Henry J. Amen IV - Korean for Beginners

English

Korean

Meaning

Example

adjective

a modifying part of speech, typically helping to describe a noun

The squid tastes delicious.

.

adverb

a modifying part of speech, typically used to give information on how an action (verb) is carried out

I quickly ate my squid.

.

article

in English, a short word that helps identify a noun; these do not exist in Korean

See the squid swimming in the tank?

?

aspiration

a pronunciation technique in which a puff of air is released along with the sound(s)

The characters and are aspirated.

.

batchim

in Korean, a consonant that appears in the third position of a syllable; often, special pronunciation rules are associated with them

How do you pronounce the batchim ?

?

comparative

a grammatical tool to show a comparison between two things; affects adjectives and adverbs

My squid is more delicious than yours.

.

conjugation

rules governing how verb forms are created to show grammatical features like person and tense

How do you conjugate the verb to walk in the present tense?

?

conjunctive adverbs

words that connect two different clauses or sentences to show the meaning between them; usually referred to in English as conjunctions

I ordered a lot of squid, but I couldnt eat all of it.

. OR
. .

consonant

a letter or character representing a consonant sound (as opposed to a vowel)

The letter b is the first consonant in the English alphabet.

b .

contraction

the shortening and joining of two words or sounds to make their pronunciation easier

I simply cannot cant get enough of this delicious squid.

.

declarative (indicative)

a type of sentence that states information

I love squid.

.

demonstrative pronoun

a word that singles out or points to a noun

You eat this squid, and Ill eat that one.

.

diphthong

the combination of two or more vowel sounds to create one new one

The vowel sound in boy is [o] + [i], a diphthong.

boy [o] [i] .

ending

a set pattern attached to the stem of a verb in order to create meaning through conjugation

Most verbs in English are conjugated into the past tense with the ending -ed.

-ed .

future

()

a verb tense indicating something that hasnt happened yet

I will finish my plate of squid.

.

homonym

a word with the same spelling and sound as another but a different meaning

Band (e.g., a rock band) and band (e.g., a rubber band) are homonyms.

.

homophone

a word with the same sound as another but a different spelling and meaning

Bare and bear are homophones.

bare bear .

honorific

verb conjugations and special words used in Korean to show respect to the person youre talking to and/or about

You dont need to use honorifics when talking to your squid.

.

imperative

a type of sentence that gives a command

Love your squid!

!

infinitive

the most basic, unconjugated form of a verb

Infinitives in English are signified by the word to and in Korean by the ending -.

to , - .

inquisitive

(interrogative)

a type of sentence that poses a question

Do you love squid?

?

modifier

a word or other grammatical element that describes or qualifies another

Adjectives and adverbs are considered modifiers in English.

.

noun

a part of speech representing people, places, and other physical and abstract objects

Id like more squid , please. .

object

a noun that receives the action in a sentence

We ate squid.

.

omission

the removal of sentence elements that are unnecessary because they are already understood

Its okay to omit the subject of a Korean sentence if it can be understood from the context.

.

particle

a Korean grammar element, usually attached to nouns, that adds meaning to and/or signifies the grammatical function of a word

The object particle - / - signifies that a noun is an object.

- / - .

past

()

a verb tense indicating something that has already happened

I finished my plate of squid. .

personal

pronoun

a word that singles out or points to a person

I will eat my squid, and you eat yours.

. .

plain

verb conjugations and words used when you dont need to show respect to the person youre talking to and/or about

You can use plain forms when talking to your squid.

.

possessive

word forms that indicate ownership of something

The leftover squid is Hal s , not mine .

.

predicate

the second part of a simple sentence, used in this book to describe how two nouns or a noun and an adjective are linked by the verb to be

Squid is delicious.

.

preposition

in English, words used in conjunction with nouns to add meaning; in Korean, particles perform this role

Lets eat squid at the restaurant on the corner.

.

present

a verb tense indicating something ongoing or habitual

I always finish my plate of squid.

.

progressive

a verb tense indicating something in the process of occurring

I am eating squid right now. .

propositive

a type of sentence that makes a suggestion or proposal

Lets eat some squid.

.

stem

the base of a verb that doesnt change and onto which conjugative endings are added

The stem of the verb to love is lov-.

to love lov- .