Borrowing Time and Renewing a Library Book | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 이 책을 얼마나 오래 빌릴 수 있어요?

   How long can I keep this book?

   이

   this

   책

   book

   얼마나 오래

   how long

   빌릴

   borrow; keep on loan

   수 있어요?

   can ...?

   More detail

   이 means “this” and is a demonstrative placed before the noun it identifies. Here, together with the fixed translation, it identifies the book being discussed. Korean also has 그 (“that/the”) and 저 (“that over there”), but this sentence uses 이. 책 means “book.” It is a noun; with the object marker, the full object phrase is 이 책을 (“this book”). 을 marks the noun phrase as the object of the action. The phrase entry selects 책, while 을 connects it grammatically to 빌리다. 얼마나 오래 asks about duration: “how long.” 얼마나 means “how much/how,” and 오래 means “for a long time.” Together they form a reusable duration question. For example, 얼마나 오래 기다려야 해요? means “How long do I have to wait?” 빌릴 is the form of 빌리다, “to borrow,” used before 수 있다. 빌리다 changes to 빌릴 before this construction because it is followed by 수. In this sentence, borrowing a book includes keeping it on loan, which matches “keep this book” in the fixed translation. The question is about the permitted duration, not simply whether borrowing is possible. 수 있어요? is the polite question form of the possibility pattern -(으)ㄹ 수 있다, meaning “can” or “be able to.” After the verb form 빌릴, it gives 빌릴 수 있어요? (“can [someone] borrow/keep [it]?”). 있어요 is the polite present form of 있다 in this construction; it does not mean that a separate physical object is present here. Combined in source order, 이 책을 is “this book” as the object, 얼마나 오래 asks for the duration, and 빌릴 수 있어요? asks whether it can be borrowed for that duration. The complete meaning is “How long can I keep this book?” The following context makes the due-date information relevant to this duration question.

2. 대출 전표에 반납일이 적혀 있어요.

   The slip shows the due date.

   대출

   loan; borrowing

   전표

   slip

   반납일

   due date

   적혀 있어요

   is written; is shown

   More detail

   대출 means “loan” or “borrowing.” In this sentence it identifies the loan-related slip. The same noun can be used in reusable compounds, such as 대출 기간 (“loan period”). 전표 means “slip” or “record.” 대출 전표 is a noun-noun combination meaning “loan slip”: the first noun specifies what kind of slip it is. Example: 영수증 전표 can mean “receipt slip,” depending on the context. 반납일 means “return date,” and here the fixed translation identifies it as the due date. It is formed from 반납 (“returning something”) and 일 (“date/day”). This is a compound noun, not an inflection of 전표. Example: 반납일을 확인하세요. — “Check the due date.” 적혀 있어요 describes something that is written or recorded and remains in that state. 적히다 is the passive/intransitive form related to 적다 (“to write”); 적혀 is its connective form, and 있어요 adds the sense of an existing resulting state. The ending -어요 makes the statement polite. Example: 이름이 적혀 있어요. — “A name is written down.” The particle 에 marks the place or surface where the information is recorded: 대출 전표에 means “on the loan slip.” The structure 반납일이 적혀 있어요 presents 반납일 as the information that is written there. Together, 대출 전표에 반납일이 적혀 있어요. means “The slip shows the due date,” literally describing the due date as written on the loan slip.

3. 시간이 더 필요하면 어떻게 해야 해요?

   What should I do if I need more time?

   시간이

   time

   더

   more

   필요하면

   if needed

   어떻게

   how

   해야 해요

   should do

   More detail

   시간이 means “time” here. 시간 is a noun, and 이 marks it as the subject of 필요하다 (“to be needed”). The form 시간이 does not itself mean “my time”; the omitted person who needs it is understood from the sentence’s context. Example: 시간이 필요해요. — “I need time.” 더 means “more” and comes before the word it modifies. Here it increases the amount of 시간: 더 필요하다 means “to need more.” Example: 물이 더 필요해요. — “I need more water.” 필요하면 is the conditional form of 필요하다 (“to be needed”): 필요하다 + -면 gives “if it is needed” or, with an understood person, “if [someone] needs it.” In this sentence, the fixed translation identifies the understood person as the speaker: “if I need more time.” The ending -면 is a reusable way to express an if condition. Example: 도움이 필요하면 말해 주세요. — “If you need help, please tell me.” 어떻게 asks “how” or “what way.” It asks about the method or action to take, rather than identifying a person or thing. Example: 어떻게 가요? — “How do I get there?” 해야 해요 is the polite form of the obligation pattern -아/어야 하다. The lexical verb here is 하다 (“to do”); 해야 is its form before 하다 in this pattern, and the final 해요 makes the expression polite. 해야 해요 means “must do” or “should do.” It does not by itself specify the action; 어떻게 asks what action is appropriate. Example: 지금 가야 해요. — “I have to go now.” Together, 시간이 더 필요하면 sets the condition “if I need more time,” and 어떻게 해야 해요? asks what action the speaker should take. The complete utterance therefore means, “What should I do if I need more time?”

4. 다른 사람이 그 책을 기다리고 있지 않으면 온라인으로 대출 기간을 연장할 수 있어요.

   You can extend the loan online if no one else is waiting for the book.

   다른

   other

   사람

   person

   그

   the; that

   책

   book

   기다리고

   waiting

   있지 않으면

   if ... is not

   온라인으로

   online

   대출

   loan

   기간

   period

   연장할

   extend

   수 있어요

   can

   More detail

   다른 means “other” or “different.” Here it modifies 사람, giving 다른 사람 (“another/other person”). With the later negation, the clause means that no other person is waiting. Example: 다른 방법이 있어요. — “There is another way.” 사람 means “person” and is the noun in 다른 사람. Korean commonly uses a noun without an article; the surrounding modifier and context show how it is identified. 그 is a demonstrative determiner meaning “that” or, as in the fixed translation, “the.” Here it modifies 책; the supplied translation identifies the intended object as the book. It appears before the noun: 그 책. 책 means “book.” 그 책 therefore means “that book” or “the book” in this sentence. Example: 책을 읽어요. — “I read a book/the book,” depending on context. 기다리고 comes from the verb 기다리다, “to wait.” The ending -고 connects this verb to the following part of the progressive construction. In 기다리고 있다, it helps express “be waiting” or “be in the process of waiting.” Example: 친구를 기다리고 있어요. — “I am waiting for a friend.” 있지 않으면 contains 있다 (“to be”) with the progressive construction’s negation and the conditional ending -(으)면. In 기다리고 있지 않으면, the negation applies to “be waiting,” and the whole form means “if [someone] is not waiting.” The conditional ending attaches after the negative form: -지 않으면 = “if not …” or “unless ….” 온라인으로 means “online.” The particle -으로 marks the medium or route, so this form presents online access as the way the action is done. Example: 온라인으로 신청해요. — “I apply online.” 대출 means “loan” or “borrowing,” especially in a library context. It combines with 기간 in 대출 기간 to mean “loan period,” the length of time for which an item is borrowed. 기간 means “period” or “duration.” In 대출 기간, it identifies the time span associated with the loan. Example: 기간이 길어요. — “The period is long.” 연장할 comes from 연장하다, “to extend.” The observed form uses the adnominal ending -(으)ㄹ, producing 연장할, which modifies the following noun 수 in the pattern 연장할 수 있다. The verb’s base is 연장하다, not 기간; 대출 기간을 연장하다 means “extend the loan period.” 수 있어요 completes the ability or possibility pattern V-(으)ㄹ 수 있다. Here 연장할 수 있어요 means “can extend.” 수 is a noun meaning a way or possibility in this construction, and 있어요 is the polite present form of 있다. Example: 집에서 할 수 있어요. — “I can do it at home.” Together, 다른 사람이 그 책을 기다리고 있지 않으면 means “if no one else is waiting for the book”: 다른 사람 supplies “someone else,” while the negated progressive conditional says that this waiting situation does not hold. 온라인으로 gives the method, 대출 기간을 연장할 수 있어요 gives the possibility of extending the loan period, and the complete utterance means: “You can extend the loan online if no one else is waiting for the book.”

5. 집에서 할 수 있어요?

   Can I do that from home?

   집에서

   from home

   할

   do

   수 있어요?

   can ...?

   More detail

   집에서 means “from home” here. 집 is “home/house,” and -에서 marks the place where an action happens or the starting point of an action or movement. In this sentence, it presents home as the place from which the action can be done. For example, 학교에서 공부해요 means “I study at school.” 할 comes from the verb 하다, “to do.” Before 수, it is the form used in the pattern 할 수 있다; this form does not by itself assert future time. The pattern expresses that doing something is possible or that someone has the ability to do it. For example, 한국어를 읽을 수 있어요 means “I can read Korean.” 수 있어요? completes the ability/possibility pattern. 수 is a noun meaning a way or possibility, and 있어요 is the polite present form of 있다, “to exist/be.” In 할 수 있어요?, the whole construction means “can do ...?” rather than asking whether something merely exists. The question mark makes the sentence an inquiry. A negative version is 할 수 없어요, “cannot do it.” Together, 집에서 할 수 있어요? asks whether the understood action can be done from home: “Can I do that from home?” The supplied translation identifies the understood action as “that,” while the Korean sentence leaves that object unspoken. The sentence is a polite everyday question.

6. 집에서 도서관 계정에 로그인하세요.

   Log in to your library account from home.

   집에서

   from home

   도서관

   library

   계정

   account

   로그인하세요

   log in

   More detail

   집에서 means “from home” here. 집 is “home/house,” and -에서 marks the place where an action takes place; with an action such as logging in, the natural English perspective is “from home.” Example: 카페에서 공부해요. — “I study at a café.” 도서관 means “library.” It appears before 계정 and specifies what kind of account is meant. Korean commonly places one noun before another as a modifier: 학교 계정 means “school account.” 계정 means “account,” such as an online user account. In 도서관 계정, 도서관 identifies the account’s service or affiliation; it is not the object being logged in to as a physical place. 로그인하세요 means “log in.” Its base form is 로그인하다, “to log in.” The observed form uses the polite request/command ending -세요, so it gives a respectful instruction: 확인하세요. — “Please check.” The ending belongs to the verb, not to 계정. Together, 집에서 sets the location, 도서관 계정 identifies the account, and 로그인하세요 gives the polite instruction. The whole utterance therefore means: “Log in to your library account from home.”

7. 그럼 책과 함께 대출 전표를 보관해야겠어요.

   Then I should keep the slip with the book.

   그럼

   Then

   책

   book

   과 함께

   together with

   대출

   loan

   전표

   slip

   보관해야겠어요

   should keep

   More detail

   그럼 is a shortened form of 그러면, meaning “then” or “in that case.” It links the conclusion here to the situation already established. Example: 그럼 지금 시작해요. — “Then let’s start now.” 책 means “book.” It is a noun and does not itself mark whether the book is singular or plural; context supplies that information. Example: 책을 읽어요. — “I read a book / books.” 과 함께 means “together with” or simply “with.” 과 is the Korean particle used after a noun ending in a consonant; after a vowel, the corresponding form is 와. 함께 adds the meaning of being together. Example: 친구와 함께 갔어요. — “I went with a friend.” 대출 means “loan” or “borrowing,” especially the borrowing of library materials. It is a noun. In 대출 전표, it specifies the type of 전표: a slip connected with borrowing. 전표 means “slip” or “record slip.” Here, in the fixed translation, it is the slip that should be kept with the book. Example: 전표를 확인하세요. — “Please check the slip.” 보관해야겠어요 expresses “I should keep/store it.” The useful base verb is 보관하다, “to keep or store.” The pattern -아/어야겠다 conveys a speaker’s realization, decision, or sense that something ought to be done; -어요 makes the expression polite. Thus 보관해야겠어요 is not just a neutral statement about storage: it presents keeping the item as the speaker’s appropriate next action. Example: 이 서류는 잘 보관해야겠어요. — “I should keep this document safely.” Together, 그럼 (“then”), 책과 함께 (“with the book”), 대출 전표 (“the loan slip”), and 보관해야겠어요 (“I should keep [it]”) produce: “Then I should keep the slip with the book.” The object of 보관하다 is understood from the noun phrase 대출 전표; Korean commonly omits an already clear object.

8. 그러면 제때 반납하는 데 도움이 될 거예요.

   It will help you return it on time.

   그러면

   then; in that case

   제때

   on time

   반납하는

   returning

   도움이 될 거예요

   will be helpful

   More detail

   그러면 means “then” or “in that case.” It connects this sentence to the preceding situation: “Then...” It is a useful conditional-result connector; 그럼 is a shorter conversational form. 제때 means “on time,” that is, by the required or appropriate time. It is different from 곧 (“soon”): something can happen soon without necessarily happening by its deadline. Example: 제때 도착했어요. — “I arrived on time.” 반납하는 comes from the dictionary form 반납하다, “to return something to the place or person responsible for it.” 반납하는 is the form used before a noun or before the pattern -는 데; here it refers to the act of returning the item. The following 데 turns that action into the activity or matter that can receive help. Example: 책을 반납하는 데 시간이 걸렸어요. — “It took time to return the book.” 도움이 될 거예요 is built from 도움 (“help”), the particle 이, 되다 (“to become; to serve as”), and -ㄹ 거예요, a polite form used here for a predicted or expected future result. Literally, it presents something as becoming help, naturally “will be helpful” or “will help.” In this sentence, 도움이 될 is the relevant form of 되다; it is not an inflection of 도움. Example: 이 안내가 도움이 될 거예요. — “This guide will be helpful.” Together, 반납하는 데 도움이 되다 means “to help with returning [it].” With 제때, it specifies that the return should happen on time, and 그러면 links that expected benefit to the preceding situation. The whole utterance therefore means: “Then it will help you return it on time.”