Explaining Completed Actions | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 이 문법 패턴을 다시 설명해 주실 수 있나요?

   Could you explain this grammar pattern again?

   이

   this

   문법

   grammar

   패턴

   pattern

   다시

   again

   설명해

   explain

   주실 수 있나요?

   could you do it for me?

   More detail

   이 means “this” and is a demonstrative determiner placed before the noun it specifies. Here it identifies 문법 패턴 as the pattern being referred to. Korean demonstratives such as 이 (this, near the speaker), 그 (that, often associated with the listener or an already-mentioned item), and 저 (that over there) are chosen by the relevant deixis or discourse context, not simply by the noun’s properties. 문법 means “grammar.” It is a noun and combines with another noun in 문법 패턴, meaning “grammar pattern.” Korean noun-noun combinations commonly place the specifying noun before the main noun. 패턴 means “pattern.” This is a noun used here for a recurring grammatical form or structure. Together, 문법 패턴 is “grammar pattern”; 이 specifies that pattern as “this grammar pattern.” 다시 means “again.” It is an adverb and indicates that the explaining is being requested another time. Its position before 설명해 makes the sequence 다시 설명해 mean “explain again.” 설명해 comes from the verb 설명하다, “to explain.” The observed form uses the -해 form, which connects the verb to the following construction 주실 수 있나요?; it is not a separate verb meaning “do.” In a simpler sentence, 설명해요 means “explain” or “I/you explain” in a polite present-style form, depending on context. Example: 선생님이 문법을 설명해요. — “The teacher explains grammar.” 주실 수 있나요? is a polite request construction. 주다 means “to give,” but after another verb it can mark doing that action as a favor for someone. Here 설명해 주다 means “explain it for someone.” 주실 contains the honorific form 주시- plus the prospective/modifying ending -ㄹ, and 수 있다 expresses ability or possibility. 있나요? turns that possibility into a polite question. Thus 설명해 주실 수 있나요? asks whether the addressee can kindly explain it. The honorific marking here is directed toward the person being asked; it does not change the noun 패턴. The structure is 이 + 문법 패턴 + 을 + 다시 + 설명해 주실 수 있나요?. 을 marks 이 문법 패턴 as the object of 설명하다; after a consonant-final noun such as 패턴, 을 is used, while 를 is used after a vowel-final noun. The whole utterance therefore means “Could you explain this grammar pattern again?” It is a polite request for a repeat explanation, with 다시 supplying the “again” meaning and -아/어 주실 수 있나요? making the request courteous.

2. 행동이 이미 끝났다는 것을 보여 줘요.

   It shows that an action is already complete.

   행동

   action

   이미

   already

   끝났다는 것을

   that it is finished

   보여 줘요

   shows

   More detail

   행동 means “action” here. It is a noun and can refer to something someone does or to an action as an event. In the sentence, 이 marks 행동 as the subject of the embedded statement: 행동이 ... = “an action ...”. 이미 means “already” and places the completion before the relevant reference point. It is different from 아직 (“still/not yet”): 이미 끝났어요 means “It has already finished,” while 아직 안 끝났어요 means “It has not finished yet.” 끝났다는 것을 is the object phrase “that it has finished / that it is complete.” The base verb is 끝나다, “to finish” or “to come to an end”; its past form is 끝났다. The pattern -았/었다는 것 turns a past statement into a noun-like clause: 끝났다는 것 = “the fact that it has finished.” 을 marks that clause as the object of the following verb. For example: 시험이 끝났다는 것을 알아요. — “I know that the exam has finished.” 보여 줘요 means “shows” in this sentence. It comes from 보여 주다, literally “give [someone] the seeing” or “show,” and 줘요 is its polite present-style ending. The subject that does the showing is not stated in the Korean sentence; the fixed translation expresses it as “it.” Putting the parts together, 행동이 이미 끝났다는 것 means “the fact that an action is already complete,” and 보여 줘요 says that this fact is shown. Thus the whole utterance means: “It shows that an action is already complete.”

3. 이 문장에서 동사는 왜 바뀌나요?

   Why does the verb change in this sentence?

   이

   this

   문장

   sentence

   에서

   in

   동사

   verb

   는

   as for

   왜

   why

   바뀌나요

   changes

   More detail

   이 means “this” and appears before the noun it specifies. It is a demonstrative determiner, so it does not stand alone here: 이 문장 means “this sentence.” Korean does not mark this demonstrative for grammatical gender. 문장 means “sentence.” It is a noun. Example: 문장이 길어요. — “The sentence is long.” 에서 marks the setting or domain in which something happens. In 이 문장에서, it means “in this sentence.” It can also mark the place where an action occurs, as in 학교에서 공부해요. — “I study at school.” 동사 means “verb.” It is a noun naming a grammatical category. Example: ‘가다’는 동사예요. — “‘To go’ is a verb.” 는 marks 동사 as the topic: “as for the verb” or, more naturally here, “the verb.” It is the topic marker used after a vowel; after a consonant, the corresponding form is 은, as in 문장은 (“as for the sentence”). 왜 asks for a reason: “why.” Example: 왜 웃어요? — “Why are you laughing?” 바뀌나요 comes from the verb 바뀌다, “to change” or “to become different,” with the polite question ending -나요?. Here, 왜 makes the question ask for the reason for the change; -나요? marks it as a polite question. 바뀌다 is intransitive, describing something changing, while 바꾸다 is transitive, describing someone changing something: 형태가 바뀌어요. — “The form changes.” / 형태를 바꿔요. — “(Someone) changes the form.” Together, 이 문장에서 sets the domain as “in this sentence,” 동사는 makes “the verb” the topic, 왜 asks for the reason, and 바뀌나요 asks politely about that change. The whole utterance means: “Why does the verb change in this sentence?”

4. 일이 끝났기 때문에 형태가 바뀌어요.

   The form changes because the event is finished.

   일

   event; matter

   끝났기 때문에

   because it is finished

   형태

   form

   바뀌어요

   changes

   More detail

   일 is a noun meaning “event,” “matter,” or “work,” depending on context. Here, the fixed translation identifies it as “the event.” The following 이 is a subject marker, so 일이 marks the event as the subject of the clause. Example: 일이 많아요. — “There is a lot of work.” 끝났기 때문에 expresses a reason: “because it ended” or, in this context, “because it is finished.” Its base verb is 끝나다 (“to end”); 끝났어요 is its polite past form, “ended.” The pattern 동사/형용사-기 때문에 means “because …,” with -기 turning the preceding predicate into the reason and 때문에 marking that reason. Example: 비가 오기 때문에 안 가요. — “I do not go because it is raining.” 형태 is a noun meaning “form” or “shape.” In this sentence it refers to the form that changes. Example: 단어의 형태를 봐요. — “I look at the form of the word.” 바뀌어요 comes from the verb 바뀌다, “to change” or “to become changed.” It is the polite present-style form used for a current fact or a general explanation. 바뀌다 is intransitive: the changing subject is marked with 이/가, as in 형태가 바뀌어요 (“the form changes”). Do not confuse it with 바꾸다, “to change something,” which takes an object: 형태를 바꿔요 — “I change the form.” Together, 일이 끝났기 때문에 gives the reason, 형태가 identifies the form as the changing subject, and 바뀌어요 states the change. The whole utterance therefore means: “The form changes because the event is finished.”

5. 다른 예를 하나 들어 주실 수 있나요?

   Can you give me another example?

   다른

   another; different

   예

   example

   하나

   one

   들어

   give; cite (an example)

   주실 수 있나요?

   can you ...? (polite request)

   More detail

   다른 means “another” here: it modifies the noun that follows it. Its base form is 다르다 (“to be different”), and 다른 is the form used before a noun. For example, 다른 방법 means “another/different method.” The choice between “another” and “different” depends on the surrounding meaning; in this sentence, the translation supports “another example.” 예 is the noun “example.” It is also commonly seen in the pattern 예를 들어, literally “taking an example,” which introduces an example. In this sentence, 예 is the thing being requested. 하나 means “one” and specifies a single example. It is a native Korean counting word that can stand after a noun, as in 예 하나 (“one example”). Here it expresses the requested number, not an indefinite article. 들어 is the connective form of 들다 in this use. Although 들다 has other meanings in other contexts, here it means “to give or cite” an example. The form changes from 들다 to 들어 before the following verb phrase. In 예를 들어, the same verb appears in a common pattern meaning “for example” or “by giving an example.” 들어 주실 수 있나요? is a polite request pattern. 들어 주다 combines “give/cite” with 주다, marking the action as something done for the requester. 주시다 is the honorific form used when showing respect toward the person performing the action, and 주실 is its form before 수. The pattern [verb stem]-(으)실 수 있나요? asks politely whether someone can do something; for example, 도와주실 수 있나요? means “Can you help me?” The full utterance combines 다른 예 (“another example”), 하나 (“one”), and 들어 주실 수 있나요? (“can you give/cite [it]?”). Together, it is a polite request asking whether the listener can provide one additional example: “Can you give me another example?”

6. 누군가 수업 전에 책을 열었어요.

   Someone opened the book before class.

   누군가

   someone

   수업

   class

   전에

   before

   책

   book

   열었어요

   opened

   More detail

   누군가 means “someone” here: it refers to an unspecified person. It is formed from 누구 (“who”) plus -ㄴ가, which makes an indefinite expression. Compare 누군가 왔어요. — “Someone came.” 수업 means “class” or “lesson.” It is a noun and can combine with time expressions such as 수업 전 (“before class”) and 수업 후 (“after class”). 전에 means “before” in this time expression. The noun 수업 comes before 전, and -에 marks the time point or period: 수업 전에 = “before class.” The same pattern works with other nouns, for example 저녁 전에 — “before dinner.” 책 means “book.” It is the object that is opened in this sentence. A useful basic pattern is 책을 읽어요 — “I read a book”; -을 marks 책 as the object because the noun ends in a consonant. 열었어요 means “opened” here. Its base form is 열다 (“to open”); 열었어요 is the past-tense polite form. The verb stem 열- combines with the past marker -었- and the polite sentence ending -어요. For example, 문을 열었어요. means “I opened the door.” Together, 누군가 identifies an unspecified person, 책을 marks “the book” as the object, and 수업 전에 places the action before class. Thus the whole utterance means “Someone opened the book before class.”

7. 그러니까 이 패턴을 더 쉽게 이해할 수 있어요.

   That makes the pattern easier to understand.

   그러니까

   so; therefore

   이

   this

   패턴

   pattern

   더

   more

   쉽게

   easily

   이해할

   understand

   수 있어요

   can

   More detail

   그러니까 connects this sentence to what came before and means “so” or “therefore.” It is a useful sentence-level connector, usually placed at the beginning of the sentence that states the result or conclusion. 이 is the demonstrative “this.” Before a noun, it identifies a nearby or contextually selected noun: 이 패턴 means “this pattern.” Its form does not change for number or gender. 패턴 is a noun meaning “pattern.” Korean commonly uses this loanword for a recurring structure or model. In this sentence, 패턴을 marks “pattern” as the object of understanding; 을 is the object marker attached because 패턴 ends in a consonant. 더 means “more” or “to a greater degree.” It modifies the following manner expression, so 더 쉽게 means “more easily.” Example: 더 빨리 말해 주세요. — “Please speak more quickly.” 쉽게 means “easily.” It is the adverbial form of 쉽다 (“to be easy”): 쉽다 → 쉽게. The adjective describes something as easy, while 쉽게 describes how an action is carried out. In 더 쉽게, the degree is comparative: “more easily.” 이해할 is the form of 이해하다, “to understand,” used before 수 in the ability/possibility pattern -ㄹ 수 있다. The ending -ㄹ makes the verb an attributive form before 수; it is not a separate meaning of “understand.” 수 있어요 completes 이해할 수 있어요, a polite present-tense expression meaning “can understand” or “is able to understand.” Here 있어요 does not simply mean physical existence; together with -ㄹ 수 it expresses ability or possibility. Example: 이 문장을 읽을 수 있어요. — “I can read this sentence.” Together, 이 패턴을 means “this pattern” as the object, 더 쉽게 means “more easily,” and 이해할 수 있어요 means “can understand.” With 그러니까 as the connector, the whole utterance means: “So, [someone] can understand this pattern more easily,” expressed in the fixed translation as “That makes the pattern easier to understand.” The subject is not stated in the Korean sentence; the polite ending makes the sentence suitable for addressing the listener or speaking generally, without identifying a particular person.

8. 이제 자신의 문장을 만들어 보세요.

   Now try making your own sentence.

   이제

   now

   자신의

   your own

   문장을

   sentence

   만들어

   make

   보세요

   please try

   More detail

   이제 means “now,” marking the time for the action. It can also introduce a change from an earlier stage or a next step, but here it simply sets the timing: the learner should do the action now. 자신의 means “your own” in this sentence. 자신 is a reflexive noun meaning “oneself,” and -의 marks a possessive relationship. In this context, it refers back to the person being addressed, so 자신의 문장 is “your own sentence.” The form 자신의 itself does not show the possessor’s number or gender. 문장을 means “sentence” as the object of the action. The base noun is 문장, and -을 is the object marker; after a noun ending in a consonant, it marks that noun as what the verb acts on. For example, 문장을 읽어요 means “I read a sentence.” 만들어 comes from the verb 만들다, “to make.” 만들어 is its -어 form, used here to connect 만들다 with 보다 in the construction -아/어 보다. This construction means “try doing something,” so it is not just the ordinary verb “make” by itself. 보세요 is the polite -세요 form of 보다, whose basic meaning is “to see” or “to look.” After another verb’s -아/어 form, as in 만들어 보세요, 보다 functions as part of -아/어 보다, meaning “try doing.” The polite ending -세요 presents this as a courteous request or suggestion: “please try.” Together, 자신의 문장을 만들어 보세요 means “try making your own sentence”: 자신의 문장 is the thing to be made, 만들어 보다 expresses trying that action, and -세요 makes the suggestion polite. With 이제 at the beginning, the complete utterance is “Now try making your own sentence.”