Borrowing a Pen and Notebook | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 펜을 써도 돼요?

   Can I use a pen?

   펜

   pen

   써도 돼요

   is it okay to use ...?

   More detail

   펜 means “pen.” It is a noun and can be used with the object marker -을 when the pen is the thing being used: 펜을 = “a pen / the pen” as the object. The form 펜 itself does not show whether the pen is definite or indefinite; that comes from context. 써도 돼요 expresses permission: “is it okay to use/write it?” Here, 쓰다 is the base form, and in this sentence it has the meaning “use” a pen. The form 써도 combines the changed form 써 with -도, giving the pattern V-아/어도 되다 (“it is okay to V”). 돼요 is the polite present form of 되다 in this permission pattern. A useful contrast is 쓰면 안 돼요 (“you must not use it”), where -면 안 되다 expresses prohibition. In the fixed translation, the omitted subject is understood as “I,” so 펜을 써도 돼요? asks for permission for the speaker to use a pen. The object marker -을 links 펜 to 쓰다, while 써도 돼요? asks whether that action is permitted. Together, the utterance means “Can I use a pen?”

2. 컵에서 검은색 펜을 하나 가져가세요.

   Take the black one from the cup.

   컵

   cup

   에서

   from; at

   검은색

   black

   펜

   pen

   하나

   one

   가져가세요

   please take

   More detail

   컵 means “cup” here. It is a noun; the form itself does not mark whether the cup is singular or plural. Example: 컵이 있어요. — “There is a cup.” 에서 marks the place from which an action begins or the place where an action occurs. With a movement verb such as 가져가다, 컵에서 means “from the cup.” This is different from 에, which commonly marks a destination or a static location. Example: 가방에서 책을 가져가세요. — “Please take the book from the bag.” 검은색 identifies the color black and modifies the following noun, 펜. It is a color noun formed from 검다 “to be black” and 색 “color”; the observed form is the color term 검은색, not the base adjective 검다 itself. Example: 검은색 가방이에요. — “It is a black bag.” 펜 means “pen.” In the sentence, 을 follows it as the object marker: 펜을. The target text therefore explicitly names a pen, even though the fixed English translation uses “one” for the selected object. Example: 펜을 써요. — “I use a pen.” 하나 means “one” and counts the pen as one item in 펜 하나. It is a native Korean number form that can also appear independently; it is not functioning as an indefinite article here. Example: 사과 하나 주세요. — “Please give me one apple.” 가져가세요 comes from 가져가다, “to take away” or “to take with one.” The ending -세요 makes this a polite request or imperative: “please take.” The verb’s direction matters: 가져오다 means “to bring” toward the relevant place or speaker, whereas 가져가다 means “to take” away from it. Example: 이 책을 가져가세요. — “Please take this book.” Together, 컵에서 sets the source, 검은색 펜을 하나 identifies one black pen as the object, and 가져가세요 gives a polite instruction to take it. The omitted subject is the person being addressed. Thus the whole utterance means: “Please take one black pen from the cup,” consistent with the fixed translation “Take the black one from the cup.”

3. 공책도 필요해요.

   I need a notebook too.

   공책

   notebook

   도

   too; also

   필요해요

   need; be necessary

   More detail

   공책 means “notebook.” It is a noun, so it can be used with particles such as 도 to mark how it relates to the rest of the sentence. Example: 공책이 있어요. — “There is a notebook.” 도 is an additive particle meaning “too” or “also.” It attaches directly to the word or phrase being added: 공책도 means “a notebook too” or “the notebook also.” Here it marks the notebook as an additional needed item. Example: 물도 필요해요. — “I need water too.” 필요해요 means “is needed” or, with the omitted subject understood from the fixed translation, “need.” Its base form is 필요하다; 필요해요 is the polite present form. Korean commonly expresses this idea with the needed thing as the subject, so 공책이 필요해요 literally has the structure “a notebook is needed,” while the English translation naturally says “I need a notebook.” The form does not itself state who needs it; here, “I” is supplied by the fixed translation. Example: 시간이 필요해요. — “I need time.” Together, 공책도 (“a notebook too”) and 필요해요 (“is needed / I need”) produce 공책도 필요해요. — “I need a notebook too.”

4. 서랍에 오래된 공책이 하나 있어요.

   There is an old one in the drawer.

   서랍에

   in the drawer

   오래된

   old

   공책

   notebook

   하나

   one

   있어요

   there is; is present

   More detail

   서랍에 means “in the drawer.” 서랍 is “drawer,” and 에 marks a location associated with being or existing in that place. The same location pattern is reusable with other nouns: 방에 있어요 means “It is in the room.” 오래된 means “old” here, describing the notebook’s age. It is the noun-modifying form of 오래되다 (“to be old” or “to have existed for a long time”): 오래되다 → 오래된 before a noun. This is different from 낡은, which more specifically describes something as worn out or shabby. The form 오래된 공책 means “an old notebook.” 공책 means “notebook.” In the sentence, 공책이 uses 이, a subject marker; 이 follows this noun because 공책 ends in a consonant. The earlier context also establishes a notebook as the relevant item, which is why the fixed translation can say “one” rather than repeating “notebook.” 하나 means “one” and explicitly states that there is one item. It is the native Korean number form used independently here. With a suitable counting expression, it can appear in a different form, such as 한 권의 공책 (“one notebook,” using a book-like volume counter), but the observed sentence uses 하나 directly after the noun. 있어요 is the polite present form of 있다, used here to say that something exists or is present. In a location pattern, [place]에 [thing]이 있어요 means “[thing] is in/at [place]” or “There is [thing] in/at [place].” It is not the form for saying that someone possesses something; possession can also be expressed with 있다, but the surrounding structure determines that reading. Together, 서랍에 sets the location, 오래된 공책이 identifies the subject as one old notebook, 하나 gives its number, and 있어요 states its present existence there. The complete meaning is “There is one old notebook in the drawer.” In the supplied translation, “There is an old one in the drawer” uses “one” to refer back to the notebook established by the context.

5. 짧은 목록만 쓰면 돼요.

   I only need to write a short list.

   짧은

   short

   목록

   list

   만

   only

   쓰면 돼요

   need to write; it is enough to write

   More detail

   짧은 means “short” here and comes before the noun it describes. It is the attributive form of 짧다 (“to be short”): 짧다 → 짧은 목록 (“a short list”). This adjective describes the list’s length, not the amount of writing directly. 목록 means “list.” It is a noun and can combine with many descriptive words: 긴 목록 means “a long list,” while 짧은 목록 means “a short list.” 만 marks restriction: it means “only” or “just” the word or phrase before it. Thus 목록만 means “only a list,” without adding a quantity by itself. In this sentence, it restricts what needs to be written to a short list. 쓰면 돼요 is a reusable pattern meaning “it is enough if [someone] writes” or, naturally here, “only need to write.” 쓰다 is the base verb “to write.” Its conditional form is 쓰면, formed with -(으)면; after a vowel-ending stem such as 쓰-, the form is -면. 돼요 is the polite present form of 되다 (“to become; to be acceptable/possible”). Together, [verb]-(으)면 돼요 says that doing the action is sufficient: 기다리면 돼요 means “You only need to wait” or “It is enough to wait.” The subject of 쓰면 is not stated in the Korean sentence. The fixed translation identifies that actor as “I,” so the intended meaning is “if I write” rather than assigning a new participant. Korean commonly leaves a recoverable subject unspoken. Putting the parts together, 짧은 목록 is “a short list,” 목록만 restricts the object to that list, and 쓰면 돼요 says that writing it is sufficient. The whole utterance means: “I only need to write a short list.”

6. 다 쓰고 둘 다 돌려주세요.

   Bring both back when you finish.

   다 쓰고

   after finishing writing

   둘 다

   both

   돌려주세요

   please return them

   More detail

   다 쓰고 combines 다 (“completely” or “all”) with 쓰다 (“to write”). Here 쓰고 is the connective form of 쓰다: 쓰다 + -고. In this sentence, the completed writing is the condition for the requested return, so the chunk means “after finishing writing.” A reusable pattern is V-고 ..., meaning “do V and then …” or “after doing V,” depending on context. Example: 숙제를 하고 자요. — “I do my homework and then sleep.” 둘 다 means “both.” 둘 identifies two items, and 다 adds the sense “both/all of them.” The fixed translation and context support two already-understood items; the sentence does not identify them by name. 둘 다 can be placed before a verb to say that the verb applies to both items. Example: 둘 다 가져가세요. — “Please take both.” 돌려주세요 comes from the verb 돌려주다, “to return” or “give back,” in a polite request form. The ending -세요 makes the request polite: 돌려주다 → 돌려주세요. The object is omitted here because 둘 다 supplies the meaning “both of them.” Example: 책을 돌려주세요. — “Please return the book.” Together, 다 쓰고 sets the time or condition (“after you finish writing”), 둘 다 specifies that the action concerns two items (“both”), and 돌려주세요 makes the polite request (“please return them”). The whole utterance therefore means: “Bring both back when you finish.”

7. 네 책상 위에 놓을게요.

   I will put them on your desk.

   네

   your

   책상

   desk

   위에

   on top of; above

   놓을게요

   I’ll put it/them

   More detail

   네 means “your” here. In this use it is the possessive form of 너, “you,” and it comes before the noun it specifies. Korean possessive A의 B can mean “A’s B,” but in everyday speech 의 is often omitted, as in 네 책상, “your desk.” 책상 means “desk.” It is a noun and can be reused with location expressions, for example, 책상 아래 means “under the desk.” 위에 means “on top of” or “above,” with 에 marking the location. 위 is the location noun “top/upper part,” so 책상 위에 literally presents the location as “at the top of the desk,” naturally “on the desk.” This expression describes where something is placed; it does not by itself specify what the item is. 놓을게요 is the polite ending used here for “I’ll put [it/them].” The verb is 놓다, “to put/place,” and its stem combines with -을게요: 놓다 → 놓을게요. -을게요 presents the speaker’s intended action or commitment, often understood as “I’ll do it.” It is not a past-tense form. The object is omitted in the Korean sentence; the supplied translation and the preceding context identify it as the two items mentioned earlier, so “them” is appropriate here. Together, 네 책상 위에 gives the destination “on your desk,” and 놓을게요 gives the speaker’s commitment “I’ll put them.” Korean commonly leaves a recoverable object unspoken, producing the complete meaning: “I will put them on your desk.”

8. 그러면 찾기 쉬워요.

   That makes them easy to find.

   그러면

   then; in that case

   찾기

   finding; to find

   쉬워요

   is easy

   More detail

   그러면 means “then” or “in that case.” It links this sentence to the preceding situation: the speaker will put the items on the listener’s desk. Korean 그러면 combines 그렇다 (“to be so”) with -면 (“if/when”), and is also commonly used as a transition meaning “then.” 찾기 comes from the verb 찾다, “to find” or “to look for.” The ending -기 turns a verb into a noun-like expression: 찾기 is literally “finding.” In 찾기 쉬워요, this noun-like form is the subject of 쉬워요, producing the reusable pattern [verb stem]기 쉽다 (“it is easy to [verb]”). Example: 읽기 쉬워요. — “It is easy to read.” 쉬워요 is the polite present form of the descriptive verb 쉽다, “to be easy.” Its form changes from 쉽다 to 쉬워요 because 쉽다 is a ㅂ-irregular descriptive verb; the ㅂ changes when the polite ending is attached. The form does not mark gender or number. Its opposite is 어렵다 (“to be difficult”); for example, 이 책은 읽기 어려워요. means “This book is difficult to read.” Together, 찾기 (“finding”) and 쉬워요 (“is easy”) mean “is easy to find.” With 그러면 (“then/in that case”), the whole utterance means “Then, they will be easy to find” or, more literally, “Then, finding them is easy.” The context supports them as the items mentioned in the fixed translation of the preceding sentence. The Korean sentence does not state their number or repeat them as an overt object.