Sentence Order

Korean Grammar 1

Course 1 · Chapter 1 · How a Korean Sentence Works

🧩 How a Korean Sentence Works — 한국어 문장의 구조

English builds a sentence by word order: the order of the words tells you who did what to whom. Korean builds it by word jobs: small markers attached to nouns say what each noun is doing, and the one fixed rule is that the verb comes last. This chapter shows you the shape of a Korean sentence before you learn the pieces. You have already learned to read Hangul in Korean Alphabet 1; here you start to read whole sentences with it.

How examples are written: Hangul first, then Revised Romanization in italics, then English. eo = ㅓ (a short, open "uh") eu = ㅡ (the unrounded "oo") ae = ㅐ (like the vowel in "bed"; taught in Chapter 2) - hyphens in romanisation only show where a word ends and its marker begins

The rule in one box A Korean sentence ends with its verb. Before the verb come the other parts, usually in the order subject → object → verb (SOV). English says "I eat an apple" (subject, verb, object); Korean says "I apple eat."

Subject, object, verb: English against Korean

Compare one idea in the two languages. The Korean verb sits at the very end, and the object stands in front of it.

English (S-V-O)	Korean (S-O-V)	Word by word
I eat an apple.	저는 사과를 먹어요. jeo-neun sagwa-reul meogeoyo.	I (topic) · apple (object) · eat
A friend reads a book.	친구가 책을 읽어요. chingu-ga chaek-eul ilgeoyo.	friend (subject) · book (object) · reads
The cat sleeps.	고양이가 자요. goyang-i-ga jayo.	cat (subject) · sleeps
I go to school.	학교에 가요. hakgyo-e gayo.	school (to) · go

Do not worry yet about the little endings on the nouns (는, 가, 를, 을, 에). They are particles, and they are the subject of Chapters 3 and 4. For now, notice only two things: each one is written attached to the noun before it, and the verb is always last.

Watch out: a final "verb" is not always a verb of action The last word of a sentence can also be an adjective ("is pretty") or the word for "to be". Korean treats all of these as verb-like words with endings, so the rule is better stated as: the sentence ends with a predicate. Chapters 5 to 8 take them in turn.

Words, particles and spaces

Korean puts a space between each word unit, but a particle is written without a space, joined to the noun it marks. So 사과를 is one unit (apple + object marker), and 저는 사과를 먹어요 is three units.

Unit	Made of	Meaning
저는 jeoneun	저 (I, polite) + 는 (topic marker)	as for me
사과를 sagwareul	사과 (apple) + 를 (object marker)	(the) apple, as the thing eaten
먹어요 meogeoyo	먹- (eat) + -어요 (polite present ending)	eat(s)

Also note what Korean writing does not have: there are no capital letters, and the full stop, comma and question mark are used much as in English.

No articles

Korean has no word for a, an or the. 사과 alone can mean "an apple", "the apple" or "apples"; the situation tells you which. Nouns do not change for singular and plural either. A plural marker 들 deul exists, but it is optional and is used much less often than English -s, so a bare noun is the normal choice.

Watch out: do not translate every English "the" or "-s" A learner who adds a word for "a/the" or a plural ending to every noun sounds stiff. Leave the bare noun alone unless the number really matters (then use a number and a counter, Chapter 9).

The subject (and more) is often left out

When it is clear from the situation who is meant, Korean simply does not say it. "I", "you" and "it" disappear far more often than in English. A one-word-short reply is perfectly complete:

Question	Reply	What was dropped
어디 가요? eodi gayo? Where are you going?	학교에 가요. hakgyo-e gayo. (I) go to school.	"you" in the question and "I" in the reply
뭐 마셔요? mwo masyeoyo? What are you drinking?	물 마셔요. mul masyeoyo. (I) drink water.	"you", "I", and (casually) the object marker

In speech, the object marker and the topic marker are also often dropped in casual conversation, as in 물 마셔요. This course writes them in full so you learn what they do first.

Word order is flexible, but the verb stays last

Because the particles label each noun, the nouns can be moved around for emphasis without changing the meaning. The one thing you cannot do in an ordinary sentence is move the verb away from the end.

Order	Sentence	Note
Subject, object, verb	친구가 책을 읽어요. chinguga chaegeul ilgeoyo.	the neutral order
Object, subject, verb	책을 친구가 읽어요. chaegeul chinguga ilgeoyo.	same meaning; stresses "the book"

Both sentences mean "A friend reads a book." If you swap the particles instead (친구를 책이 읽어요), you get "The book reads the friend": the markers, not the position, decide who does what.

Dictionary form: every verb ends in 다

Verbs are listed in dictionaries in a form that ends in 다 da. Remove the 다 and you have the stem, which is what the endings attach to (Chapter 6). The sentences above use the everyday polite ending -요.

Dictionary form	Stem	Polite present	Meaning
먹다 meokda	먹-	먹어요 meogeoyo	to eat
가다 gada	가-	가요 gayo	to go
자다 jada	자-	자요 jayo	to sleep
마시다 masida	마시-	마셔요 masyeoyo	to drink
읽다 ikda	읽-	읽어요 ilgeoyo	to read

Watch out: the written form is not always what you say 읽다 is pronounced ikda on its own, but 읽어요 is pronounced ilgeoyo: the final ㄺ keeps both sounds when a vowel follows. Spelling and sound drift apart in Korean; Chapter 2 teaches the changes you need. For now, copy the pronunciations shown.

Questions use the same order

A yes/no question needs no change of word order and no extra word: the polite ending stays and the voice rises at the end. In writing you add a question mark.

Statement	Question
학생이에요. haksaeng-ieyo. (I) am a student.	학생이에요? haksaeng-ieyo? Are you a student?
커피 마셔요. keopi masyeoyo. (I) drink coffee.	커피 마셔요? keopi masyeoyo? Do you drink coffee?

🗣️ In Use — 실제 예문

The rule in short exchanges. Notice how much is left unsaid.

① Where to?

A: 어디 가요? eodi gayo? Where are you going?

B: 학교에 가요. hakgyo-e gayo. I'm going to school.

② Coffee?

A: 커피 마셔요? keopi masyeoyo? Do you drink coffee?

B: 아니요, 물 마셔요. aniyo, mul masyeoyo. No, I drink water.

📋 Quick Reference — 요약표

Feature	Korean	Example
Basic order	subject → object → verb	친구가 책을 읽어요.
Verb position	always last	저는 사과를 먹어요.
Noun jobs	marked by particles written joined to the noun	학교에
Articles	none	사과 = apple / an apple / the apple
Plural	usually not marked (optional 들)	친구 = friend(s)
Subject	often dropped	학교에 가요.
Dictionary verb	ends in 다	먹다, 가다
Question	same sentence, rising voice, ?	학생이에요?

✏️ Try It Yourself — 연습

Work out the answer first, then click to check.

1. What is the last word in 저는 물을 마셔요. and what does it mean?

Show answer

마셔요 (masyeoyo), "drink(s)". The verb is last.

2. Put the English order "A friend eats an apple" into Korean order, using the words 친구가, 사과를, 먹어요.

Show answer

친구가 사과를 먹어요. (chinguga sagwareul meogeoyo.) Subject, object, verb.

3. Is 책을 친구가 읽어요 a correct sentence? What changes compared with 친구가 책을 읽어요?

Show answer

Yes. The meaning is the same; only the emphasis changes (the book is stressed). The particles still label each noun and the verb is still last.

4. How many word units are in 친구가 책을 읽어요?

Show answer

Three: 친구가, 책을, 읽어요. A particle is joined to its noun, not written separately.

5. Does Korean have a word for "the" or "a"? How would you say "apple" in Korean?

Show answer

No. 사과 covers "apple", "an apple", "the apple" and "apples".

6. Someone asks 어디 가요? Reply "(I) go to school" without using "I".

Show answer

학교에 가요. (hakgyo-e gayo.) The subject is dropped because the situation makes it clear.

7. Find the stem of 가다, 자다 and 먹다.

Show answer

Remove 다: 가-, 자-, 먹-.

8. How do you turn the statement 커피 마셔요. into a question?

Show answer

Write it as 커피 마셔요? and say it with a rising voice. The words and their order do not change.

Coming up in Chapter 2: Hangul Beyond the Basics. The tense consonants, the compound vowels, double final consonants and the sound changes that explain why 읽어요 is said ilgeoyo. It builds on Korean Alphabet 1, chapters 9 and 10.