Checking a table-setting list | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 목록을 봐요.

   Let's look at the list.

   목록

   list

   봐요

   look at; see

   More detail

   목록 means “list.” It is a noun and can refer to an organized set of items, such as a contents list or menu. In 목록을, the particle 을 marks 목록 as the object of the action. Korean object particles are 을 after a consonant-final noun and 를 after a vowel-final noun. 봐요 is the polite, conversational form of 보다, “to look at” or “to see.” Here it means “look at,” with the list as its object. 보다 is the base form; 봐요 is formed with the polite -요 style and the contracted vowel sequence. Example: 사진을 봐요. — “I look at the picture.” Together, 목록을 봐요. means “Let’s look at the list.” The structure is object + 을/를 + 봐요: literally, “look at the list,” expressed in a polite conversational way. In this context, the polite form can function as a gentle suggestion addressed to the listener.

2. 여기 있어요.

   I have it here.

   여기

   here

   있어요

   is; exists; have

   More detail

   여기 means “here,” referring to the location relevant in the situation. It is a place word and can stand before a verb of existence or location. Example: 여기 있어요. — “It is here.” 있어요 is the polite-present form of 있다, “to exist,” “to be located,” or, with an understood possessor, “to have.” In this sentence, the fixed translation supports the possession reading: the speaker has the relevant item here. The form is not itself a separate word meaning “I”; the possessor is understood from context. 있다 contrasts with 없다, “not to exist” or “not to have.” Example: 책이 있어요. — “There is a book” or “I have a book,” depending on context. Together, 여기 + 있어요 gives “is here.” With the context-supported understood possessor and item, the complete meaning is “I have it here.”

3. 컵은 준비됐어요?

   Are the cups ready?

   컵

   cup(s)

   준비됐어요

   be ready

   More detail

   컵 means “cup.” It is a noun, and Korean does not require a plural ending here; in this utterance, the fixed translation identifies it as “cups.” The attached topic marker 은 presents the cups as the topic: 컵은 = “as for the cups.” 준비됐어요 means “are ready.” It is the polite present form of 준비되다 (“to become/be prepared”): 준비되다 → 준비됐어요. The shortened form 됐어요 comes from 되었어요; it describes the resulting state, so 준비됐어요 asks whether the preparation is complete and the cups are ready. A related contrast is 준비했어요, “prepared [something],” which focuses on someone’s action rather than the cups’ resulting state. Together, 컵은 (“as for the cups”) and 준비됐어요? (“are [they] ready?”) form the question “Are the cups ready?” Korean often leaves a subject pronoun unstated when the topic is already clear. Here, 은 marks 컵 as that topic, and the polite ending -어요 makes the question suitable for ordinary polite conversation.

4. 제가 다 씻었어요.

   I washed them all.

   제가

   I (subject)

   다

   all

   씻었어요

   washed

   More detail

   제가 is the first-person subject form: 저 means “I” in a humble/polite style, and -가 marks the subject. The form 저 changes to 제 before -가, so 제가 is not a separate base pronoun. It identifies the speaker as the person who performed the action. 다 means “all” or “everything” in this sentence. It applies to the omitted object: with the preceding question about the cups, the intended meaning is that the speaker washed all of them. Korean often leaves an understood object unspoken when the context makes it clear. 씻었어요 comes from 씻다, “to wash.” The ending -었어요 marks a completed past action in the polite -어요 style: 씻다 → 씻었어요. Here 씻다 is used for washing the cups, rather than for washing oneself. Example: 손을 씻었어요. — “I washed my hands.” Together, 제가 (“I,” as subject), 다 (“all”), and 씻었어요 (“washed”) produce “I washed them all.” The subject is explicit, while the object is omitted because the surrounding context identifies it.

5. 빠진 게 있어요?

   Is anything missing?

   빠진

   missing; left out

   게

   thing; something

   있어요?

   is there?

   More detail

   빠진 means “missing” here: it is the attributive form of 빠지다, “to be left out” or “to be missing.” The form 빠지다 → 빠진 describes something as having been left out or missing. Example: 빠진 단어가 있어요. — “There is a missing word.” 게 is a contraction of 것이: 것 (“thing”) plus the subject marker 이. In 빠진 게, it nominalizes the description, giving the pattern 빠진 게 ... — “the thing that is missing ...” or, naturally in this question, “anything missing ...”. 것 can refer to a thing or situation; the contraction 게 is common in conversational Korean. 있어요? is the polite present question form of 있다, meaning “is there?” or “exists?” In this sentence it asks whether a missing item exists, rather than asking whether someone possesses something. The polite statement is 있어요 (“there is”); rising question intonation or the question mark makes it “Is there ...?” Together, 빠진 게 있어요? literally asks whether there is a thing that has been left out. With the fixed meaning, the natural translation is “Is anything missing?”

6. 숟가락 하나가 아직 필요해요.

   We still need one spoon.

   숟가락

   spoon

   하나

   one

   아직

   still; yet

   필요해요

   is needed; need

   More detail

   숟가락 means “spoon.” It is a noun. In this sentence it is the thing that is needed. Example: 숟가락이 필요해요. — “A spoon is needed.” 하나 is the native Korean number “one.” After a noun, it can indicate one item of that kind: 숟가락 하나 means “one spoon.” For counting many objects, Korean also commonly uses a counter, as in 숟가락 한 개 (“one spoon”); 하나 here is the observed number form and should not be treated as part of the noun. 아직 means “still” here. It shows that the need continues at this point. It can also mean “yet” in a negative or question context, but that is not the meaning expressed in this affirmative sentence. 필요해요 comes from 필요하다, “to be necessary” or “to be needed.” The ending -해요 gives a polite, everyday form. Korean commonly presents the needed thing as the subject with 이/가: 숟가락이 필요해요. — “A spoon is needed.” In English, this is naturally expressed as “We need a spoon,” with the people who need it as the subject. Together, 숟가락 하나 identifies one spoon, 아직 says the need remains, and 필요해요 says it is needed. The full utterance therefore means “We still need one spoon.”

7. 제가 하나 더 가져올 수 있어요.

   I can get another one.

   제가

   I

   하나

   one item

   더

   another; additionally

   가져올

   get; bring

   수 있어요

   can

   More detail

   제가 combines 저 (“I,” the speaker) with the subject marker 가. The form 제가 identifies the speaker as the subject; 저 is the polite/subject form used instead of the less polite 나 in this setting. 하나 is the native Korean counting word for “one,” and it can stand alone when the thing being counted is understood. Here it refers to one additional item, without repeating the item’s noun. A useful pattern is 하나 더 = “one more” or “another one.” 더 is an adverb meaning “more” or “additionally.” In 하나 더, it adds one to the already understood amount; it does not itself name the item. 가져올 comes from the verb 가져오다, “to bring” or, depending on context, “to get and bring.” The ending -ㄹ makes an adnominal form that can come before 수 in an ability/possibility construction. Thus 가져올 수 is the form “can bring/get,” rather than a standalone finite verb. 수 있어요 is a common construction expressing ability or possibility: 동사-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요 means “can [verb].” 있어요 is the polite present form of 있다 (“to exist/be”), but in this construction the whole expression gives the meaning “can,” not simple physical existence. Putting the parts together, 제가 marks the speaker as the person who will act, 하나 더 means “one more,” and 가져올 수 있어요 means “can get/bring.” The complete utterance is therefore “I can get another one.”

8. 그럼 식탁이 준비됐어요.

   Then the table is set.

   그럼

   then

   식탁

   table

   준비됐어요

   is set

   More detail

   그럼 is a shortened form of 그러면, meaning “then” or “in that case.” Here it links this sentence to the preceding statement: “Then…” It is a useful conversational connector, not a noun or a verb. Example: 그럼 지금 가요. — “Then let’s go now.” 식탁 means “dining table” or, in this context, simply “the table” being prepared for a meal. It is a noun. The first element, 식, relates to meals or eating, and 탁 relates to a table, but 식탁 should be learned as the established word for a dining table rather than as a freely assembled phrase. Example: 식탁에 앉아요. — “I sit at the table.” 준비됐어요 means “is set” here. The underlying form is 준비되다, “to become/be prepared” or “to be ready.” 준비됐어요 is the polite spoken form of 준비되었어요; the sequence 되었 is commonly shortened to 됐. The form uses 되다, so it presents the table as being in a prepared state, rather than using 준비하다, “to prepare,” which would present someone as actively preparing it. In this sentence, the polite ending -어요 makes the statement suitable for ordinary polite conversation. Example: 회의실이 준비됐어요. — “The meeting room is ready.” Together, 식탁이 준비됐어요 means “the table is set.” 식탁 is the subject, marked by 이, and 준비됐어요 says that it is now in a prepared state. The full utterance, 그럼 식탁이 준비됐어요., is therefore “Then the table is set.”