Yuni
How to write the order of two verbs in one sentence? I'm not sure if this makes much sense, but if I have a sentence with two verbs, say for example, "I 'need' to 'talk' to you" or "I 'have' a lot to 'do'", how would I write this out? Would it be something like: "많이 있어 해요"? Do I write the verbs in the same order as I did in English, or is there a different way of writing it? Thank you
Aug 10, 2014 7:21 AM
Answers · 4
1) "I need to talk to you" Here, 'need to' is acting a modal verb. There are many modal verbs in English (want, could, can, like to...). Korean doesn't have modal verbs, but of course it has ways of expressing the same concepts. The most direct translation of "I need to talk to X" would be "X(이)랑 말 해야 합니다". The 해야 하다 ending is one way to express 'need' in korean. If you find out in korean how to translate other English modal verbs, you will be much less confused! 2)"I have a lot to do" In this case, the verb 'to do' is describing the 'a lot'. Actually, using verbs to describe nouns is much easier in Korean than in English! With 'action verbs' Present: action verb + 는 + noun 비 오는 날 – a rainy day Future : action verb + ㄹ + noun 할 일 - thing(s) to do 해야할 말 - something I need to say Past: action verb + ㄴ 먹은 약 the medicine (I) ate Have a look at http://www.koreanlanguagenerd.com/grammarindex/participle and click the links at the top - They will explain better than I can!
August 10, 2014
Let's see the sentence you wrote. "I need to talk to you", which means "당신에게 해야할(need) 말(talk)이 있어요." In this case, the verb is translated in order as you suggested. Besides the verb "talk" looks like a noun after translating. Meanwhile, "I have a lot to do", which means " 할(do) 일이 많이 있어요(have)", the order of verb is reversed. The firs sentence is exceptional. Generally, the order of verb in Korean is in reversed compared to English. :)
August 10, 2014
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