korean particles from totes confusing to mostly annoying:
ok so this is specifically for momomoing because korean is actually really hard. Like sorting out homophones through context. (i guess it's a bit like written english in that sense hahaha, though the pronunciation is exactly the same in Korean. boo hoo)
Anywho. Particles are super annoying, especially the subject/topic markers. Object markers are sort of easier to deal with, you just have to know sentence construction, something that is actually woefully under-taught here in the UK. The other particles in Korean usually come with grammar points attached, so are easier to tell apart. (:
In Korean, nouns are usually followed by a particle or suffix, which indicates the case or function of the noun in question Particles always attach to the end of the noun and never occur at the beginning of a word.
Subject Particle: -이/-가
- comes in two forms,
-이 : for use when the subjects final syllable ends in a consonant
-가 for use when the subjects final syllable ends in a vowel
- This particle indicates the subject of a sentence or clause, that is, the 'doer' of an action or the person or thing being described.
an example in english would be 'Fii studies korean' --- here 'Fii' is the subject.
so if we were to translate 'Fii studies Korean' into korean, with 'Fii' being the subject we get:
피가 한국어를 공부해요.
There is a special subject particle that you use when showing respect for parents, older people, teachers (people of a higher social status, or are older than you, basically). The particles is -께서 and you attach it to -님:
김 선생님께서
Object Particle -을/-를
- This particle indicates the object of an action verb.
Fii studies Korean.
'Korean' is the object of the sentence, the thing being studied.
I eat Korean food.
'Korean food' is the object of the sentence, the thing that is being eaten
- This particle has two forms:
을 when attached to nouns ending in a consonant
-를 when attached to nouns ending in a vowel
Thus:
Fii studies Korean: 피가 한국어를 공부해요.
I eat Korean food: 저는 한식을 먹어요.
The topic particle:-은/는
this one is my least favourite, and imo the most confusing.
- This particle has two forms:
-은 when attached to nouns ending in a consonant
-는 when attached to nouns ending in a vowel
Thus:
book 책 ---> 책은
- The particle has two major functions in a sentence:
- t identifies the topic of a sentence -- that is, a subject that has already been introduced, that is now old knowledge and can, therefore, be put at the beginning of the sentence. In these cases, it can be thought of as 'As for....'.
Take a look at these sets of sentences:
친구가 영어를 가르칩니다.
My friend (new subject introduced) teaches English.
친구는 호주 사람입니다.
My friend ('As for my friend ...' -- old information, so it is now the topic) he/she is Australian.
한국말을 공부합니다.
I study Korean (new item of information).
한국말은 재미있습니다.
Korean ('As for Korean ...' -- old information, so it is now the topic) is interesting.
2. It highlights a contrast between two sentences or parts of a sentence, with one or both the items being contrasted marked with -은/-는:
저는 or 제가 한식을 좋아합니다. 친구는 양식을 좋아합니다.
I like Korean food. My friend (on the other hand) likes Western food.
- This particle can replace the subject and object particles:
친구는 학생입니다.
My friend is a student. (Replaces -가)
불고기는 좋아합니다.
I like pulgogi. (Replaces -을)
- The particle -은/-는 is almost never used with certain question words, such as 누구 (who?) and 무엇 (what?), as by definition, the attention in the sentence is focused on those words.
- Finally, -은/-는 is not used in an answer to a question word in the previous sentence:
무엇이 재미있습니까?
What is interesting?
한국말이 재미있습니다.
Korean is interesting.
Again, this is because the focus of the sentence will be on the answer to that question word.
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I really hope this helps at least a little bit? TTMIK has a couple of lessons on particles too :)