한국어 수첩

Tuesday, 12 February 2013

Modifiers 연습 posted at 13:44

Last week was quite a heavy week in terms of learning grammar as we begun discussing modifying sentences. I have already conquered the same confusion when previously learning Japanese as the sentence structure is quite difficult, so luckily I didn't have much strain but there is always a need to remember the grammar rules.

So in this post I will be establishing the rules for past, present and future tenses with included examples and hopefully I can explain fully how these modifying sentences differ from the original sentences so you can understand and use this post as a reference ^^

Adjective Modifiers

The basic pattern for modifying adjectives is using adjective base + (으) ㄴ - . (The 은 being added if the verb ends with the constant or just ㄴ being added to the end of a vowel ending verb.)

For example if you wanted to modify "많다" (to be many) it becomes "많은 개" (many dogs - dogs just being an example noun in this situation). To explain a little what difference is made by this modifier, the sentence without a modifier "개가 많아요." means "There are many dogs." whilst with a modifier you can using two verbs in one sentence and alter the subject a little, for example: "많은 개는 그 나무 앞에 앉아요." (The many dogs are sitting in front of the tree). Hopefully you won't need any further explanation in the difference and you can tell how the modifier has given the subject a description.

Of course with any change of adjectives/verbs there are some rules you have to remember;

Any 있다/없다 ending adjectives aren't treated with the same pattern and have -는 added to the adjective base instead as they are still treated as a verb due to it's various meanings, for example: "맛이 있는 사과" (the delicious apple).
-ㅂ ending adjectives delete the ㅂ and add 우 much like in other verb patterns, plus the modifier pattern above, for example: "춥다 -> 추운 날씨" (the cold weather).
-ㄹ ending adjectives delete the ㄹ because the constant doesn't deal well with ㄴ and then the modifier pattern is added, for example: "길다 -> 긴 바지" (long trousers).

You must note that there are no past, present, future tenses used with adjectives and there is only one pattern. If you want to state a tense you must use it with the end of the sentence verb or sentence ending.

Past Tense Verb Modifiers

The basic pattern for modifying verbs in past tense is using verb base + (으) ㄴ - much like the modifying pattern for adjectives. (The 은 being added if the verb ends with the constant or just ㄴ being added to the end of a vowel ending verb.)

For example if you wanted to modify "하다" (to do) it becomes "한 숙제" (the homework that has been done - again homework being just an example noun for this explanation purpose). Even though I have explained it above with the adjective modifiers how these sentences can differ, I will again give an example here to explain it further. If you don't use a modifier a sentence can look something like "나는 숙제를 했어요." (I did homework.) but with a modifier you can make a sentence more complex and descriptive, for example it can become: "내가 한 숙제는 아주 어려워요." (The homework I did was very difficult).

With most verbs and past tense modifier you just add the verb base to the pattern given but of course there are some rules you have to remember;

-ㄹ ending verbs delete the ㄹ because the constant doesn't deal well with ㄴ and then the modifier pattern is added, for example: "놀다 -> 논 애들" (the children who played).
-ㄷ ending verbs much like when you change into polite form changes the ㄷ -> ㄹ when adding the past modifier, so for example: "듣다 -> 들은 음악" (the music I listened to).
-ㅅ ending verbs do not agree also with ㄴ so the ㅅ is deleted but instead of the ㄴ being added as if the verb is now a vowel ending base, it must be treated as a constant ending still and have 은 added so you can not confuse it with similar vowel ending verbs. For example these types of verbs can be changed as such: "낫다 -> 나은 머리" (the head that got better).
Just as I showed with adjectives -ㅂ ending adjectives delete the ㅂ and add 우 plus the modifier pattern above, for example: "돕다 -> 도문 선생님" (the teacher who gave help).

Present Tense Verb Modifiers

The basic pattern for modifying verbs in past tense is using verb base + 는 - .

For example if you wanted to modify the verb "먹다" (to eat) it becomes "먹는 사과" (the apple I am eating - apple being just an example noun for this purpose). Hopefully now you can understand the difference in a sentence translation when using a modifier and not using a modifier but I will continue to give an example on present tense for further practice and understanding. If you don't use a modifier a sentence can look something like "그 사람은 여기에 있어요." (That person is here) but with a modifier it can be made far more complex for example, "그 자는 사람은 여기에 있어요." (That person who is sleeping is here).

Here is a rule you must remember with present tense modifiers;

-ㄹ ending verbs delete the ㄹ because the constant doesn't deal well with ㄴ and then the modifier pattern is added, for example: "살다 -> 사는 가족" (the family who live ~somewhere~).
The rest of the verb bases typically remain the same unlike the original rules given with the past tense modifiers.

Future Tense Verb Modifiers

The basic pattern for modifying verbs in future tense is using verb base + (으) ㄹ - . (The 을 being added if the verb ends with the constant or just ㄹ being added to the end of a vowel ending verb.)

For example if you wanted to modify the verb "마시다" (to eat) it becomes "마실 커피" (the coffee I will drink - coffee being just an example noun). Again I will give you an example sentence to show the difference in translation between a sentence using a modifier and one that doesn't. If you don't use a modifier a sentence can look something like "나는 가게에서 이 음식을 사겠어요." (I will buy food at the shop) but with a modifier it can become far more descriptive such as "이 먹을 음식은 가게에서 샀어요." (This food I will eat I bought a the shop).

As always here are some rules you must remember for future tense modifiers;

-ㄹ ending verbs delete the ㄹ because the constant doesn't deal well with ㄴ and then the modifier pattern is added, for example: "놀다 -> 놀 애들" (the children who will sing).
-ㄷ ending verbs also changes the ㄷ -> ㄹ when adding the future modifier, so for example: "묻다 -> 물을 학생" (the student who will ask).
-ㅅ ending verbs again have the ㅅ deleted and instead of ㄹ being added as if the verb is now a vowel ending base, it must be treated as a constant ending still and have 을 added so you can not confuse it with similar vowel ending verbs. For example: "낫다 -> 나을 다리" (the leg that will get better).
As mentioned before -ㅂ ending adjectives delete the ㅂ and add 우 plus the modifier pattern above, for example: "줍 -> 주울 우산" (the umbrella that will be given).

던 Modifier for Past-Past

Another modifier that be used to establish tenses can be the pattern verb base + 던 - which shows past-past tense and past-progressive which has a meaning similar to that of the pattern -고 있었어요 which loosely translates to "did something, but didn't finish it".

For example in terms of past-past tense if you wanted to modify the verb "가다" (to go) it can become "가던 백화점" (the department store I went to (and came back from) - department store being just an example noun for this purpose).

If you want to translate this modifier for past-progressive tense, you could use the modifier in an example sentence as such: "그 먹던사과는 여기에 있어요." (That apple that I ate (and didn't finish eating) is here). This is in comparison to the future tense modifier which is "먹은 사과" (the apple I ate).

☆☆☆

Hopefully this guide into modifiers has been extensive and helpful. It is in those are more elementary learners rather than beginners, but when learning sentence structure for longer compositions these modifiers are useful in making your sentences more descriptive and interesting. If you have any questions on further uses or if you don't understand everything do not hesitate to leave a comment here. Also if you really want, I can make this revision guide into a downloadable document file so you can print it out and use it in your work ^^

Labels: korean help, korean progress, review

0 comments

Friday, 25 January 2013

제일 한국어 책 - Best Korean Language Books posted at 10:14

One of the most frequent questions I get about studying Korean is what books to use. There isn't a lot of material available and for cheap (well mostly in Europe) so for some it is hard to find the right material to use, which of course is the starting block for learning any language.

Before I came to University I usually used a lot of online materials, or went on amazon.co.uk and searched for Korean workbooks but none of these seemed to be very helpful or were mostly in romanised Korean. When learning Korean I recommend (actually I insist) that you begin with learning hangul, therefore you need a textbook or workbook that forces you to use and practice this writing system.

The textbooks I have used at University so far are 'Elementary Korean' and 'Continuing Korean' written by Ross King and Jae-Hoon Yeon.

Here is an image of the two books, the one on the right being the first book I started with 'Elementary Korean' and the second is 'Continuing Korean' (though I am sure you can find it available with a much more fancy cover much like the 1st book). I am not going to lie to you, both books are very expensive, the first being £30-£40 depending where you find it online and the second is so far £40-£60 (these are second hand prices I am talking about, new copies add around £20 to those amounts). One tip I do have if you want to find these books cheaper is to look on abebooks.com or to look online at the times when students at University will not be buying these books. At University we have to buy the first book around September/October whilst the second in December/January. Friends of mine bought both textbooks for much cheaper outside these times due to no other students hunting for them so that is something I definitely recommend.

Despite me already telling you about how expensive they are, I have to say both books are worth the money. I have yet to find a book in English that covers the Korean Language so in depth and well. It gives you dialogues, vocabulary lists and a large amount of grammar information per chapter. In class we cover about one chapter every 2/3 lessons, and the grammar can be a lot to take in, but if you study by yourself of course you can take your own time trying to understand everything. It is all well set out, and has a good index. There is also every 5 chapters a review chapter that sums up everything you have left so far, which is amazing for revision. In class we use every 5 chapters for the point to have a review test just to see how well we are doing and I find these extra chapters really handy in preparing for these tests. Another good inclusion is that you get a useful audio CD with different examples and dialogues, but also you have the rights to access the website connected to the textbook which has more activities and tasks which can aid in your studying progress.

I may sound bias because Jae-Hoon Yeon is my 선생님 (teacher) at University but I am being honest in saying you will not find any better textbook with English commentary that are for beginners. I haven't been able to find one so comprehensive and useful, mostly relying before on Japanese books that teach Korean instead.

Another positive thing is 'Elementary Korean' has its own workbook which is entirely affordable It's really handy in that it has a lot of tasks and extra work that can aid your studying because practice and repeat is the best way to remember and understand.

Overall for a beginner, these two textbooks are the best you can get, and I would struggle to find one that matches so well! I have other books I use but I will include them in later posts due to them being suited for so many different aspects of learning Korean. Remember if you have any questions, do not hesitate to drop me a comment on this post!

Labels: book, korean help, korean progress, review, textbook