizes accepting responsibility for it. Together, 그 일 identifies “that task,” and 맡을래요? asks whether the listener is willing to take responsibility for it. 지금 places that choice or action at the present time. The complete utterance therefore means, “Do you want to take that on now?”

5. 당신이 파일을 확인하는 동안 제가 시작할게요.

   I can start while you check the file.

   당신이

   you (subject)

   파일

   file

   확인하는

   checking

   동안

   while; during

   제가

   I (subject)

   시작할게요

   I’ll start

   More detail

   당신이 marks 당신 as the subject of the first clause: “you.” The subject marker 이 follows a noun ending in a consonant. Here, the translation identifies this subject as the person checking the file. 당신 is the observed second-person form; it is not a general instruction to use this form in every situation. 파일 means “file.” Korean commonly places a noun directly before a verb when the relationship is clear, so 파일을 확인하는 means “checking the file,” with 을 marking 파일 as the object of 확인하다. Example: 파일을 확인해요. — “I check the file.” 확인하는 comes from 확인하다, “to check” or “to verify.” The ending -는 makes the present-time form that can modify a noun or appear before a time expression. In 확인하는 동안, it describes the checking as happening during the relevant period; it does not mean that the checking has already finished. 동안 means “during” or “while” and expresses a span of time. The reusable pattern is [activity]는 동안, “while [someone] is doing [activity].” Here, 당신이 파일을 확인하는 동안 is the time clause “while you check the file.” 제가 means “I” as the subject. It is the form of 저 (“I,” a modest or deferential first-person pronoun) combined with the subject marker 가: 저 + 가 → 제가. This subject is the person who starts, distinct from the subject of the preceding time clause. 시작할게요 comes from 시작하다, “to start,” plus -(으)ㄹ게요. Because the verb stem ends in a vowel, this form is -ㄹ게요: 시작하- → 시작할게요. In this sentence, -(으)ㄹ게요 presents the speaker’s intention or commitment to start, giving the intended meaning “I’ll start” in the fixed translation. It is not the same form as a plain factual present statement such as 시작해요 (“I start” or “I’m starting,” depending on context). Together, 당신이 파일을 확인하는 동안 sets the time—“while you check the file”—and 제가 시작할게요 states the speaker’s intended action—“I’ll start.” In source order, the complete utterance means: “I can start while you check the file.”

6. 제가 먼저 무엇을 찾아봐야 해요?

   What should I look for first?

   제가

   I (subject)

   먼저

   first

   무엇을

   what

   찾아봐야 해요

   should look for

   More detail

   제가 means “I” as the subject here. It is the humble first-person singular pronoun 저 plus the subject marker 가; the form 저가 contracts to 제가. The marker identifies the subject, while 저 supplies the speaker reference. Example: 제가 할게요. — “I’ll do it.” 먼저 is an adverb meaning “first” or “beforehand.” It commonly marks the action that should happen before another relevant action. Example: 먼저 읽어 보세요. — “Please read it first.” 무엇을 means “what” as the object of the action. 무엇 is the question word, and 을 marks the object. In conversation, 뭘 is a common contracted form of 무엇을, but the fixed utterance uses the full form 무엇을. Example: 무엇을 준비해요? — “What are you preparing?” 찾아봐야 해요 combines 찾아보다 with the necessity pattern -아/어야 하다. 찾아보다 is 찾다 (“look for”) plus -아/어 보다, which presents trying or carrying out the action; in this utterance, the compatible meaning is “look for” or “check for.” The -아/어야 하다 pattern says that the action is required or advisable, giving “should/must look for.” 찾아봐야 해요 is the polite present form; its less contracted underlying sequence is 찾아보아야 해요. Example: 자료를 찾아봐야 해요. — “I should look for the information.” Together, 제가 identifies the speaker as the person responsible for the action, 먼저 sets that action first, and 무엇을 asks for its object. The predicate 찾아봐야 해요 asks what the speaker should look for. Thus the whole utterance means “What should I look for first?”

7. 메모가 요청과 맞는지 확인해 주세요.

   Make sure the notes match the request.

   메모가

   the notes

   요청과

   with the request

   맞는지

   whether it matches

   확인해 주세요

   please check

   More detail

   메모가 means “the notes” here. 메모 is “note” or “memo,” and 가 marks it as the subject of the check. The form 메모가 does not by itself say how many notes there are. 요청과 means “with the request” or “against the request.” 요청 is “request,” and 과 connects it with the thing the notes are being compared with. After a vowel, the corresponding connector is 와; after a consonant, it is 과. 맞는지 asks whether something matches or is appropriate. The useful base form is 맞다, which can mean “to match,” “to be correct,” or “to be suitable,” depending on what is being compared. Here, the notes are being checked against the request. -는지 turns the clause into an indirect yes-or-no question: A가 B와 맞는지 means “whether A matches B.” Example: 이 설명이 질문과 맞는지 봐 주세요. — “Please see whether this explanation matches the question.” 확인해 주세요 is a polite request meaning “please check” or “please confirm.” 확인하다 is the base verb “to check/confirm,” and 확인해 주세요 uses -아/어 주세요 to ask someone to perform an action. The 해 form belongs to 하다 verbs such as 확인하다; it is not the form of the noun 확인 alone. Example: 주소를 확인해 주세요. — “Please check the address.” Together, 메모가 요청과 맞는지 means “whether the notes match the request,” and 확인해 주세요 asks the listener to check that. The whole utterance is therefore: “Make sure the notes match the request.”

8. 그럼 제가 짧은 업데이트를 쓸게요.

   Then I'll write a short update.

   그럼

   Then

   제가

   I

   짧은

   short

   업데이트

   update

   쓸게요

   I’ll write

   More detail

   그럼 means “then” or “in that case.” It links this utterance to the situation already established and introduces the speaker’s next action. Example: 그럼 시작할게요. — “Then I’ll start.” 제가 means “I” as the subject. It combines 저 (“I,” in a humble/polite form) with the subject marker 가; 저 becomes 제가 before this marker. Compare 저는, which marks 저 as the topic: 제가 쓸게요 focuses on who will write, while 저는 쓸게요 presents “as for me” as the topic. 짧은 means “short” here and modifies the noun that follows. Its base form is 짧다 (“to be short”); before a noun, it takes the attributive form 짧은. Example: 짧은 메모 — “a short note.” 업데이트 is the noun “update.” It is a loanword used for a progress report or newly added information. In this sentence, it is the thing the speaker will write. 쓸게요 means “I’ll write.” The base verb is 쓰다 (“to write”); the form 쓸게요 combines the verb with -(으)ㄹ게요. This ending presents the speaker’s intention or commitment, often as an action offered in response to the situation. Example: 제가 메모를 쓸게요. — “I’ll write the note.” Together, 그럼 제가 sets up “Then I,” 짧은 업데이트 is the object “a short update,” and 쓸게요 says that the speaker will write it. The whole utterance is therefore: “Then I’ll write a short update.”

9. 준비되면 같이 공유할 수 있어요.

   When it's ready, we can share it.

   준비되면

   when it is ready

   같이

   together

   공유할

   share

   수 있어요

   can; be able to

   More detail

   준비되면 comes from 준비되다 (“to be ready”) plus -면, a conditional form meaning “when/if …”. Here the fixed translation supports the time reading “when it is ready.” The subject is understood from context rather than stated in this form. Example: 끝나면 알려 주세요. — “Please let me know when it ends.” 같이 means “together” here. It commonly indicates doing something jointly with another participant; it is not the word that expresses ability. Example: 같이 공부해요. — “Let’s study together.” 공유할 is the form of 공유하다 (“to share”) used before 수 in the ability construction. The ending -(으)ㄹ gives the verb an attributive form here; it does not by itself mean past or future. The useful pattern is 동사-(으)ㄹ 수 있다/없다, “can/cannot do something.” 수 있어요 completes that construction. 수 있다 means “to be able to,” and the polite present form 있어요 makes the sentence polite. In 공유할 수 있어요, the whole construction means “can share,” rather than 수 meaning “share” on its own. Example: 읽을 수 있어요. — “I can read it.” Together, 준비되면 sets the condition or time, 같이 says the sharing is done together, and 공유할 수 있어요 expresses ability: “When it’s ready, we can share it.”