Using a Computer and Printer Quietly | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 이 컴퓨터를 사용해도 돼요?

   Can I use this computer?

   이

   this

   컴퓨터

   computer

   사용해도 돼요?

   May I use it?

   More detail

   이 means “this” and is placed before a noun to identify something near the speaker or currently indicated. It is a demonstrative determiner, so it does not itself identify a particular object unless the situation does. A useful contrast is 이 “this” versus 그 “that” in a context where the two are distinguished. 컴퓨터 means “computer.” It is a noun borrowed into Korean and can be used with demonstratives such as 이 컴퓨터 (“this computer”). 사용해도 돼요? asks for permission to use something. The verb is 사용하다 “to use.” In this sentence, its stem combines with -아/어도 되다: 사용하다 → 사용해도 되다. This pattern literally presents the action as acceptable and is commonly used for “May I ...?” or “Is it okay if I ...?” The polite ending -요 makes the question suitable for ordinary polite conversation. For example, 여기 앉아도 돼요? means “May I sit here?” Together, 이 컴퓨터 means “this computer,” and 사용해도 돼요? asks whether using it is permitted. The complete utterance means, “Can I use this computer?”

2. 그 컴퓨터는 비어 있어요.

   That computer is free.

   그

   that

   컴퓨터

   computer

   비어 있어요

   is free; is available

   More detail

   그 points to a specific referent understood from the context and means “that.” In Korean, 이 is commonly used for “this,” while 그 identifies something as “that” in relation to the discourse or listener. Example: 그 책 means “that book.” 컴퓨터 means “computer.” It is a noun, and the topic marker 는 follows it here: 컴퓨터는 means “as for the computer” or, naturally in this sentence, “the computer.” The topic marker does not itself state a number. 비어 있어요 describes the computer’s current state. The useful base form is 비다, “to be empty” or “to be unoccupied.” In 비어 있어요, 비어 combines with 있어요 to express that the state of being empty is maintained or currently applies; the polite ending -어요 makes the statement suitable for ordinary polite conversation. With a computer, this state naturally means that it is free or available for use, matching the fixed translation. This is different from saying that the computer is physically absent or unavailable. Example: 자리가 비어 있어요. — “The seat is available.” Here, the same expression describes an unoccupied seat. Together, 그 컴퓨터는 sets “that computer” as the topic, and 비어 있어요 says that it is currently free or available. The whole utterance means “That computer is free.”

3. 화면이 아주 밝아요.

   The screen is very bright.

   화면

   screen

   아주

   very

   밝아요

   bright

   More detail

   화면 means “screen” here. It is a noun and can be reused in compounds or simple descriptions, such as 화면이 작아요 (“The screen is small”). The particle 이 marks 화면 as the subject; it is used after a noun ending in a consonant. 아주 is an adverb meaning “very.” It strengthens the description that follows: 아주 밝아요 means “is very bright,” not merely “is bright.” 밝아요 is the polite present form of the descriptive verb 밝다, “to be bright.” Its stem is 밝-, and the -아요 ending gives a polite statement in the present. Korean descriptive verbs can function as the predicate of a sentence, so this form describes the screen directly. Example: 방이 밝아요 — “The room is bright.” Together, 화면이 (“the screen,” as subject), 아주 (“very”), and 밝아요 (“is bright”) produce the complete meaning: “The screen is very bright.”

4. 여기서 밝기를 낮출 수 있어요.

   You can lower the brightness here.

   여기서

   here

   밝기를

   brightness

   낮출

   lower

   수 있어요

   can

   More detail

   여기서 means “here” as the place where the action happens. 여기 is “here,” and -서 marks the location of an action. Example: 여기서 기다려요. — “I wait here.” 밝기를 means “the brightness” as the object being changed. 밝기 is the noun “brightness,” related to the adjective 밝다 (“to be bright”). -를 marks this noun as the object of the verb. In the supplied context, the screen is described as bright, but this sentence refers specifically to adjusting its brightness. 낮출 comes from the verb 낮추다, “to lower” or “to reduce.” Its base form is 낮추다; 낮출 is the form placed before 수 in the pattern -(으)ㄹ 수 있다. Example: 소리를 낮출 수 있어요. — “You can lower the sound.” 수 있어요 is part of the reusable pattern -(으)ㄹ 수 있어요, which expresses ability or possibility: “can” or “be able to.” 수 is a bound noun meaning a way or possibility in this construction, and 있어요 comes from 있다, “to exist/be available.” The subject is understood from context and does not need to be stated. Together, 밝기를 낮출 수 있어요 means “can lower the brightness”: 밝기를 is the object, and 낮출 수 있어요 expresses the ability or possibility of lowering it. Adding 여기서 specifies the place, so the whole utterance means “You can lower the brightness here.”

5. 프린터도 사용해도 돼요?

   Can I use the printer too?

   프린터

   printer

   도

   too; also

   사용해도 돼요?

   May I use it?

   More detail

   프린터 means “printer” here. It is a noun, and it can be combined with a topic or location phrase, for example: 프린터를 사용해요. — “I use the printer.” The object marker 를 is not present in the fixed sentence because 프린터 is followed by 도, which marks it as an additional item and takes the relevant particle role here. 도 means “too” or “also.” It attaches directly to the word or phrase being added. Here, 프린터도 means “the printer too,” indicating that the printer is an additional thing the speaker is asking about using. Its meaning is separate from the permission construction that follows. 사용해도 돼요? is a reusable permission pattern: 동사-아/어도 돼요? — “May I ...?” or “Is it okay to ...?” 사용하다 is the base form “to use,” and its 해 form combines with -도 돼요 to make 사용해도 돼요? The construction asks whether doing the action is acceptable; it does not itself specify who performs the action. In this sentence, the fixed translation supplies the intended subject “I.” 돼요 is the polite present form of 되다 in this construction. A negative answer can use 안 돼요 — “No, you may not” or “That is not allowed.” For another reusable example, 여기서 사진을 찍어도 돼요? means “May I take pictures here?” Putting the parts together, 프린터도 gives “the printer too,” and 사용해도 돼요? asks for permission to use it. The whole utterance therefore means, “Can I use the printer too?”

6. 책상 근처에 있는 프린터를 사용하면 돼요.

   You can use the printer near the desk.

   책상

   desk

   근처에

   nearby

   있는

   that is located

   프린터

   printer

   사용하면 돼요

   you can use it

   More detail

   책상 means “desk.” It is a noun; for example, 책상 위에 책이 있어요 means “There is a book on the desk.” 근처에 means “near.” 근처 is “vicinity” or “nearby area,” and -에 marks the location. The phrase 책상 근처에 therefore means “near the desk.” 있는 is the form of 있다 used before a noun to describe something that exists or is located somewhere. Here, 있는 connects 책상 근처에 to 프린터: 책상 근처에 있는 프린터 means “the printer that is near the desk.” For example, 문 앞에 있는 의자 means “the chair that is in front of the door.” 프린터 means “printer.” In this sentence, it is the object of 사용하다, “to use,” marked by -를 in 프린터를. 사용하면 돼요 combines 사용하다 (“to use”) with -면, which presents a condition, and 돼요, a polite form of 되다 (“to be acceptable/okay”). Literally, it expresses that using it is okay; in this context, it naturally means “you can use it.” The observed form 사용하면 is the conditional form of 사용하다: 사용하다 → 사용하면. For example, 여기에서 기다리면 돼요 means “You can wait here” or “It is okay to wait here.” Together, 책상 근처에 있는 identifies which printer, 프린터를 marks that printer as the object, and 사용하면 돼요 says that using it is acceptable. The whole utterance means: “You can use the printer near the desk.”

7. 소리를 틀면 헤드폰을 쓸게요.

   I'll use headphones if I play any audio.

   소리

   sound; audio

   틀면

   if [someone] plays or turns on

   헤드폰

   headphones

   쓸게요

   I’ll use or wear

   More detail

   소리 means “sound” or “audio.” In 소리를, the particle 를 marks it as the object of the following verb. The form is not plural; Korean nouns do not require a plural marker here. 틀면 comes from 틀다, “to turn on” or “play” something. The ending -면 makes a condition: 틀면 means “if [someone] plays/turns on it.” Here, the object is 소리를, so the condition is “if someone plays audio.” For example, 불을 켜면 방이 밝아져요 means “If you turn on the light, the room becomes bright.” 헤드폰 means “headphones.” In 헤드폰을, 을 marks headphones as the object of 쓰다. With headwear or eyewear, 쓰다 means “to put on” or “wear”; in this sentence, the intended meaning is using headphones. The object marker is also used in the reusable pattern 헤드폰을 쓰다, “to wear/use headphones.” 쓸게요 comes from 쓰다 and expresses the speaker’s intention or promise: “I’ll use/wear [it].” The ending is -ㄹ게요; with the stem 쓰-, the form is 쓸게요 (the ㅡ drops and ㄹ is added). The omitted subject is the speaker, as shown by the translation. -ㄹ게요 is used for a first-person commitment, often in response to a situation or for another person’s benefit; it is different from simply describing a future event. Putting the parts together: 소리를 틀면 means “if someone plays audio,” and 헤드폰을 쓸게요 means “I’ll use headphones.” The complete utterance is “I’ll use headphones if I play any audio.”

8. 그러면 방이 조용할 거예요.

   That will keep the room quiet.

   그러면

   then; in that case

   방

   room

   조용할

   quiet

   거예요

   will; is expected to

   More detail

   그러면 means “then” or “in that case.” It connects the sentence to a condition, situation, or decision just mentioned. In the supplied context, it points back to using headphones when playing audio. A useful pattern is 그러면 + result: “Then, …” or “In that case, …” 방 means “room.” It is a noun and can be used directly as the subject before a predicate: 방이 조용해요 means “The room is quiet.” The subject marker 이 is shown in that example; it is not part of the quoted word 방. 조용할 comes from the adjective 조용하다, “to be quiet.” The form 조용할 is the form used before 거예요 in the prediction pattern -ㄹ/을 거예요. Because 조용하다 ends in a vowel before its final 다, it uses -ㄹ: 조용하- + ㄹ → 조용할. Example: 내일은 조용할 거예요. — “Tomorrow will be quiet.” 거예요 is the spoken form used in the pattern -ㄹ/을 거예요, which presents a likely or expected future state. Here it follows 조용할, so the complete predicate means “will be quiet” or “is expected to be quiet.” The same pattern can follow a verb as well: 갈 거예요 means “will go.” Together, 그러면 sets up the consequence, 방이 identifies the room as the subject, and 조용할 거예요 predicts its quiet state. The whole utterance means “Then/in that case, the room will be quiet.” In the fixed translation, this result is naturally expressed as “That will keep the room quiet.”