Finding a Missing Screw | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 작은 나사 하나를 잃어버렸어요.

   I lost a small screw.

   작은

   small

   나사

   screw

   하나

   one

   잃어버렸어요

   lost

   More detail

   작은 means “small” here and is the attributive form of 작다 (“to be small”). It comes before the noun it describes: 작은 나사 means “a small screw.” Example: 작은 상자 means “a small box.” 나사 means “screw.” It is a noun that can be modified by a word such as 작은. 하나 means “one” here. In 나사 하나, it indicates one screw; the object marker 를 is attached to it in the full sentence, giving 하나를. Thus the sentence explicitly refers to one screw as the object of the action. 잃어버렸어요 means “lost” here. It is the polite past form of 잃어버리다, meaning “to lose” or “to misplace.” The past marking shows that the loss occurred before the speaking moment, and -어요 gives the utterance a polite conversational ending. The subject is not stated in Korean; with the fixed translation, it is understood as “I.” Putting the chunks together, 작은 나사 하나를 is “one small screw” as the object, and 잃어버렸어요 says that the speaker lost it. The whole utterance means “I lost a small screw.”

2. 의자 밑을 확인해 보세요.

   Check under the chair.

   의자

   chair

   밑을

   underneath

   확인해 보세요

   please check

   More detail

   의자 means “chair” here. It is a noun and can be reused with location expressions: 의자 옆 means “beside the chair,” while 의자 밑 means “under the chair.” 밑을 is 밑 (“underneath” or “the underside”) plus 을, the object-marking particle. The particle marks what the action applies to; here, the checking is directed at the area underneath the chair. 밑 can also describe the underside of another object, as in 책상 밑 (“under the desk”). 확인해 보세요 combines 확인하다 (“to check” or “to confirm”) with -아/어 보다, which presents trying or carrying out an action, and the polite ending -세요. In this sentence, the combination is a courteous request: “please check.” The form 확인해 is the connective form of 확인하다 before 보다, and 보세요 is the polite request form in this construction. For example, 이 번호를 확인해 보세요. means “Please check this number.” Together, 의자 밑을 identifies the area to be checked, and 확인해 보세요 politely asks the listener to perform that check. The whole utterance therefore means “Check under the chair.”

3. 의자 다리 옆에 있었어요.

   It was by the chair leg.

   의자

   chair

   다리

   leg

   옆에

   beside; by

   있었어요

   was; was located

   More detail

   의자 means “chair.” It is a noun and can modify another noun directly: 의자 다리 means “chair leg,” with the first noun specifying the type or association of the second. Example: 의자 등받이 means “chair backrest.” 다리 means “leg.” In this sentence it is the head noun in 의자 다리, so the phrase refers to a leg of a chair. Korean noun-noun combinations commonly place the specifying noun first and the main noun second. 옆에 means “beside” or “by.” 옆 means “side,” and -에 marks the place where something is located. The pattern [place] 옆에 있다 means “to be beside [a place or object].” Example: 문 옆에 있어요. means “It is beside the door.” 있었어요 is the polite past form of 있다, “to exist” or “to be located.” In a location sentence, 있다 describes something being present at a place, while 있었어요 places that situation in the past. Example: 책이 책상 위에 있었어요. means “The book was on the desk.” The subject can be omitted when it is understood; the Korean sentence itself does not express the subject with a separate pronoun here. Together, 의자 다리 identifies the location reference as “the chair leg,” and 옆에 있었어요 says that the understood subject was located beside it in the past. Thus the whole utterance means “It was by the chair leg.”

4. 조심해서 주우세요.

   Pick it up carefully.

   조심해서

   carefully

   주우세요

   please pick up

   More detail

   조심해서 means “carefully” here. It comes from 조심하다, “to be careful,” and uses -아서 to connect the manner of being careful with the following action. In this sentence, it tells how the picking-up should be done; it does not by itself assert a separate cause or result. Example: 천천히 걸어서 가세요. — “Please go by walking slowly.” 주우세요 means “please pick up.” Its base form is 줍다, “to pick up.” This verb has the ㅂ irregular change: before a vowel-initial ending, 줍- changes to 주우-, as in 주워요 (“pick up” in polite speech) and 주우세요 (“please pick up”). The ending -(으)세요 expresses a polite request or instruction; it is separate from the verb’s lexical meaning. Example: 길에서 동전을 주웠어요. — “I picked up a coin in the street.” Together, 조심해서 gives the manner and 주우세요 gives the polite instruction: “Please pick it up carefully.” Korean leaves the object unspoken here; the fixed translation and context identify it as the thing that was by the chair leg and is tiny.

5. 아주 작아요.

   It is tiny.

   아주

   very

   작아요

   is small; is tiny

   More detail

   아주 intensifies the description that follows. It means “very” here and commonly comes before an adjective or descriptive verb: 아주 작아요 means “is very small” or, with the fixed translation, “is tiny.” 작아요 is the polite present form of 작다, “to be small.” The base form 작다 becomes 작아요 in the polite -요 style used for a simple present description. Korean descriptive verbs do not change for English-style gender or number, and the subject is omitted here because the fixed translation identifies it as “it.” Example: 이 가방은 작아요. — “This bag is small.” This shows the same polite descriptive pattern with an explicitly stated subject. Together, 아주 + 작아요 gives “It is very small,” naturally rendered by the fixed translation as “It is tiny.”

6. 다시 굴러가지 않도록 손바닥에 쥐고 계세요.

   Hold it in your palm so it does not roll away again.

   다시

   again

   굴러가지 않도록

   so it does not roll away

   손바닥

   palm

   쥐고 계세요

   please keep holding it

   More detail

   다시 means “again” here: it marks a repeated possible event. It can be placed before the action it modifies, as in 다시 와요 (“Come again”). 굴러가지 않도록 expresses the purpose “so that it does not roll away.” 굴러가다 means “to roll away/go rolling,” and 굴러가지 is its connective form before negation. 않도록 combines the negative 않다 (“not”) with -도록, a pattern meaning “so that” or “in order that.” The negative scope is over the rolling-away action. 손바닥 means “palm,” specifically the inside surface of the hand. It is a noun that can be used with location or containment particles, for example, 손바닥에 올려요 means “Put it on your palm.” 쥐고 계세요 means “please keep holding it.” 쥐다 is the base verb “to hold” or “to grip”; 쥐고 is its connective form. -고 있다 describes an action in progress or a continuing state, and 계세요 is the honorific form used here for the listener’s continuing action. The polite request ending makes this a respectful instruction. The object is omitted in Korean, but the fixed translation identifies it as the small item being held. Together, 다시 + 굴러가지 않도록 gives “so that it does not roll away again,” while 손바닥에 supplies the location “in/on the palm” and 쥐고 계세요 gives the respectful instruction “please keep holding it.” The complete meaning is: “Hold it in your palm so it does not roll away again.”

7. 선반을 고치는 데 그 나사가 필요해요.

   We need it to fix the shelf.

   선반

   shelf

   고치는 데

   for fixing

   그

   that

   나사

   screw

   필요해요

   is needed

   More detail

   선반 means “shelf.” It is a noun, and it can be used with particles such as 을/를 when it is the object of an action. Here, 선반을 marks the shelf as what is being fixed: 선반을 고치다 = “to fix a shelf.” 고치는 데 comes from the verb 고치다, “to fix, repair.” The form 고치는 is the present attributive form of this verb, and it modifies 데, a dependent noun meaning a situation, purpose, or occasion. In this sentence, -는 데 expresses purpose or use: “for fixing” or “in order to fix.” Example: 공부하는 데 시간이 필요해요. = “Time is needed for studying.” 그 is a demonstrative determiner meaning “that.” It comes directly before the noun it specifies. In 그 나사, it identifies the screw intended by the fixed translation’s “it”; the Korean wording makes that item explicit. 나사 means “screw.” It is the noun that is needed in this sentence. Together, 그 나사 means “that screw.” 필요해요 is the polite conversational form of the descriptive predicate 필요하다, “to be needed” or “to be necessary.” Korean commonly presents the needed item as the grammatical subject, so 그 나사가 필요해요 literally has the structure “that screw is needed.” The ending -해요 gives a polite, non-formal style. Example: 도움이 필요해요. = “Help is needed” or, naturally, “I need help.” Putting the parts together, 선반을 고치는 데 gives the purpose “to fix the shelf,” and 그 나사가 필요해요 says that the screw is needed. The whole utterance therefore means “We need it to fix the shelf,” with 그 나사 specifying what “it” is. The Korean sentence does not state an explicit word for “we”; the English translation expresses the need from the participants’ perspective.

8. 그럼 선반을 다 고칠 수 있어요.

   Then we can finish fixing it.

   그럼

   then

   선반을

   the shelf

   다

   completely

   고칠

   fix

   수 있어요

   can

   More detail

   그럼 means “then” here and links this utterance to the preceding situation. It is a useful transition word for a consequence or next step. For example, 그럼 시작해요 means “Then let’s start.” 선반을 refers to “the shelf” in this sentence. 선반 is the noun “shelf,” and 을 marks it as the object of the action. Korean object markers are 을 after a consonant and 를 after a vowel: for example, 책을 “a book” versus 의자를 “a chair.” 다 is an adverb meaning “all” or “completely.” With the repair action here, it gives the meaning “fully” or “all the way,” producing the intended sense “finish fixing.” It does not itself mark a tense. 고칠 comes from the verb 고치다, “to fix” or “repair.” The form 고칠 is the -ㄹ form used before 수 in the ability pattern -을/ㄹ 수 있다. The verb stem ends in a vowel here, so 고치다 becomes 고칠; after a consonant, the comparable form uses -을, as in 먹을 수 있어요 “can eat.” 수 있어요 completes the ability construction -을/ㄹ 수 있어요, meaning “can.” 수 is part of this grammatical construction rather than a separate English-style word for ability, and 있어요 is its polite present form. The construction can express that something is possible or that someone is able to do it. Together, 선반을 다 고칠 수 있어요 means “can completely fix the shelf.” The subject is omitted in the Korean sentence; the fixed translation and the preceding context identify the intended subject as “we.” Thus the whole utterance is: “Then we can finish fixing it,” where 그럼 supplies “then,” 선반을 supplies the object “the shelf,” 다 adds completion, and 고칠 수 있어요 expresses ability.