Deciding Whether to Stay Inside in Bad Weather | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 날씨가 안 좋아 보여요.

   The weather looks bad.

   날씨

   weather

   안 좋아

   not good

   보여요

   looks; seems

   More detail

   날씨 means “weather.” It is a noun and can be reused in compounds or sentences such as 날씨가 좋아요 — “The weather is good.” The particle 가 marks 날씨 as the subject of the description. 안 좋아 means “is not good” here. The underlying descriptive form is 좋다 (“to be good”), and 안 places negation before it: 안 좋아요 — “It isn’t good.” In this sentence, 안 좋아 is followed by 보여요, so the phrase describes how the weather appears rather than making a direct report about every aspect of it. 보여요 means “looks” or “seems” here. It is the polite present form related to 보이다, “to appear” or “to be seen”; it is not the ordinary verb 보다 (“to see/watch”). A useful pattern is A-아/어 보여요, meaning “A looks/seems …”: 피곤해 보여요 — “You look tired.” Together, 날씨가 (“the weather”), 안 좋아 (“not good”), and 보여요 (“looks/seems”) produce the polite observation “The weather looks bad.”

2. 폭풍이 올지도 몰라요.

   A storm may be coming.

   폭풍

   storm

   올

   come

   지도 몰라요

   may / might

   More detail

   폭풍 means “storm.” It is a noun; the subject marker 이 follows it because the noun ends in a consonant: 폭풍이 = “a/the storm” as the subject. The sentence itself does not specify whether this is a particular storm or one being introduced in the situation. 올 comes from 오다, “to come.” Here 오다 is changed to 올 before 지도 몰라요; this form presents coming as a possible event. The same form can also appear before a noun in other patterns, but here it is part of the possibility construction, not an independent noun. 지도 몰라요 is a polite possibility pattern. -ㄹ지도 모르다 / -을지도 모르다 expresses “may” or “might,” and 몰라요 is the polite present form of 모르다, “not know.” In this construction, the expression as a whole signals uncertainty about whether the preceding event will happen. After a vowel, -ㄹ지도 모르다 is used, as in 올지도 몰라요; after a consonant, -을지도 모르다 is used. For example, 비가 올지도 몰라요. means “It might rain.” Together, 폭풍이 identifies the storm as the subject, 올 presents its coming as the possible event, and 지도 몰라요 marks that possibility. The complete utterance means “A storm may be coming.”

3. 우리 안에 있을까요?

   Should we stay inside?

   우리

   we; us

   안에

   inside

   있을까요?

   should ... stay?

   More detail

   우리 means “we” or “us” here: the speaker includes themself in the group being asked about. It can also mean “our” in possessive expressions, but that is not its role in this sentence. Example: 우리 같이 가요. — “Let’s go together.” 안에 means “inside.” 안 means “inside,” and -에 marks the relevant place or direction. With 있다, as here, it identifies the place where someone or something is or stays. Example: 집 안에 있어요. — “I am inside the house.” 있을까요? combines 있다 (“to be; to stay”) with -(으)ㄹ까요?. Here 있다 means “stay” or “be,” and -(으)ㄹ까요? presents a suggestion or proposal: “Should we ...?” The verb stem is 있-, which ends in a consonant, so this form uses -을까요?: 있- + -을까요? → 있을까요?. For comparison, a stem ending in a vowel uses -ㄹ까요?, as in 가다 → 갈까요? (“Shall we go?”). In this context, the ending asks the group to consider staying inside. Together, 우리 안에 있을까요? means “Should we stay inside?” 우리 identifies the group, 안에 gives the location, and 있을까요? makes the proposal a polite question.

4. 폭풍이 지나갈 때까지 여기서 기다려요.

   Let's wait here until it passes.

   폭풍이

   the storm

   지나갈

   will pass

   때까지

   until

   여기서

   here

   기다려요

   wait

   More detail

   폭풍이 means “the storm” here. 폭풍 is the noun “storm,” and 이 marks it as the subject of 지나가다. The subject marker 이 is used after a noun ending in a consonant; after a vowel, the corresponding subject marker is 가. 지나갈 comes from 지나가다, “to pass.” The ending -ㄹ makes the verb modify the following noun 때 (“time”), giving the pattern V-(으)ㄹ 때까지, “until the time when V happens.” Here, the passing is treated as an anticipated event, so 지나갈 때까지 means “until it passes.” Example: 비가 그칠 때까지 기다려요. — “Let’s wait until the rain stops.” 때까지 combines 때 (“time”) with 까지 (“up to/until”), marking the endpoint of the waiting. The same 까지 can mark an endpoint in space or a limit in time; here it is temporal because it follows 때. 여기서 means “here” as the place where the action occurs. 여기 means “here,” and 에서 marks the location of an action such as waiting. This differs from 여기에, which commonly marks a destination or a location where something exists: 여기에 앉아요. — “Sit here.” 기다려요 comes from 기다리다, “to wait.” It is the polite 해요-style form used in ordinary conversation. The form itself does not grammatically encode the English subject “we” or the suggestion “let’s”; in this fixed utterance, the translation establishes that the omitted subject is understood as “we” and that the utterance is a proposal to wait. Together, 폭풍이 지나갈 때까지 sets the endpoint “until the storm passes,” 여기서 gives the place “here,” and 기다려요 supplies the polite proposal “let’s wait.” The whole utterance therefore means: “Let’s wait here until it passes.”

5. 폭풍이 멈춘 후에 밖에 나갈 수 있을까요?

   Can we go out after it stops?

   폭풍이

   the storm

   멈춘

   stopped

   후에

   after

   밖에

   outside

   나갈

   go out

   수 있을까요?

   could it be possible?

   More detail

   폭풍이 means “the storm” here. 폭풍 is a noun, and 이 marks it as the subject of 멈추다 (“to stop”). The translation identifies this subject as “it,” referring to the storm. 멈춘 comes from 멈추다 (“to stop”). Before a following noun, its completed-event form is 멈춘: 멈춘 후에 means “after [it] stops.” This form describes the stopping as the event that must happen first. 후에 means “after” and follows an event or time expression. A reusable pattern is 동사-(으)ㄴ 후에 (“after doing …”): 식사한 후에 means “after eating.” 밖에 means “outside” in this sentence. With movement verbs such as 나가다, 밖에 나가다 means “to go outside.” Here 에 marks the destination or place associated with the movement. 나갈 comes from 나가다 (“to go out” or “to leave”). Its -ㄹ form is used before 수 in the possibility pattern: 나갈 수 있다 means “can go out” or “it is possible to go out.” 수 있을까요? is a polite question asking whether something will be possible. 수 있다 expresses ability or possibility, while -을까요? makes a tentative, polite question. In 나갈 수 있을까요?, the complete chunk asks, “Can we go out?” The target sentence does not state an explicit Korean subject for “we”; that participant is supplied by the intended translation and context. Together, 폭풍이 멈춘 후에 sets the condition “after the storm stops,” and 밖에 나갈 수 있을까요? asks whether going outside will then be possible. The whole utterance means: “Can we go out after it stops?”

6. 우리는 날씨를 다시 확인하고 그때 결정할 수 있어요.

   We can check the weather again and decide then.

   우리는

   we

   날씨를

   the weather

   다시

   again

   확인하고

   check and

   그때

   then

   결정할 수 있어요

   can decide

   More detail

   우리는 means “we” here. 우리 is the first-person plural pronoun, and 는 marks it as the topic. In other contexts, 우리 can also mean “our,” with the following noun making that possessive meaning clear. Example: 우리는 기다려요. — “We wait.” 날씨를 means “the weather” as the object being checked. 날씨 is the noun “weather,” and 를 marks the object of the action. The object marker is attached to a noun ending in a vowel; after a consonant, Korean uses 을 instead. Example: 날씨를 봐요. — “I look at the weather.” 다시 means “again.” It indicates that the checking will happen one more time, rather than for the first time. Example: 다시 읽어요. — “I read it again.” 확인하고 comes from the verb 확인하다, “to check” or “to confirm.” The ending -고 connects this action to the next one: 확인하고 is “check and …” The subject remains 우리, so the same “we” carries out both connected actions. Example: 문을 확인하고 나가요. — “I check the door and go out.” 그때 means “then” or “at that time.” It points to the time established by the situation—in this sentence, the time after checking the weather again. Example: 그때 결정해요. — “I’ll decide then.” 결정할 수 있어요 expresses “can decide.” 결정하다 is the verb “to decide.” In 결정할 수 있어요, 결정할 is the verb form used before 수, and 수 있다 is the pattern for possibility or ability: literally, “there is a way/possibility to decide.” 있어요 is the polite present form of 있다, “to exist” or “to be.” Example: 내일 결정할 수 있어요. — “We can decide tomorrow.” Together, 확인하고 connects the first action to 결정할 수 있어요: “check and can decide.” The complete utterance says that we can check the weather again and then decide at that time. The polite -어요 style is appropriate for ordinary courteous conversation.

7. 우리는 기다리는 동안 차를 좀 만들 수 있어요.

   We can make some tea while we wait.

   우리는

   we

   기다리는 동안

   while waiting

   차

   tea

   좀

   some

   만들

   make

   수 있어요

   can

   More detail

   우리는 means “we” here. 우리 is the first-person plural pronoun, and 는 marks it as the topic. The same form 우리 can also mean “our” before a noun, so its role comes from the surrounding structure. Example: 우리는 차를 마셔요. — “We drink tea.” 기다리는 동안 means “while waiting.” 기다리다 is “to wait”; 기다리는 is its present attributive form, used before 동안 (“during/while”). The pattern [verb-는] 동안 describes an action that is in progress during another event. Example: 비가 오는 동안 여기 있어요. — “Stay here while it rains.” 차 means “tea” in this utterance, as fixed by the translation. Korean 차 can have other meanings in other contexts, but here it is the drink that will be made. Example: 차를 마셔요. — “I drink tea.” 좀 contributes “some” here. It indicates an unspecified amount of tea rather than asserting an exact quantity. It can also soften certain requests in other sentences, but that is not the main function established by this utterance. 만들 comes from the verb 만들다, “to make.” This is the form used before 수 in the ability/possibility pattern; the final ㄹ of 만들다 remains in 만들. It is not a separate verb meaning “make” outside this construction. Example: 케이크를 만들어요. — “I make a cake.” 수 있어요 completes the pattern [verb-(으)ㄹ 수 있다], meaning that someone can or is able to do something. With 만들다, the result is 만들 수 있어요, “can make.” 있어요 is the polite present form of 있다; in this pattern, 수 있다 expresses possibility or ability. A negative counterpart is 만들 수 없어요, “cannot make.” Together, 우리는 sets “we” as the topic, 기다리는 동안 gives the time—during the waiting—차 좀 identifies some tea as what is made, and 만들 수 있어요 says that making it is possible. The whole utterance therefore means: “We can make some tea while we wait.”

8. 그러면 시간을 보내는 데 도움이 될 거예요.

   That will help pass the time.

   그러면

   then; in that case

   시간

   time

   보내는

   spending; passing

   도움

   help

   될 거예요

   will be; will become

   More detail

   그러면 means “then” or “in that case.” It links the utterance to a condition or situation already understood. A reusable pattern is 그러면 + result, as in 그러면 시작해요. — “Then let’s start.” 시간 means “time.” In 시간을, the particle 을 marks 시간 as the object of the following action. The form 시간을 보내다 is the common expression “to spend time” or “to pass the time.” 보내는 comes from the verb 보내다, “to spend” or “to send.” Here it means “spending/passing” time, not “sending” something. The ending -는 makes a present-tense verb modifier before a noun or noun-like expression: 읽는 책 means “a book that someone reads/is reading.” In 시간을 보내는 데, 보내는 데 means “in spending time” or “for spending time.” 도움 means “help.” In the pattern 도움이 되다, literally “become help,” it means “be helpful” or “help.” The particle 이 marks 도움 as the subject of 되다; it does not mean that 도움 itself is becoming a different object in this context. For example, 이 책은 공부에 도움이 돼요. means “This book is helpful for studying.” 될 거예요 contains 되다, “to become” or, in this expression, “to be helpful,” followed by -(으)ㄹ 거예요, a form commonly used for an expected or predicted future. The observed form 될 is the future-modifying form of 되다, and 거예요 completes the prediction. Together with 도움이, 도움이 될 거예요 means “will be helpful” or “will help.” The chunks combine as 그러면 (“then/in that case”) + 시간을 보내는 데 (“for spending or passing the time”) + 도움이 될 거예요 (“will be helpful”). Thus the whole utterance means “That will help pass the time.”