Cleaning Up Spilled Water | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 바닥에 물이 있어요.

   There is water on the floor.

   바닥

   floor

   물

   water

   있어요

   there is; exists

   More detail

   바닥 means “floor” here. It is a noun; with the location particle 에, 바닥에 means “on the floor” or “at the floor,” depending on the situation. Example: 책이 바닥에 있어요. — “The book is on the floor.” 물 means “water,” a mass noun. In this sentence, 물이 marks 물 with the subject particle 이. Korean commonly uses N이/가 있어요 to say that something exists or is present. 있어요 is the polite present form of 있다. It expresses existence or being located somewhere; it is not a separate word meaning “there.” The polite ending makes the statement suitable for ordinary polite conversation. Example: 여기 의자가 있어요. — “There is a chair here.” Together, 바닥에 sets the location, 물이 identifies what is present, and 있어요 states its existence there: “There is water on the floor.”

2. 문 쪽으로 퍼지고 있어요.

   It is spreading toward the door.

   문

   door

   쪽으로

   toward

   퍼지고 있어요

   is spreading

   More detail

   문 means “door” here. It is a noun and can be reused with location or direction expressions, for example 문 앞 means “in front of the door.” 쪽으로 marks movement or direction toward a side or place. The useful pattern is [place] 쪽으로, meaning “toward [place].” In this sentence, 문 쪽으로 means “toward the door.” 쪽 itself means “side” or “direction,” while -으로 marks the direction. 퍼지고 있어요 describes an action in progress. Its lexical base is 퍼지다, “to spread” or “to widen/spread out.” The form 퍼지고 있다 combines the verb stem with -고 있다 to show that the spreading is ongoing; 퍼지고 있어요 is the polite present-style form of that construction. For example, 소문이 퍼지고 있어요 means “The rumor is spreading.” Together, 문 쪽으로 supplies the direction and 퍼지고 있어요 says that something is currently spreading. The whole utterance therefore means “It is spreading toward the door.” The sentence does not identify the subject by a separate noun; the English “it” represents that understood subject.

3. 작은 병이 깨졌어요.

   The small bottle broke.

   작은

   small

   병

   bottle

   깨졌어요

   broke

   More detail

   작은 means “small” here and describes the following noun, 병. It is the form of 작다 (“to be small”) used before a noun: 작다 becomes 작은. Example: 작은 집 — “a small house.” 병 means “bottle.” It is a noun, and a descriptive modifier can come before it, as in 작은 병 (“a small bottle”). 깨졌어요 means “broke” here. It is the polite past form of 깨지다, which can describe something breaking or becoming broken without specifying a causer. The observed form is built from 깨지- plus the past-polite ending -었어요, with contraction producing 깨졌어요; -졌- should not be treated here as a separate change-of-state auxiliary. Example: 컵이 깨졌어요. — “The cup broke.” Together, 작은 병 identifies the small bottle, and 깨졌어요 says that it broke. The whole utterance is therefore “The small bottle broke.”

4. 마른 수건을 가져올게요.

   I will get a dry towel.

   마른

   dry

   수건

   towel

   가져올게요

   I’ll get it

   More detail

   마른 means “dry” here and comes from the adjective 마르다 (“to be dry”). In front of a noun, 마르다 takes the attributive form 마른: 마른 수건 = “a dry towel.” This form describes the towel’s condition; it is not a past-tense form in this phrase. Example: 마른 옷 = “dry clothes.” 수건 means “towel.” It is a noun and can be reused with other descriptions, such as 큰 수건 (“a large towel”). 가져올게요 is based on 가져오다, “to get/bring,” with the ending -ㄹ게요. In this sentence, -ㄹ게요 presents the speaker’s intention or commitment, so the meaning is “I’ll get [it].” The subject is understood as “I,” as confirmed by the fixed translation. The form 가져올게요 is polite; a less polite style is 가져올게. Together, 마른 modifies 수건, forming “a dry towel,” and 가져올게요 says that the speaker will get it. The complete utterance means: “I will get a dry towel.”

5. 먼저 가방을 옮겨 줄 수 있어요?

   Can you move the bag first?

   먼저

   first

   가방

   bag

   옮겨

   move

   줄 수 있어요?

   can you do it?

   More detail

   먼저 means “first” here: it places moving the bag before another relevant action. It is a useful sequencing word, as in 먼저 읽어요 (“Read first”). 가방 is the noun “bag.” The object marker 을 follows it in 가방을; this marks the bag as what is moved. 가방 itself does not change form for this role. 옮겨 is the connective form of 옮기다, “to move” something from one place to another. The form 옮겨 links this verb to what follows; it is not an independent past-tense form. For example, 책을 옮겨요 means “I move the book” or “I am moving the book,” while 책을 옮겨 놓아요 means “I move and put the book down.” 줄 수 있어요? completes the helpful-action construction with the preceding 옮겨: 옮겨 주다 means “to move it for someone,” and 옮겨 줄 수 있어요? asks whether the listener can do that. -ㄹ 수 있어요? is a capability/request pattern meaning “can you …?”; 있어요 is the polite present form of 있다 in this construction. For example, 도와줄 수 있어요? means “Can you help?” Together, 먼저 (“first”) + 가방을 (“the bag,” marked as the object) + 옮겨 줄 수 있어요? (“can you move it for me?”) produces the fixed meaning: “Can you move the bag first?” The polite question requests that the listener move the bag before the other action being considered.

6. 가방을 의자 위에 놓을게요.

   I will put it on the chair.

   가방

   bag

   의자

   chair

   위에

   on top of; above

   놓을게요

   I’ll put it

   More detail

   가방 means “bag” here and is the thing being put somewhere. The following object marker 을 marks it as the object of 놓다; 가방을 therefore means “the bag” as the object of the action. The Korean noun itself does not change for number in this form. 의자 means “chair.” In 의자 위에, it identifies the surface or position involved. Korean commonly places a noun before 위 to express “the top of/on top of” that noun; 에 marks the destination or location. 위에 means “on top of” or “above” in this sentence. 위 is the noun “top” or “upper part,” and 에 marks the place toward which something is put or where it is located. Compare 의자 위에 놓다, “put [something] on the chair,” with 의자 아래에 놓다, “put [something] under the chair.” 놓을게요 comes from the verb 놓다, “to put” or “to place,” plus -(으)ㄹ게요. The form 놓을게요 is used by the speaker to state a willing intention or commitment: “I’ll put it.” Because 놓다 ends in a vowel sound, this ending appears as -ㄹ게요 after the verb stem, producing 놓을게요. The subject is understood from the ending as the speaker, while the object is understood from the context and the preceding 가방을; Korean does not need to repeat either pronoun. Together, 가방을 marks the bag as the object, 의자 위에 gives the destination “on the chair,” and 놓을게요 expresses the speaker’s intention to place it there. The whole utterance means: “I will put it on the chair.”

7. 그러면 우리는 바닥을 청소할 수 있어요.

   Then we can clean the floor.

   그러면

   then

   우리는

   we

   바닥

   floor

   청소할 수 있어요

   can clean

   More detail

   그러면 means “then” or “in that case.” It connects this sentence to a condition or situation and presents the result that follows. For example, 비가 안 오면 그러면 갈 수 있어요 means “If it does not rain, then we can go.” 우리는 means “we” as the topic of the sentence. 우리 means “we/our,” and 는 marks it as the topic. The form 우리 does not change for gender; 는 is a topic marker. For example, 우리는 학생이에요 means “We are students.” 바닥 means “floor.” It is a noun and can be used with location or object markers depending on its role: 바닥에 means “on/at the floor,” while 바닥을 means “the floor” as the object of an action. Here, 을 marks 바닥 as the thing being cleaned. 청소할 수 있어요 expresses “can clean.” 청소하다 means “to clean”; its form before 수 is 청소할, using the verb form 청소하- plus ㄹ. The pattern 동사-(으)ㄹ 수 있다 expresses ability or possibility: 청소할 수 있어요 means “can clean,” while 청소할 수 없어요 means “cannot clean.” 수 있어요 is not itself a future marker; the surrounding context determines whether the possibility concerns now or another time. The ending 어요 makes the statement polite in this context. Together, 그러면 (“then”), 우리는 (“we”), 바닥을 (“the floor” as the object), and 청소할 수 있어요 (“can clean”) produce: “Then we can clean the floor.” The sentence presents cleaning the floor as an available possibility for “we” under the situation already established.

8. 가방은 거기에서 계속 마른 채로 있을 거예요.

   The bag will stay dry there.

   가방

   bag

   거기에서

   there

   계속

   continuously

   마른 채로

   in a dry state

   있을 거예요

   will stay

   More detail

   가방 means “bag.” Here, 가방은 makes the bag the topic; 는 marks what the sentence is about. The noun itself does not show number, so it can refer to one bag or more than one depending on context. 거기에서 means “there” here. 거기 is a place word meaning “there,” and 에서 marks the place associated with the situation. In this sentence, the bag is expected to remain dry there. 계속 means “continuously” or “without stopping.” It emphasizes that the state continues rather than occurring only briefly. For example, 비가 계속 와요. means “The rain keeps falling.” 마른 채로 describes remaining in a dry state. 마른 is the form of the descriptive verb 마르다 (“to be dry”) used before 채; it is not a form of 가방. 채로 means “in the state of” or “while maintaining the condition.” For example, 창문을 연 채로 두었어요. means “I left the window open.” 있을 거예요 expresses an expected future state with 있다 (“to be” or “to remain”) and the future-expectation construction -을 거예요. 있을 is the future-oriented modifier of 있다. With 계속, 있다 is understood as “remain” or “stay,” rather than merely indicating existence at a moment. Together, 가방은 sets the bag as the topic, 거기에서 places the situation there, 계속 shows that the condition continues, and 마른 채로 있을 거예요 predicts that the bag will remain dry. The whole utterance means: “The bag will stay dry there.”