Choosing a Gift for a Coworker | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 우리 동료에게 줄 선물을 골라야 해요.

   We need to choose a gift for our coworker.

   우리

   our

   동료

   coworker

   에게

   to; for

   줄

   to give

   선물

   gift

   골라야 해요

   need to choose

   More detail

   우리 means “our” here and appears before 동료 to identify the coworker in relation to the speaker or speakers. Korean 우리 can also mean “we” or “us” in other sentence positions, but its role here is possessive. Example: 우리 집 means “our house.” 동료 is a noun meaning “coworker” or “colleague.” It can be used for a person connected through the same workplace or professional group. In this sentence, 우리 동료 is “our coworker.” 에게 marks the person who receives something or is the target of an action. With 동료, 동료에게 means “to/for the coworker.” In 동료에게 줄 선물, it marks the intended recipient of the gift. Example: 친구에게 편지를 써요. means “I write a letter to a friend.” 줄 comes from 주다, “to give.” The form 주다 becomes 줄 before a noun when describing something intended or expected to be given: 줄 선물 is literally “a gift [we] will give” or “a gift to give.” This is the noun-modifying form of 주다; it is not the main finite verb of the sentence. Example: 아이에게 줄 책 means “a book to give to the child.” 선물 means “gift” or “present.” Here it is the object of 고르다, so 선물을 means “a gift” marked as what is being chosen. Example: 생일 선물을 샀어요. means “I bought a birthday present.” 골라야 해요 expresses necessity: “need to choose” or “have to choose.” The base verb is 고르다, “to choose.” Its form changes to 골라 before -야 하다: 골라야 하다 means “must/need to choose,” and the polite ending -해요 gives the spoken form 골라야 해요. This construction marks the speaker’s obligation, rather than simply saying that choosing happens. Example: 지금 출발해야 해요. means “We have to leave now.” Together, 우리 동료에게 줄 선물 means “a gift to give to our coworker,” and 선물을 골라야 해요 means “we need to choose the gift.” The full utterance is therefore “We need to choose a gift for our coworker.”

2. 유용한 게 좋을까요, 아니면 좀 더 개인적인 게 좋을까요?

   Should it be useful or more personal?

   유용한

   useful

   게

   thing; one

   좋을까요

   would it be good?

   아니면

   or; otherwise

   좀 더

   a little more

   개인적인

   personal

   More detail

   유용한 means “useful” here and is the modifier form of 유용하다 (“to be useful”). It comes before 게 to describe the option being referred to. Korean descriptive words use forms such as 유용한 before a noun or noun-like expression; the ending is not a separate word meaning “useful.” 게 is the conversational contraction of 것이: 것 (“thing; one”) plus the subject marker 이. In 유용한 게, it turns “something useful” into the subject of the following expression. The contraction 것이 → 게 is common in speech. Here, the specific thing is understood from the gift-selection context, rather than named in this sentence. 좋을까요 comes from 좋다 (“to be good”) with -을까요, a polite form used to ask whether something would be suitable or to invite an opinion. The form 좋다 + -을까요 → 좋을까요 contains the future-looking/uncertain form -을-, but in this question it is naturally “Would it be good?” or “Would that be suitable?” It is not simply a statement that something is good. 아니면 introduces the alternative: “or.” It links the first possible gift quality with the second one. Unlike a standalone “otherwise,” its role here is to present another choice. 좀 더 means “a little more.” 더 marks comparison with a relevant alternative or baseline, while 좀 softens the degree. For example, 좀 더 큰 가방 means “a slightly bigger bag.” The comparison is expressed by 더, not by 좀 alone. 개인적인 means “personal” here and modifies the omitted noun-like 것 in 개인적인 게. It is the modifier form of 개인적이다, built from the Sino-Korean adjective 개인적 (“personal/individual”) with -이다; 개인적인 is the form used before a noun or 것. This word describes the character of the possible gift, not a person who owns it. Together, 유용한 게 좋을까요 asks whether a useful one would be suitable, and 아니면 좀 더 개인적인 게 좋을까요? asks whether a somewhat more personal one would be preferable instead. The whole utterance therefore means, “Should it be useful or more personal?” In the supplied context, the speaker is asking which kind of gift to choose for the coworker. The repeated 게 structure makes the two alternatives parallel: 유용한 게 versus 좀 더 개인적인 게.

3. 그녀는 차를 좋아하니까 차 세트가 괜찮을 것 같아요.

   She likes tea, so a tea set might work.

   그녀는

   she (topic)

   차

   tea

   좋아하니까

   because (she) likes it

   세트

   set

   괜찮을 것 같아요

   seems like it would be okay

   More detail

   그녀는 means “she” with 는 marking the topic. 그녀 is a third-person pronoun referring to a female person; the sentence and fixed translation identify that person as the one who likes tea. The topic marker sets her up as the person whose preference is relevant here. 차 means “tea.” It appears once as the thing she likes and again inside 차 세트, “tea set.” Korean 차 can also mean “car” in other contexts, but the fixed translation and this noun combination support “tea” here. 좋아하니까 is the form of 좋아하다, “to like,” followed by -(으)니까, which gives a reason: “because [she] likes.” The subject is understood from 그녀는, so Korean does not repeat it in this clause. Compare 좋아해요 (“likes/like,” polite present) with 좋아하니까 (“because [someone] likes”). Example: 비가 오니까 집에 있어요. — “Because it is raining, I’m staying home.” 세트 is a loanword meaning “set,” a group of items sold or used together. The pattern 차 세트 is a noun-noun combination: the first noun specifies the type of set. Example: 선물 세트 means “gift set.” 괜찮을 것 같아요 expresses a tentative judgment that something seems likely to be okay or suitable. 괜찮다 means “to be okay” or “to be suitable”; 괜찮을 is its future/prospective form before 것. The construction -(으)ㄹ 것 같다 literally presents something as “seeming to be [the case]” and is commonly used for a guess or impression, so it softens the statement to “might work” here. 같아요 is the polite present form of 같다 in this construction. Example: 이 방법이 좋을 것 같아요. — “I think this method might be good.” Together, 그녀는 차를 좋아하니까 gives the reason, “because she likes tea,” and 차 세트가 괜찮을 것 같아요 gives the tentative evaluation, “a tea set might work.” The whole utterance means: “She likes tea, so a tea set might work.”

4. 그건 개인적이지만 그래도 유용한 것 같아요.

   That feels personal but still useful.

   그건

   that, as for that

   개인적이지만

   personal, but

   그래도

   still; even so

   유용한

   useful

   것 같아요

   seems like; appears to be

   More detail

   그건 is the shortened spoken form of 그것은: 그것 means “that,” and 은 marks it as the topic. 은 follows a consonant-ending form, while 는 follows a vowel-ending form, as in 그것은 → 그건. Here it points to the item being discussed. 개인적이지만 comes from 개인적이다, “to be personal.” The ending -지만 attaches here to a descriptive form and means “but/although”: 개인적이지만 = “personal, but.” It presents the first description as a contrast with what follows. 그래도 means “still” or “even so.” It signals that the next assessment remains valid despite the preceding point: “Even so, …” 유용한 is the attributive form of the descriptive word 유용하다, “to be useful.” Before a noun such as 것 (“thing”), -하다 changes to -한: 유용하다 → 유용한. In a predicate, the polite form is 유용해요, “is useful.” 것 같아요 is a common pattern meaning “seems to be” or “I think it is.” Literally, 것 is “thing,” and 같아요 is the polite form of 같다, “to be similar/the same”; in this pattern, the combination expresses an impression rather than a firm assertion. With an adjective, the pattern is [adjective]-ㄴ/은 것 같아요, so 유용한 것 같아요 means “seems useful.” Together, 그건 개인적이지만 says “That is personal, but,” 그래도 adds “still/even so,” and 유용한 것 같아요 gives the speaker’s assessment, “it seems useful.” The whole utterance is: “That feels personal but still useful.”

5. 작은 카드도 하나 넣어요.

   Let's add a small card too.

   작은

   small

   카드

   card

   도

   too; also

   하나

   one

   넣어요

   add; put in

   More detail

   작은 means “small” here and directly modifies the noun that follows it. It is the attributive form of 작다 (“to be small”): 작다 → 작은 before a noun, while the polite predicate form is 작아요. The form describes the card’s size; it is not the base form itself. 카드 is the noun “card.” Korean commonly places a modifier such as 작은 before the noun: 작은 카드 = “a small card.” 도 is attached to 카드, so 카드도 means “the card too” or “also a card.” This particle adds the card to something already relevant; it does not itself express number. 하나 means “one” here and supplies the quantity of the item being added. Korean can use a native counting form such as 하나 on its own when the counted item is understood. Thus 카드 하나 means “one card.” In this sentence, the order is 카드도 하나: “also one card.” 넣어요 is the polite present-style form of 넣다, “to put in” or, in this context, “to add.” The verb’s meaning is determined by the item and situation: it presents adding the card, rather than merely describing the card. The -어요 ending is a common polite conversational ending; with this context and the fixed translation, the utterance functions as a gentle suggestion: “let’s add.” Putting the parts together, 작은 카드 gives “a small card,” 도 adds it as another item, 하나 specifies one, and 넣어요 expresses adding it. The whole utterance means: “Let’s add a small card too.”

6. 그녀에게 선물을 주기 전에 모두 그 카드에 서명할 수 있어요.

   Everyone can sign it before we give her the gift.

   그녀에게

   to her

   선물을

   gift

   주기 전에

   before giving

   모두

   everyone

   그

   that

   카드에

   on the card

   서명할 수 있어요

   can sign

   More detail

   그녀에게 means “to her” here. 그녀 is the pronoun “she/her,” and -에게 marks the recipient of an action such as giving. The fixed translation identifies the recipient as female. Example: 아이에게 책을 줘요. — “I give a book to the child.” 선물을 is 선물 (“gift”) plus the object marker -을. The marker shows that the gift is what is given. -을 is used after a consonant-final noun; after a vowel-final noun, the corresponding object marker is -를. 주기 전에 means “before giving.” It is built from 주다 (“to give”) → 주기 (the action of giving) + 전에 (“before”). The recipient and object combine with it as 그녀에게 선물을 주기 전에, “before giving her the gift.” The subject of this subordinate action is not separately stated in Korean; the translation supplies “we” as the intended giver. 모두 means “everyone” in this sentence and functions as the subject of the main clause. It can also mean “all” when referring to a group or set, but here the intended reading is people signing. 그 means “that” or “the previously identified.” It modifies 카드, so 그 카드 means “that card” or “the card already identifiable in context.” Korean 그 does not change for gender or number. 카드에 is 카드 (“card”) plus -에. Here -에 marks the place or surface where the signing is done, giving “on the card.” 서명할 수 있어요 means “can sign.” 서명하다 is the base verb “to sign,” and its action form 서명할 combines with 수 있다 to express ability or possibility: 서명할 수 있다 = “be able to sign.” 있어요 is the polite present form of 있다; the ending -어요 gives the sentence a polite conversational style. Example: 여기에 서명할 수 있어요. — “You can sign here.” Together, 그녀에게 선물을 주기 전에 sets the time condition, “before we give her the gift.” Then 모두 그 카드에 서명할 수 있어요 says that everyone can sign on that card. The complete meaning is: “Everyone can sign it before we give her the gift.”