Korean Sentence Patterns

Master the structure of Korean sentences — SOV order, particles, and essential patterns for EPS TOPIK

🏗️ SOV Structure 🔩 Particles 📐 12+ Patterns 🎯 20 Quizzes

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①

The Golden Rule: SOV Order

Korean places the Verb at the very end of the sentence. This is the opposite of English (SVO) and the single most important rule to remember.

Subject + Object + Verb

주어 (Simuno) + 목적어 (Layon) + 동사 (Pandiwa)

Subject 저는 I

→

Object 물을 water

→

Verb ⬅ always last 마셔요 drink

🇰🇷

저는 물을 마셔요.

Jeo-neun mul-eul ma-syeo-yo.

I drink water.

🇰🇷

저는 사과를 먹어요.

Jeo-neun sa-gwa-reul meo-geo-yo.

I eat an apple.

🇰🇷

저는 한국어를 공부해요.

Jeo-neun han-gug-eo-reul gong-bu-hae-yo.

I study Korean.

💡 Remember: Adjectives also come before the noun they describe. Adverbs come before the verb. Everything leads up to the verb at the end.

②

Particles (조사) — The Grammar Glue

Particles are small suffixes attached to nouns. They show the role of each word in the sentence — who is doing what, where, when, and how.

Particle	Role	After vowel	After consonant	Example
은/는	Topic marker topic	는	은	저는 (I) / 책은 (book)
이/가	Subject marker subject	가	이	제가 / 밥이
을/를	Object marker object	를	을	물을 / 사과를
에	Location / time place/time	에		학교에 (at school) / 3시에 (at 3)
에서	Action location at/in	에서		학교에서 (at school [doing])
으로/로	Direction / tool to/by	로	으로	버스로 (by bus)
에게/한테	To a person to	에게 / 한테		친구에게 (to friend)
에서부터	From (place) from	에서부터		서울에서부터 (from Seoul)
와/과	And / with and	와	과	친구와 (with friend)
도	Also / too also	도		저도 (me too)
만	Only only	만		물만 (water only)
보다	Comparison than	보다		저보다 (more than me)

💡 에 vs 에서: 에 = static location/time ("I am at school"). 에서 = action location ("I study at school").

③

Negation (부정문)

Korean has two main ways to negate a sentence.

안 + Verb | Verb stem + 지 않아요

Short form | Long form

✅

저는 밥을 먹어요.

I eat rice.

❌

저는 밥을 안 먹어요.

Short: 안 + verb

I don't eat rice.

❌

저는 밥을 먹지 않아요.

Long: verb + 지 않아요

I don't eat rice.

못 (can't) — inability negation:

🚫

저는 못 가요.

I cannot go. (physical inability)

🚫

저는 가지 못해요.

I cannot go. (long form)

④

Asking Questions (의문문)

Korean questions keep the same SOV word order as statements — only the intonation or ending changes.

Subject + Object + Verb? ↗

Rise in intonation or add question word at start

Question Word	Korean	Example
What?	뭐/무엇	뭐 먹어요? What do you eat?
Who?	누구	누구예요? Who is it?
Where?	어디	어디 가요? Where are you going?
When?	언제	언제 와요? When are you coming?
How?	어떻게	어떻게 해요? How do you do it?
Why?	왜	왜 안 와요? Why aren't you coming?
How many?	몇	몇 개예요? How many is it?
How much?	얼마	얼마예요? How much is it?

💡 Yes/No Questions: Change 아요/어요 → 아요?/어요? with rising intonation. Or add 지요? to confirm something.

⑤

Essential Sentence Patterns

Tap each pattern to expand. These are the most common structures tested in EPS TOPIK.

🎯

Sentence Builder Quizzes

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