the Korean Tutor

Korean Grammar Essentials:

Verbs, Adjectives, Possession, “좋다 vs. 좋아하다,” and “우리”

✅ 1. Verbs (동사)

In Korean, verbs always appear at the end of the sentence and describe actions or occurrences.

• Example:

  • 먹다 (to eat) → 저는 밥을 먹어요. (I eat rice.)

  • 가다 (to go) → 학교에 가요. (I go to school.)

Verbs are conjugated based on tense, politeness level, and sentence type (declarative, interrogative, etc.).

✅ 2. Adjectives (형용사)

In Korean, many adjectives act like verbs. They are also conjugated and used at the end of a sentence to describe a state.

• Example:

  • 예쁘다 (to be pretty) → 꽃이 예뻐요. (The flower is pretty.)

  • 바쁘다 (to be busy) → 저는 바빠요. (I’m busy.)

Korean adjectives don’t need a verb like “is” in English — they already function like verbs.

✅ 3. Possessive Particle: ~의

The particle 의 shows possession. It’s similar to ’s in English.

• Structure: Noun1 + 의 + Noun2 = Noun2 belongs to Noun1

  • Example:

    • 친구의 책 (friend’s book)

    • 선생님의 이름 (the teacher’s name)

    • 저의 집 (my house) → often shortened to 제 집

Pronunciation tip: 의 is often pronounced like “에” in conversation.

✅ 4. 좋다 vs. 좋아하다

These two words both relate to liking something, but they are used very differently in grammar.

• Use 좋다 when the subject is the thing that’s good.

• Use 좋아하다 when the subject is the person who likes something.

✅ 5. 우리 – We, Us, and Even My

우리 means “we” or “our,” but in Korean, it’s also commonly used to say my when referring to things closely related to the speaker.

• 우리 집 = my/our house

• 우리 엄마 = my/our mom

• 우리 학교 = our school

Even when talking about something personal, Koreans often use “우리” to show closeness or shared experience, rather than possession.

Quick Recap:

• Verbs describe actions; adjectives describe states and also act like verbs.

• Use 의 to show possession.

• Use 좋다 for when something is good; 좋아하다 when someone likes something.

• Use 우리 for both “we” and “my” in many contexts, especially with family or belongings.