MelissaXD
Adjectives and Descriptive Verbs? When do I use and adjective and when do I use a descriptive verb? What's the difference?
Apr 25, 2011 11:42 PM
Answers · 7
1
Basically, when we describe something in English using an adjective, we'd use it together with the verb 'to be', i.e. It IS big. She IS pretty. They ARE smart. Does that make sense? But in Korean, they will NOT use the verb 'to be' together with adjectives in this sense. The adjective itself will be the verb. Some examples... ex #1... to be pretty (in root/base form): 예쁘다 "She is pretty": 그 여자는 예뻐요 (Where '그 여자는' means 'She' as the subject - one of many ways to say 'she' - and 예뻐요 is the conjugated (into a polite, but not super formal) form of 'to be pretty'.) ex #2... to be big 크다 (in root form) "It is big" 그거는 커요 (where '그거는' will refer to 'It' as the subject, and 커요 will be the conjugated - again, in a polite but not super formal manner - form of the descriptive verb 'to be big'. Adjectives in Korean are actually used quite similarly to the way we use adjectives in English, going before a noun to describe it. Hope that helps, but if it raises any more questions, let me know. Rob...
April 26, 2011
Some call adjectives "descriptive verb","adjective verb", or "qualitative verb" in the Korean language because it acts like a verb as well as builds a predicate without any help like "be-verb" Whereas in English in order to make a predicate with an adjective, "be-verb" is always needed. This is not a unique feature in Korean and also found in Chinese,Japanese,Malay and Indonesian. For example, "예쁘다" is an adjective meaning "to be beautiful" not just "beautiful". ^________^
April 26, 2011
"좋은 영화는 봤어요" should be "좋은 영화를(object marker)봤어요" but the adjective before noun is correct. ^^ for example, 예쁘다 + 여자(a noun) = 예쁜 여자, 좋다+영화 = 좋은 영화^________^
May 1, 2011
Thanks, but my problem is that I don't know when I'm suppose to use 예쁜 vs 예뻐요 ? Do I use it like this --->이 영화가 좋아요 (This move is good.) 좋은 영화는 봤어요---> (I saw a good movie.)
April 27, 2011
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