문법 첫걸음

You won't memorize grammar terms in this pack — you'll meet six patterns that show up in almost every Korean sentence you'll ever say, one at a time.

Each section works the same way: one pattern, five example sentences, then Your turn — a blank you fill in together on screen share, live. Whatever you say goes straight into your Live Notes, so it's still there after the lesson.

In English, sentences go Subject → Verb → Object (“I eat an apple”). Korean always saves the verb for last: Subject → Object → Verb (“I an apple eat”).

Think of it as three blocks that snap into place, always in this order:

• Subject — who does it (저는 = “I”)
• Object — what it's done to (사과를 = “an apple”)
• Verb — the action, always last (먹어요 = “eat”)

No matter how long the sentence gets, the verb stays glued to the very end.

Your turn — read each pattern out loud together, then fill in the blank with your own word:

• 저는 ___를 마셔요. (“I drink ___.”)
• 저는 ___를 좋아해요. (“I like ___.”)
• 그는 ___을 읽어요. (“He reads ___.”)

Say the whole sentence out loud, Subject → Object → Verb, then drop it straight into Live Notes.

은/는 introduces your topic — what you're about to talk about (“as for me…”). 이/가 marks the exact subject — who or what is doing or being something, often as new information or the answer to a question.

Both attach directly to a noun, and the choice depends only on the noun's last sound (batchim):

• Ends in a consonant → 은 / 이
• Ends in a vowel → 는 / 가

저 (I) ends in a vowel, so it becomes 저는. 이것 (this) ends in a consonant (ㅅ), so it becomes 이것은.

Your turn — pick 은/는 or 이/가 for each blank (say the batchim rule out loud before answering):

• 저 ___ 커피를 좋아해요. (“As for me, I like coffee.”)
• 날씨 ___ 좋아요. (“The weather is nice.”)
• 이 사람 ___ 제 친구예요. (“This person is my friend.”)

을/를 marks the object — the thing the verb acts on (like 사과를 in 사과를 먹어요, “eat an apple”). Same consonant/vowel rule as before: 을 after a consonant, 를 after a vowel.

에 and 에서 both can mean “at / in / to”, but they answer different questions:

• 에 — a fixed point: where something exists or goes to (학교에 가요 = “go to school”, 집에 있어요 = “am at home”)
• 에서 — where an action happens (도서관에서 공부해요 = “study at the library”)

Quick test: if you could replace the verb with “is located” or “go to”, use 에. If the verb is something you actively do there, use 에서.

Your turn:

• 저는 ___을/를 먹어요. (name a food — consonant-final noun → 을, vowel-final noun → 를)
• 저는 ___에 가요. (name a place you go to)
• 저는 ___에서 공부해요. (name a place where you study)

Almost every Korean sentence you'll speak ends in -아요/어요 — the polite, everyday verb ending (해요체). One rule decides which vowel you add to the verb stem:

• Stem's last vowel is ㅏ or ㅗ → add 아요
• Anything else → add 어요
• 하다 verbs (하다, 공부하다, 좋아하다…) → always 해요

Many stems contract when the vowels meet: 오다 (stem 오 + 아요) becomes 와요, not “오아요”. 마시다 (stem 마시 + 어요) becomes 마셔요, not “마시어요”.

Your turn — conjugate the verb in parentheses:

• 저는 매일 한국어를 ___. (공부하다 → ?)
• 저는 친구를 ___. (만나다 → ? hint: ㅏ + 아 merges into one syllable)
• 저는 집에 ___. (있다 → ?)

Korean has speech levels — the ending on a verb changes depending on who you're talking to.

• 해요체 (polite, everyday) — what this whole course uses. Safe with strangers, coworkers, older people, and your Preply tutor.
• 반말 (casual) — drops -요, used only with close friends or much younger people. Using it with the wrong person can sound rude, even without meaning to.
• 격식체 / 하십시오체 (formal) — announcements, news, business. You'll recognize it (그렇습니다, 감사합니다) more than you'll need to produce it early on.

Rule of thumb as a learner: stay in 해요체 until a Korean friend specifically invites you to speak 반말 (반말 해도 돼요? — “Is it okay to speak casually?”).

Your turn — decide which level fits, then say the phrase out loud:

• You just met your Preply tutor for the first time. Say hello. (해요체 or 반말?)
• A same-age Korean friend just made you dinner. Say thanks — then try the 반말 version together.
• A middle schooler asks if it's okay to speak 반말 with you. What do you say back?

Three small tools finish your beginner toolkit:

• Questions — drop a question word (뭐 what, 어디 where, 누구 who, 언제 when, 왜 why) into the same S-O-V slot, or just raise your voice at the end of a statement.
• Negatives — put 안 right before the verb: 안 + 가요 = “don't go”.
• Past tense — swap -아요/어요 for -았어요/었어요 (하다 verbs → 했어요). Same ㅏ/ㅗ vs. everything-else rule as Section 4, just one tense back.

Your turn:

• 저는 ___에 안 가요. (name a place you don't go to)
• 어제 저는 ___을/를 먹었어요. (name something you ate yesterday)
• ___ 해요? (ask a question using 뭐, 어디, or 누구)