Michael
Help with pronouns please? I've gotten used to talking about myself with 저는/제가 and 나는/내가, but I somehow find myself tongue-tied when talking about other people. Can someone please tell me how to say these things with both casual and more polite forms? Sorry, I know that's kind of a lot of writing. Even if you only have time to do 반말 or 존댓말 that would be really helpful! 감사합니다!!!! 1. You really seem to like butter. 2. Your shoes are by the door. 3. He lives near me. 4. His family is rich. 5. She is a friend of a friend. 6. Her friends will be here soon. 7. They are about to leave. 8. Their mothers know each other.
Jul 28, 2014 3:55 PM
Answers · 6
I believe "반말/존댓말" is the one of the most confusing things when you learn Korean. You should learn if you want to mingle with Koreans better but even if you not, they will understand. :) Anyways, here you go. 1. You really seem to like butter. (너)정말 버터를 좋아하는 구나./ 정말 버터를 좋아 하시는군요. 2. Your shoes are by the door. 너/니 신발 문쪽에 있어./신발이 문쪽에 있어요/있습니다. As you may know, -습니다 is more formal 3. He lives near me. 그/걔 (we don't really say "그" when we speak but write)는 내 근처에 살아/그 친구는 저희집 근처에 살아요/삽니다. 4. His family is rich. 그의/걔네 가족은 부자야. 그의 가족은 부자에요/입니다. 5. She is a friend of a friend. 그녀는/걔는 친구의 친구야. 그녀는/그 친구는 친구의 친구에요/입니다. 6. Her friends will be here soon. 그녀의 친구는 곧 여기로 올거야. 그녀의 친구는 곧 이곳으로 올거에요/올겁니다. 7. They are about to leave. 그들은 막 떠나려고 해. 그들은 곧 떠나려고 해요/합니다. 8. Their mothers know each other. 그들의 엄마는 서로 아는 사이야. 그들의 엄마는 서로 아는 사이에요/사이입니다.
July 28, 2014
Just to answer from another angle - to "think in Korean", it seems to me that you usually want to find ways of *avoiding* using a pronoun, e.g. - If you use the honorific (으)시 in the verb form, it's obvious that you are not talking about yourself (unless joking, quoting someone, etc.) so you must be referring either to the person you are talking to or a third person. - Koreans use titles a lot - if you need to clarify who you are talking about, use the person's title (할머니, 사장님...) - Because Korean is a very contextual language, you don't need to keep putting a subject in every sentence - if it is obvious who you are talking about, you can often omit any direct word to refer to the person, even by pronoun, in subsequent sentences.
July 28, 2014
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