Preparing drinks and snacks for a guest | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 우리 손님이 곧 도착할 거예요.

   Our guest will arrive soon.

   우리

   our

   손님

   guest

   곧

   soon

   도착할 거예요

   will arrive

   More detail

   우리 means “our” here and comes before the noun it specifies. In this use, it marks a relationship or association; it does not itself show whether the noun is singular or plural. Example: 우리 집 means “our house.” 손님 is the noun meaning “guest” in this sentence. Depending on context, it can also mean a customer or visitor, but the fixed translation identifies the intended meaning here. Korean nouns do not normally mark singular versus plural, so 손님 can refer to one or more guests when context allows. Example: 손님이 왔어요. means “A guest came.” 곧 is an adverb meaning “soon,” indicating that the arrival is expected in the near future. Example: 수업이 곧 시작해요. means “The class starts soon.” 도착할 거예요 expresses that someone or something will arrive. Its base verb is 도착하다, “to arrive.” The form -(으)ㄹ 거예요 is a common polite pattern for a future expectation or plan; after the vowel-ending stem 도착하-, it gives 도착할 거예요. The subject is understood from the sentence or context and does not have to be repeated. Example: 기차가 곧 도착할 거예요. means “The train will arrive soon.” Together, 우리 손님 means “our guest,” 곧 adds “soon,” and 도착할 거예요 says that the guest will arrive. The subject marker 이 appears after 손님, producing 손님이, and the complete utterance means “Our guest will arrive soon.”

2. 커피를 낼까요, 차를 낼까요?

   Should we serve coffee or tea?

   커피

   coffee

   낼까요

   shall we serve?

   차

   tea

   More detail

   커피 means coffee here. It is a noun and can be used with the object marker 를: 커피를 means “coffee” as the thing being served. Example: 커피를 마셔요. — “I drink coffee.” 낼까요 is the form of 내다 used to ask about a proposed action: “shall we serve...?” In this context, 내다 means to bring out or serve food or drink, not its other possible meanings such as “to pay” or “to submit.” The form is built from 내다 plus -(으)ㄹ까요?; because the verb stem ends in a vowel, it appears as 낼까요. This ending commonly asks for agreement about a suggestion. Example: 물을 낼까요? — “Shall we serve water?” 차 means tea here. It is a noun; with the object marker it becomes 차를, meaning “tea” as the thing being served. Example: 차를 마셔요. — “I drink tea.” The utterance uses the reusable pattern A를 V-ㄹ까요, B를 V-ㄹ까요? to offer two alternatives and ask which action to choose. 커피를 낼까요 asks whether to serve coffee, and 차를 낼까요? asks whether to serve tea. Together, with the intended subject “we” supplied by the translation, the sentence means “Should we serve coffee or tea?”

3. 오늘 저녁에는 차가 더 좋을 것 같아요.

   Tea is probably better this evening.

   오늘

   today

   저녁

   evening

   차

   tea

   더

   more; better

   좋을 것 같아요

   seems good

   More detail

   오늘 means “today.” It is a time noun and can be placed before another time expression to specify the day: 오늘 아침 means “this morning.” Example: 오늘 비가 와요. — “It is raining today.” 저녁 means “evening” or “dinner,” depending on context. Here, with 오늘 and the time-marking 에는, it refers to this evening as the relevant time. Example: 저녁에 만나요. — “Let’s meet in the evening.” 차 means “tea” here. It is a noun; the surrounding context makes it the drink being considered alongside coffee. Example: 차를 마셔요. — “I drink tea.” 더 means “more” and, with a comparative context, “better.” It indicates that one option has a greater degree of a quality than another. Here it compares tea with the coffee mentioned in the preceding question. Example: 이것이 더 좋아요. — “This is better.” 좋을 것 같아요 is a common way to say “seems good” or “is probably good.” Its base adjective is 좋다, “to be good.” In 좋을 것 같아요, 좋을 is the form used before 것 in the pattern -(으)ㄹ 것 같다, which expresses an expectation or inference rather than a definite statement. 같아요 is the polite present form of 같다, “to be similar/seem”; in this construction, the whole expression means “it seems that…” or “probably…”. Example: 내일은 추울 것 같아요. — “It will probably be cold tomorrow.” Together, 오늘 저녁에는 sets this evening as the topic or time, 차가 makes tea the subject, 더 marks a comparison, and 좋을 것 같아요 presents the speaker’s judgment as a likelihood. The complete meaning is: “Tea is probably better this evening.”

4. 주전자에 물을 좀 끓일게요.

   I'll boil some water in the kettle.

   주전자

   kettle

   물

   water

   좀

   some; a little

   끓일게요

   I’ll boil

   More detail

   주전자 means “kettle.” It is a noun. With 에, as in 주전자에, it identifies the container in which the action takes place: 주전자에 물을 끓이다 means “boil water in the kettle.” 물 means “water.” It is a noun, and 물을 marks it as the object of 끓이다; the final 을 is the object particle after a consonant-ending noun. Example: 물을 마셔요. — “I drink water.” 좀 means “some” or “a little” here. It softens the request or statement and does not by itself specify an exact amount. Example: 물 좀 주세요. — “Please give me some water.” 끓일게요 comes from the verb 끓이다, “to boil,” plus -(으)ㄹ게요. The stem 끓이- becomes 끓일게요 before this ending. -(으)ㄹ게요 commonly presents the speaker’s intention or commitment to do something, often with the listener in mind. It is not simply a neutral future tense. Example: 제가 차를 끓일게요. — “I’ll make the tea.” Together, 주전자에 sets the kettle as the container, 물을 identifies water as what will be boiled, 좀 makes the amount nonspecific and mild, and 끓일게요 says that the speaker will boil it. The complete meaning is: “I’ll boil some water in the kettle.”

5. 우리 손님에게 큰 머그컵을 써 주세요.

   Please use the large mug for our guest.

   우리

   our

   손님에게

   for the guest

   큰

   large

   머그컵

   mug

   써 주세요

   please use

   More detail

   우리 means “our” here. Korean 우리 can refer to the speaker alone or to a group including the speaker; it does not mark an exclusive “our.” In this sentence, the translation supports the reading “our guest,” but the form itself does not identify the group’s members. 손님에게 combines 손님 (“guest,” and in other contexts “customer”) with 에게, a particle used for a person who receives something or is the target of an action. Here it presents the guest as the person for whom the mug is intended. For a non-person destination, Korean commonly uses 에 instead. 큰 is the noun-modifying form of 크다, “to be big/large.” The form chain is 크다 → 큰 before a noun. Thus 큰 머그컵 means “a large mug”; 큰 describes 머그컵, not 손님. The form 큰 is an attributive form, so it appears directly before the noun it modifies. 머그컵 is the noun “mug.” It is a loanword-based Korean compound commonly used for a mug or handled drinking cup. In the sentence, it is the object of the requested use. 써 주세요 is the polite request pattern 동사 stem + 아/어 주세요, meaning “please do [the action].” The verb here is 쓰다, “to use,” and its form before 주세요 is 써: 쓰다 → 써 + 주세요. The vowel contraction is part of the observed form; 써 is not a separate verb meaning “use.” 주세요 literally contains “give,” but in this pattern it helps make a polite request for someone to perform the preceding action. Putting the chunks together, 우리 identifies the relevant “our” relationship, 손님에게 marks the guest as the intended person, 큰 머그컵 names the large mug, and 써 주세요 asks the listener to use it. The complete meaning is “Please use the large mug for our guest.”

6. 제가 간식도 준비할까요?

   Would you like me to prepare snacks too?

   제가

   I (subject form)

   간식

   snack(s)

   도

   also; too

   준비할까요?

   Shall I prepare?

   More detail

   제가 means “I” as the subject. It is the humble first-person pronoun 저 plus the subject particle 가; this combination appears as 제가, not the ordinary 나는/내가 choice used in every situation. The particle marks the person who carries out the action. 간식 is the noun “snack” or “snacks.” Korean nouns do not normally change form for singular versus plural, so this form can cover either reading when the context does not require a distinction. 도 is an additive particle meaning “also” or “too.” It attaches directly to the word or phrase being added: 간식도 means “snacks too.” 준비할까요? asks, “Shall I prepare [it/them]?” The verb is 준비하다, “to prepare.” Its stem is 준비하-; before -(으)ㄹ까요?, it becomes 준비할까요?. This ending commonly makes a polite offer or suggestion about what the speaker might do, and here the subject 제가 shows that the speaker is offering to do the preparing. For example, 제가 도와드릴까요? means “Shall I help you?” Together, 제가 identifies the speaker as the person who may act, 간식도 adds snacks to something already under consideration, and 준비할까요? turns 준비하다 into a polite offer. The complete meaning is: “Would you like me to prepare snacks too?”

7. 작은 접시에 비스킷을 좀 놓아 주세요.

   Put some biscuits on the small plate, please.

   작은

   small

   접시

   plate

   비스킷

   biscuits

   좀

   some

   놓아 주세요

   please put

   More detail

   작은 means “small” here and appears before the noun it describes. It is the attributive form of 작다 (“to be small”): 작다 → 작은 before a noun. The form agrees with neither number nor gender; Korean does not mark those categories on this adjective. 접시 means “plate.” In 접시에, the particle -에 marks the place where something is put. A reusable pattern is [place]에 [object]을/를 놓다 (“put [object] on/in [place]”). 비스킷 means “biscuit.” In 비스킷을, -을 marks it as the object of the action. Korean often uses this object-marking particle after a noun ending in a consonant; after a vowel, -를 is used instead. 좀 contributes “some” in this sentence, referring to an unspecified amount of biscuits. In requests, 좀 can also make the request sound less abrupt, but here the fixed translation supports the amount meaning as well. 놓아 주세요 is a polite request meaning “please put [it/them]” or “please place [it/them].” Its base verb is 놓다 (“to put, place”); 놓아 is its connective form, followed by 주세요 in the request pattern -아/어 주세요. This pattern asks someone to do an action for the speaker: for example, 기다려 주세요 means “Please wait.” The object is supplied earlier here by 비스킷을, so the request is to put the biscuits. Together, 작은 접시에 identifies the destination as the small plate, 비스킷을 좀 identifies an unspecified amount of biscuits, and 놓아 주세요 makes a polite request to place them there. The whole utterance is therefore: “Put some biscuits on the small plate, please.”

8. 그 손님이 도착하기 전에 다 준비될 거예요.

   Everything will be ready before they arrive.

   그

   that; the

   손님

   guest

   도착하기 전에

   before arriving

   다

   everything; all

   준비될 거예요

   will be ready

   More detail

   그 points to a specific person or thing identifiable from the situation. Here it modifies 손님, so 그 손님 means “that guest” or “the guest.” Korean demonstratives distinguish distance or discourse reference; 그 does not itself show the guest’s number or gender. 손님 means “guest” here. It can also mean “customer” or “visitor,” depending on context. In 그 손님이, the particle 이 marks 손님 as the subject of the sentence. Korean 손님 itself does not specify gender, while the fixed translation uses singular “they” in English. 도착하기 전에 means “before arriving.” Its base verb is 도착하다, “to arrive.” The form 도착하기 uses -기 to turn the verb into a noun-like expression, and 전에 means “before.” Together, V-기 전에 is a reusable pattern meaning “before doing V.” Example: 자기 전에 책을 읽어요 means “I read a book before going to bed.” Here, the understood subject of 도착하기 is the guest identified by 그 손님이, matching the fixed translation. 다 means “all” or “everything” here. It gives the scope of what will be ready, without naming the individual items in that scope. 준비될 거예요 means “will be ready.” The base form is the verb 준비되다, meaning “to become ready” or “to be prepared.” Do not confuse it with the separate verb 준비하다, “to prepare”: 준비되다 describes the subject becoming or being ready, whereas 준비하다 describes someone preparing something. In 준비될 거예요, 준비될 is the future modifier form of 준비되다 before 거예요, and -(으)ㄹ 거예요 expresses an expected or planned future situation. Example: 회의실이 곧 준비될 거예요 means “The meeting room will be ready soon.” The ending is polite and conversational. Together, 그 손님이 도착하기 전에 sets the time condition, “before that guest arrives,” and 다 준비될 거예요 says that everything will be ready before then. The complete meaning is: “Everything will be ready before they arrive.”