Apologizing for a Damaged Borrowed Tool | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 제가 빌린 도구가 이렇게 된 것에 대해 사과해야 해요.

   I need to apologize for what happened to the tool I borrowed.

   제가

   I; me as the subject

   빌린

   borrowed

   도구

   tool

   이렇게

   like this; this way

   된

   became; ended up

   것

   thing

   대해

   about; regarding

   사과해야 해요

   need to apologize

   More detail

   제가 is 저 (“I,” in a humble/polite form) plus the subject marker 가. It marks the speaker as the one who must apologize. The form 저 is used before some particles, while 제 is the corresponding possessive form before a noun, as in 제 도구 (“my tool”). 빌린 comes from 빌리다, “to borrow.” The ending -ㄴ makes a past attributive form, so 빌린 도구 means “the tool that I borrowed.” This form describes the noun that follows it; it does not mean that the tool itself borrowed something. Example: 빌린 책을 돌려줬어요. — “I returned the book I borrowed.” 도구 means “tool.” Here it is the grammatical subject of 이렇게 된—the tool is what became this way. The entire noun phrase is the matter being apologized for, rather than 도구 being a direct object of 사과하다. 이렇게 means “like this” or “in this way/state.” It points to the state being discussed rather than naming that state again. Example: 왜 이렇게 됐어요? — “Why did it become like this?” 된 comes from 되다, “to become” or “to end up.” Here, 되다 is in the past attributive form 된, which modifies 것: 이렇게 된 것 is literally “the thing that became like this,” naturally “what happened” or “what it has come to be.” The form 된 is not an inflection of 도구; it is the form of 되다. 것 is a noun meaning “thing.” In the pattern -ㄴ/은 것, it can nominalize a description, allowing it to mean “the thing that ...” or, naturally in context, “what ... happened.” Thus 이렇게 된 것 refers to the fact or circumstances of the borrowed tool becoming this way. The verb 되다 still supplies the meaning “become”; 것 packages that description as a noun phrase. 대해 appears in the construction 것에 대해, meaning “about” or “regarding.” The particle 에 and 대해 together mark the matter being addressed. Here, that matter is 이렇게 된 것, not a simple direct object of the apology verb. 사과해야 해요 means “need to apologize” or “have to apologize.” It contains 사과하다 (“to apologize”) with -아/어야 하다, the pattern for necessity: 사과해야 하다. 해요 is the polite present form of 하다 within this pattern. Example: 실수에 대해 사과해야 해요. — “I need to apologize for the mistake.” Together, 제가 identifies the speaker as the person with the obligation. 빌린 도구 identifies the tool as one the speaker borrowed; 도구가 이렇게 된 것 means the tool becoming this way or what happened to it; 것에 대해 marks that matter as the subject of the apology; and 사과해야 해요 expresses necessity. The whole utterance therefore means: “I need to apologize for what happened to the tool I borrowed.”

2. 그 도구에 무슨 일이 생겼어요?

   What happened to it?

   그

   that

   도구

   tool

   무슨 일

   what matter

   생겼어요

   happened

   More detail

   그 means “that” and is placed before a noun as a demonstrative determiner. Here, 그 도구 refers to the tool in question; the surrounding context identifies it as the tool that was borrowed and later damaged. Unlike a standalone pronoun, this form directly modifies the following noun. 도구 is a noun meaning “tool.” A useful reusable pattern is 그 + noun for “that + noun.” Example: 그 책 means “that book.” 무슨 일 asks what event or matter is involved. 무슨 means “what kind of/which” when it comes before a noun, while 일 here means “event” or “matter,” not necessarily “work.” Example: 무슨 일이에요? means “What is the matter?” 생겼어요 is the polite past form of 생기다, meaning “to arise,” “to occur,” or “to happen.” The ending -었어요 presents the event as completed in the past. In this sentence, 생기다 describes something happening to the tool; it is not the verb for deliberately making or causing something. Example: 문제가 생겼어요. means “A problem occurred.” The particle 에 marks the tool as the entity affected by or associated with the event: 도구에 ... 생겼어요 is understood as “... happened to the tool.” The question combines 그 도구에 (“to that tool”) with 무슨 일 (“what event”) and 생겼어요 (“happened”), giving the whole meaning: “What happened to it?”

3. 제가 사용하고 있을 때 손잡이에 금이 갔어요.

   The handle cracked while I was using it.

   제가

   I

   사용하고 있을 때

   while using

   손잡이

   handle

   금이 갔어요

   cracked

   More detail

   제가 means “I” as the subject here. It is the subject form of the humble first-person pronoun 저: 저 + subject particle 가 → 제가. The particle marks the person carrying out the action in 사용하고 있을 때; it does not mean “my.” 사용하고 있을 때 expresses “while using.” The base verb is 사용하다, “to use.” In 사용하고 있다, -고 있다 presents an action as in progress, and -을 때 means “when/while.” Thus, 사용하고 있을 때 locates the cracking during the speaker’s use of the object. For example, 제가 책을 읽고 있을 때 전화가 왔어요 means “A phone call came while I was reading.” 손잡이 is “handle.” It is a noun that can combine with location or affected-part marking: 손잡이에 means “on/in the handle” in this sentence. The ending -에 identifies the part where the event occurs; it is not part of the noun’s base form. 금이 갔어요 means “cracked” here. The base form is 금이 가다, literally containing the noun 금 (“crack”) with 가다 (“go”); together, this is the ordinary expression for a crack developing or appearing. 갔어요 is its polite past form, so it presents the cracking as having occurred. In this expression, 갔어요 does not describe physical movement away. For example, 컵에 금이 갔어요 means “The cup cracked.” Together, 제가 identifies the user of the object, 사용하고 있을 때 sets the time, 손잡이에 identifies the affected part, and 금이 갔어요 states the result. The complete meaning is “The handle cracked while I was using it.”

4. 손상이 얼마나 심한지 제가 볼게요.

   Let me see how bad the damage is.

   손상

   damage

   얼마나 심한지

   how severe it is

   제가

   I (subject)

   볼게요

   let me see

   More detail

   손상 means “damage.” In this sentence, the subject marker 이 appears in 손상이, marking the damage as the subject of the embedded clause about its severity. The noun can be reused for physical or other kinds of damage, depending on context. 얼마나 심한지 means “how severe it is.” 얼마나 asks about degree, while 심하다 means “to be severe.” Here 심한지 puts that degree question inside a larger sentence: 얼마나 심한지 = “how severe it is.” A reusable pattern is 얼마나 + adjective + -ㄴ지/은지, meaning “how [adjective] it is.” For example, 얼마나 먼지 알아요? means “Do you know how far it is?” 제가 identifies the speaker as the subject. It combines 저, the polite or humble first-person pronoun, with the subject marker 가. 나 is the corresponding first-person form used in more intimate or plain speech; it is not simply an “unhumble” version. 저 ordinarily refers to the singular speaker, while 저희 is a common plural counterpart. 볼게요 comes from 보다, “to see” or “to look,” with -ㄹ게요. This ending commonly presents the speaker’s intention or commitment, often with the listener’s situation in mind. In this sentence, 볼게요 naturally means “I’ll see” or “let me see,” rather than merely describing a future action. For example, 제가 확인해 볼게요. means “I’ll check.” The embedded degree question 손상이 얼마나 심한지 comes before the main clause. The speaker then says 제가 볼게요: literally, “I will see [how severe the damage is].” Together, the utterance means “Let me see how bad the damage is.”

5. 제가 그것을 새것으로 바꾸거나 수리하는 것을 도울게요.

   I can replace it or help repair it.

   제가

   I; me as the subject

   그것을

   it

   새것으로

   as a new one

   바꾸거나

   replace or change

   수리하는 것을

   the act of repairing

   도울게요

   I’ll help

   More detail

   제가 is 저 (“I,” a humble first-person pronoun) plus the subject marker 가. It marks the speaker as the subject of 도울게요. The form is not a plural form; Korean does not mark this pronoun for gender. 그것을 means “it” with the object marker 을. 그것 is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that thing,” and 을 marks it as the object of the embedded actions. The sentence does not identify what the object is beyond the supplied meaning “it.” 새것으로 means “into a new one” or “as a new one.” 새것 is a noun meaning “a new thing,” and 으로 marks the resulting form or destination of the change. This is different from simply describing an existing noun as new. For example, 헌 것을 새것으로 바꿨어요 means “I changed the old one into a new one.” 바꾸거나 comes from 바꾸다, “to change or replace,” with -거나, which links alternatives: “change/replace … or.” The -거나 ending applies to the alternative that follows it as well, so the sentence presents replacing it with a new one and repairing it as two possible actions. 수리하는 것을 is 수리하다 (“to repair”) plus -는 것, which turns the action into a noun-like phrase, followed by the object marker 을. Thus 수리하는 것 means “repairing” or “the act of repairing.” The same nominalized action phrase can be used with other verbs, as in 배우는 것을 좋아해요 (“I like learning”). 도울게요 comes from 돕다, “to help.” This is the irregular ㅂ change: before the vowel-initial ending, ㅂ changes to 우, producing 도우, and -ㄹ게요 then attaches to give 도울게요. -ㄹ게요 commonly presents the speaker’s intention, commitment, or offer concerning the listener: “I’ll help.” It is not simply the ability form “can”; the fixed sentence presents help as the speaker’s offer. Together, 그것을 새것으로 바꾸거나 수리하는 것을 means “replacing it with a new one or repairing it,” and 제가 ... 도울게요 makes the speaker offer to help with those actions. The whole utterance is therefore naturally understood as: “I’ll help replace it with a new one or repair it.”

6. 수리한 것이 튼튼하게 버틸지 확인해 봐야 해요.

   We should check whether a repair will hold.

   수리한

   repaired

   것

   thing

   튼튼하게

   firmly

   버틸지

   whether it will hold up

   확인해 봐야 해요

   need to check

   More detail

   수리한: This is from 수리하다 (“to repair”). The ending -한 is the attributive form of the completed action, so 수리한 것 means “the thing that was repaired” or, in this sentence’s intended meaning, “what was repaired.” Compare 수리하는 것, “the thing of repairing / repairing,” for an ongoing or general action. 것: This noun means “thing” and can nominalize a clause or descriptive phrase. In 수리한 것, it lets the preceding description refer to an item or result rather than simply modifying a noun. The exact repaired item is not named here. 튼튼하게: This is the adverbial form of 튼튼하다, “to be sturdy or strong.” The ending -하게 makes the quality describe how an action occurs: 튼튼하게 버티다 means “hold up sturdily/strongly.” The related adjective is 튼튼한, as in 튼튼한 구조, “a sturdy structure.” 버틸지: This comes from 버티다, “to endure, withstand, or hold out,” plus -(으)ㄹ지, which marks an uncertain issue such as “whether it will ….” Here the form refers to whether the repaired thing will hold up. 버티다 can also describe a person enduring a difficult situation, but this sentence uses it for durability. 확인해 봐야 해요: 확인하다 means “to check or verify.” 확인해 보다 combines it with 보다 to express trying/checking something out; here it naturally means “check.” The ending -아/어야 하다 expresses necessity, and 봐야 해요 is the contracted form in this construction, with polite 해요 style. Thus 확인해 봐야 해요 means “need to check.” Together, 수리한 것 identifies what is being assessed, 튼튼하게 버틸지 asks whether it will withstand use strongly enough, and 확인해 봐야 해요 says that this check is necessary. The whole utterance means, “We should check whether what was repaired will hold up,” matching the fixed translation “We should check whether a repair will hold.”

7. 제가 일을 더 하게 해서 미안해요.

   I am sorry for causing extra work.

   제가

   I (subject)

   일

   work

   더

   more; extra

   하게 해서

   by causing someone to do

   미안해요

   I’m sorry

   More detail

   제가 identifies the speaker as the subject, “I.” It is the subject-particle form of the humble first-person pronoun 저: 저 + 가 becomes 제가, not the regular-looking form 저가. In this sentence, the speaker is the person responsible for causing the extra work. 일 means “work” or “a task.” In 일을, 을 marks 일 as the object. Korean commonly uses 일을 하다 for “do work” or “work.” 더 means “more” or “additionally.” Here it increases the amount of work: 일을 더 하다 means “do more work.” 하게 해서 uses 하다 “to do” in the causative pattern -게 하다, “make or cause someone to do.” The final 해서 connects this cause to the apology. Thus 일을 더 하게 해서 means “by causing someone to do more work.” The person caused to work is not stated as a separate subject in this sentence. A reusable pattern is A가 B를 -게 하다: “A makes or causes B to do …” 미안해요 is the polite, conversational form used to say “I’m sorry.” Its base form is 미안하다; the -해요 ending gives it a polite everyday style. For example, 늦어서 미안해요 means “I’m sorry for being late,” with -어서 linking the reason to the apology. Together, 제가 marks the speaker as responsible for the causation, 일을 더 하게 해서 says that someone was caused to do additional work, and 미안해요 expresses the apology: “I am sorry for causing extra work.”

8. 다음에는 바로 말해 주세요.

   Tell me right away next time.

   다음에는

   next time

   바로

   right away

   말해 주세요

   please tell me

   More detail

   다음에는 means “next time” here. 다음 is a noun meaning “the next one” or “the following time” in this use; it is not an adnominal form. -에 marks the relevant time, and -는 makes that time the topic, often allowing a contrast such as “next time, at least.” The reusable pattern is [time]에는, for example 내일에는 (“tomorrow,” with topic or contrast emphasis). This form does not itself state how many occasions are involved. 바로 is an adverb meaning “right away” in this sentence. It says that the telling should happen immediately at the relevant time. In other contexts, 바로 can mean “directly,” so the surrounding words determine the appropriate translation. 말해 주세요 is a polite request meaning “please tell me.” The lexical verb is 말하다, “to say” or “to tell.” Its stem 말하- combines with -아/어 to give 말해, and 주세요 comes from 주다 (“to give”); in this request pattern, it adds the sense of asking someone to do the action for the speaker. The recipient is not separately expressed in the Korean wording, while the fixed translation identifies that recipient as “me.” Compare 말해요, which can be a polite statement or question, with 말해 주세요, which is a polite request. Together, 다음에는 sets the time as next time, 바로 says that the telling should happen immediately, and 말해 주세요 politely requests the telling. The whole utterance therefore means “Tell me right away next time.”

9. 우리가 해결할 수 있어요.

   We can sort it out.

   우리가

   we

   해결할

   solve

   수 있어요

   can

   More detail

   우리가 means “we” here. It is 우리 (“we/us”) plus the subject marker 가; together they identify the people who can do the action. The form 우리 does not change for subject versus object by itself, so the marker is what shows its subject role in this sentence. In polite everyday Korean, 우리 can also refer to “our” before a noun, but that is not its function here. 해결할 comes from the verb 해결하다, “to solve” or “sort out.” The ending -ㄹ makes an attributive form that goes before 수 in the possibility pattern -(으)ㄹ 수 있다/없다. Thus 해결할 수 is not simply a noun phrase meaning “a solving”; it is the reusable structure “be able to solve.” Compare the common forms 해결해요 (“solve / am solving” in a polite present-style form) and 해결했어요 (“solved”). Example: 문제를 해결할 수 있어요. — “I/we can solve the problem.” 수 있어요 completes the possibility construction. 수 is a dependent noun meaning a way or possibility, and 있어요 is the polite present form of 있다, “to exist/be available.” With 해결할, the combination 해결할 수 있어요 means “can sort it out” or “are able to solve it.” The negative counterpart is 해결할 수 없어요, “cannot sort it out.” Together, 우리가 supplies the subject “we,” 해결할 links the verb 해결하다 to the possibility pattern, and 수 있어요 expresses ability or possibility. The complete utterance therefore means “We can sort it out.”