69 KiB
Lesson 25: Anybody, Everybody, Somebody, Nobody, etc.
Vocabulary
The following words are kept in the order below because this lesson presents them in that order:
모든 = every
Common Usages:
- 모든 것 = everything
- 모든 사람 = every person
Notes:
This looks like the dictionary form of this word should be “모드다” and ~ㄴ/은 is added to is to describe an upcoming noun. 모든 is the dictionary form of this word. It is placed before nouns to mean “all/every…”
Examples:
- 모든 학생들은 하루 종일 잤어 = All students slept all day
- 모든 학생들은 그 문제를 쉽게 풀었어요 = All the students easily solved that problem
- 모든 선생님들은 똑똑해요 = Every teacher is smart
- 우리 선생님은 모든 학생들을 좋아해요 = Our teacher likes all students
- 모든 한국 사람들이 밥을 먹어요 = All Korean people eat rice
- 모든 학생들은 감기에 걸렸어요 = All the students have the flu
모든 것 = everything
Examples:
- 저는 모든 것을 먹고 싶어요 = I want to eat everything
- 저는 한국어에 대해 모든 것을 배우고 싶어요 = I want to learn everything about Korean
어디나 = everywhere
Example:
- 저는 한국 어디나 여행하고 싶어요 = I want to travel everywhere in Korea
- 우리는 동남아시아에 어디나 갈 거예요 = We will go everywhere in South East Asia
- 밥은 어디나 맛이 똑같아요 = Rice tastes the same everywhere
언제나 = every time
Example:
- 그녀는 언제나 늦게 와요 = She comes late every time
- 저는 언제나 똑같은 메뉴를 먹어요 = I always eat the same menu
- 저는 언제나 똑같은 시간에 일어나요 = I always wake up at the same time
누구나 = everyone
Example:
- 누구나 그 여자를 알아요 = Everybody knows that girl
- 누구나 우리 애기를 보고 싶어요 = Everybody wants to see our baby
- 누구나 한국을 좋아해요 = Everybody likes Korea
뭔가 = something
Notes:
The subject and object particles in general can be omitted from any sentence (although I don’t suggest omitting particles until you have a very deep understanding of Korean), but they seem to be more commonly omitted from these types of sentences.
Example:
- 저는 방금 뭔가(를) 봤어요 = I just saw something a minute ago
- 등에 뭔가(가) 있나요? = Is there something on my back?
- 저는 팔에 뭔가(가)느껴져요 = I feel something on my arm
- 저는 뭔가(를) 먹고 싶어요 = I want to eat something
- 저는 뭔가(를) 말하고 싶어요 = I want to say something
어딘가 = somewhere
Notes:
By the nature of the word “somewhere,” you are most likely to use the particles ~에 or ~에서 in these sentences. It would be acceptable to omit the particle ~에 from 어딘가 but less acceptable to omit the particle ~에서.
Example:
- 저는 열쇠를 어딘가(에) 두었어요 = I left my keys somewhere
- 전쟁이 아시아 어딘가에서 났어요 = A war broke out somewhere in Asia
- 피가 어딘가에서 나오고 있어요 = Blood is coming out of somewhere
- 선생님들이 회의를 어딘가에서 하고 있어요 = The teachers are having a meeting somewhere
- 저는 휴일에 어딘가에 가고 싶어요 = I want to go somewhere on the holiday
- 저는 어딘가에서 커피를 마시고 싶어요 = I want to drink a cup of coffee somewhere
언젠가 = sometime, some day
Notes:
~에 is typically not attached to 언젠가. In both English and Korean, it isn’t logical to make sentences with “until somewhere” or “from somewhere.”
Example:
- 저는 언젠가 선생님이 되고 싶어요 = I want to become a teacher someday
- 그 날이 언젠가 올 거예요 = The day will come sometime
- 구름이 언젠가 걷힐 거예요 = The clouds will clear eventually/sometime
- 저는 언젠가 경찰관이 되고 싶어요 = I want to become a police officer someday
- 저는 언젠가 중국어도 배우고 싶어요 = I want to learn Chinese as well some day
- 저는 언젠가 고향에 돌아가고 싶어요 = I want to return (go back) to my hometown some day
누군가 = somebody
Example:
- 누군가(는) 너를 찾고 있어 = Somebody is looking for you
- 저는 누군가의 열쇠를 찾았어요 = I found somebody’s keys
- 경찰관들은 누군가와 얘기하고 있어요 = The policemen are talking with somebody
- 누군가가 지갑을 잃어버렸어요 = Somebody lost their wallet
아무나 = anybody
See the explanation in this lesson about this word.
Examples:
- 저는 아무나 사귀고 싶어요 = I want to go out with anybody
- 저는 이 선물을 아무에게나 주고 싶어요 = I want to give this present to anybody
- 저는 아무하고나 축구를 하고 싶어요 = I want to play soccer with anybody
아무 거나 = anything
See the explanation in this lesson about this word.
Example:
- 저는 아무 거나 먹고 싶어요 = I want to eat anything
- 아무 거나 고르세요! = Choose anything!
- 아무 거나 먹자! = Let’s eat anything!
아무 데나 = anywhere
See the explanation in this lesson about this word.
Example:
- 저는 아무 데나 가고 싶어요 = I want to go anywhere (I’d go anywhere)
- 가방을 아무 데나 두세요 = Put your bag down anywhere
아무 때나 = anytime
See the explanation in this lesson about this word.
Example:
- 아무 때나 좋아요 = Anytime is good
아무도 = nobody
See the explanation in this lesson about this word.
Examples:
- 아무도 나를 좋아하지 않아 = Nobody likes me
- 집에 아무도 없어요 = There is nobody at home/There isn’t anybody at home
- 저는 아무도 못 봤어요 = I didn’t see anybody/I saw nobody
- 저는 아무도 만나고 싶지 않아요 = I don’t want to meet anybody/I want to meet nobody
- 아무도 집에 가지 않았어요 = Nobody went home
- 저는 그 말을 아무에게도 안 했어요 = I didn’t say that to anybody/I said that to nobody
- 저는 아무하고도 얘기하고 싶지 않아요 = I don’t want to talk with anybody/I want to talk with nobody
아무 것도 = nothing
See the explanation in this lesson about this word.
Examples:
- 저는 아무 것도 먹고 싶지 않아요 = I don’t want to eat anything/I want to eat nothing
아무 데도 = nowhere
See the explanation in this lesson about this word.
Examples:
- 아기는 아무 데도 가지 않았어 = The baby didn’t go anywhere/The baby went nowhere
마다 = each
Notes: Attached to nouns or indications of time to mean “each”
Common Usages:
- 사람마다 = each person
- 날마다 = each day
- Xㄹ/을 때 마다 = every time X happens
- 10분마다 = each/every 10 minutes
Example:
- 이 버스는 10분마다 와요 = This bus comes each/every 10 minutes
- 학생마다 달라요 = Each student is different
- 저는 월요일마다 운동해요 = I exercise every Monday
모두 = all
Notes:
This word is explained in great detail in the lesson below.
Examples:
- 선생님들은 모두 똑똑해요 = All teachers are smart
- 저는 가족 모두를 사랑해요 = I love all of my family
- 저는 학생 모두를 가르쳤어요 = I taught all of the students
- 학생 모두가 기숙사로 갔어요 = All of the students went to the dorm
- 가족 모두가 고향에 갔어요 = All of the/my family went to the/our hometown
- 선생님 모두가 회의에 갔어요 = All of the teachers went to a meeting
- 저는 선물을 모두에게 주었어요 = I gave a present to everybody
다 = all
Notes:
This word is explained in great detail in the lesson below.
Examples:
- 저는 다 했어요 = I did it all
- 저는 숙제를 다 했어요 = I did all of my homework
- 저는 월급을 이미 다 썼어요 = I already spent all of my paycheque
- 저는 라면을 다 먹었어요 = I ate all the ramen
- 사람들이 다 왔어요 = All the people have come
- 사람들이 다 죽었어요 = All the people died
- 부모님은 다 그래요 = All parents are like that
- 남자들은 다 게을러요 = All men are lazy
- 학생들은 다 공부하고 있어요 = All of the students are studying
- 애기들이 다 낮잠 자고 있어요 = All the babies are taking a nap
데 = place
Notes:
This word is similar to the words 곳 and 장소.
A deeper discussion of 데, specifically distinguishing it from 때 and ~는데 can be found in Lesson 76 and Lesson 77.
Common Usages:
- 아무 데나 = anywhere (any place)
- 가고 싶은 데가 있어요? = Do you have a place you want to go?
Examples:
- 돈이 없어서 갈 수 있는 데가 없었어요 = He had nowhere to go because he had no money
- 우리가 처음에 만난 데에 갔어요 = We went to the place that we met for the first time
- 그녀가 사는 데는 조금 멀어요 = She lives a little bit far (The place that she lives is a little far)
언제든지 = anytime
Notes:
~든지 is introduced as a grammatical principle in Lesson 106.
Example:
- 언제든지 오세요! = Come anytime!
Nouns
젓가락 = chopsticks
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “젇까락”
Common Usages: 젓가락을 쓰다 = to use chopsticks 젓가락을 잘 쓰다 = to use chopsticks well
Example: 한국 사람들은 밥을 먹을 때 젓가락을 써요 = Korean people use chopsticks when they eat
혀 = tongue
Common Usages: 혀를 깨물다 = to bite one’s tongue 혀를 내밀다 = to stick out one’s tongue 혀가 짧다 = to have a lisp (literally, to have a short tongue)
Example: 저는 혀를 그녀한테 내밀었어요 = I stuck my tongue out to her
지갑 = wallet, purse
Common Usages: 지갑을 훔치다 = to steal a purse/wallet 지갑을 챙기다 = to take your purse/wallet when you go somewhere 지갑에서 돈을 꺼내다 = to take out money from a purse/wallet
Example: 저는 지갑을 안 가져왔어요 = I didn’t bring my wallet 저는 저의 지갑을 찾고 있어요 = I am looking for my wallet 지갑을 가져갈 필요가 없어요 = I/you don’t need to bring a/your purse/wallet
기숙사 = dorm
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “기숙싸 ”
Common Usages: 기숙사 생활 = dormitory life
Example: 저는 기숙사에서 외롭게 느껴졌어요 = I felt lonely at the dorm 저는 처음에 저의 여자친구를 기숙사에서 만났어요 = I met my girlfriend for the first time in the dorm
주소 = address
Common Usages: 이메일 주소 = e-mail address 주소를 바꾸다 = to change an address
Example: 여기에 주소를 써 주세요 = Please write your address here
메뉴 = menu
Notes: In English the word “menu” is only about the physical book where foods are written in a restaurant. In Korean people use the word “메뉴” when talking about the types of food served at a restaurant. Therefore, you will often hear things like “이 식당의 메뉴는 어때요?” (What do you think about the types of food at this restaurant?)
Example: 그 식당은 메뉴를 바꿨어요 = That restaurant changed its menu (changed the types of food that are served)
아시아 = Asia
Common Usages: 아시아 대륙 = the Asian continent 동남아시아 = South East Asia 동아시아 = East Asia 아시아 국가 = Asian countries
Example: 아시아의 경제는 요즘에 좋아지고 있어요 = The Asian economy is getting better these days
동남아시아 = south east Asia
Example: 우리는 동남아시아에 어디나 갈 거예요 = We will go everywhere in South East Asia 저는 6개월 동안 동남아시아에서 돌아다녔어요 = I wandered around South East Asia for 6 months
눈물 = tears
Common Usages: 눈물을 흘리다 = another way to say “to cry” 눈물을 닦다 = to wipe one’s tears 눈물을 참다 = to hold/fight back one’s tears
Notes: Literally, “eye water”
Example: 저는 눈물을 휴지로 닦았어요 = I wiped my tears with a tissue
회의 = meeting, conference
Common Usages: 회의 중 = to be in a meeting 회의를 열다 = to hold a meeting
Notes: This refers to a meeting at a person’s job, not a meeting amongst family or friends.
Example: 우리는 다음 주에 그 문제에 대한 회의를 열 거예요 = We are going to hold a meeting next week about that problem 간부들은 그 결과를 회의에서 발표했어요 = The executives announced that result at the meeting
고향 = hometown
Common Usages: 고향이 그립다 = to miss one’s hometown
Example: 고향은 어디에요? = Where is your hometown? (Where are you from originally?)
휴일 = holiday
Common Usages: 공휴일 = public holiday
Example: 저는 공휴일을 빼고 매일 일해요 = I work every day except for public holidays
아기/애기 = baby, infant
Common Usages: 애기를 키우다 = to raise a baby 애기를 낳다 = to give birth to a baby 애기가 귀엽다 = for a baby to be cute
Notes: I believe the word was originally “아기” but through constant mispronunciation, the word has now evolved to “애기.”
People often call their boyfriend or girlfriend “애기.” This makes some people sick.
Examples: 우리 애기는 이제 두 살이에요 = Our baby is now two years old 애기들은 과자를 많이 먹어요 = Babies eat a lot of candy 애기 수영장은 깊지 않아요 = Baby swimming pools are not deep 우리 애기는 심한 감기에 걸렸어요 = Our baby caught a severe cold 저는 나쁜 애기였어요 = I was a bad baby 애기가 1분 동안 울고 배를 먹었어요 = The baby cried for 1 minute and then ate a pear 우리 애기는 말을 잘해요 = Our baby speaks well 우리 애기를 위해 그것을 사지 말자 = Let’s not buy that for our baby
Verbs
산책하다 = to go for a walk
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “산채카다”
Common Usages: 산책할래요? = Shall we go for a walk?
Example: 우리는 공원에서(/을) 산책했어요 = We went for a walk in the park 날씨가 좋아서 산책하는 것은 즐거워요 = It is pleasant go to for a walk because the weather is so nice
사귀다 = to go out with, to date
Examples: 우리는 사귄 지 3개월 되었어요 = We have been going out for 3 months 그 학생은 어떤 여자와 지금 사귀고 있어요 = That student is going out with some girl now 저는 아무나 사귀고 싶어요 = I want to go out with anybody 제가 사귀고 있는 여자는 미국에 갔어요 = The girl who I am going out with went to the US 제가 아내와 결혼하기 전에 우리는 2년 동안 사귀었어요 = Before marrying my wife, we went out/dated for 2 years
Adjectives
무관심하다 = to be indifferent
Example: 우리 학생들은 영어에 무관심해요 = Our students don’t care about English
심하다 = to be severe, to be extreme
Example: 우리 애기는 심한 감기에 걸렸어요 = Our baby caught a severe cold 사람이 너무 많아서 서울에서는 교통혼잡이 심해요 = The traffic jams in Seoul are severe because there are too many people 일자리가 하나만 있어서 경쟁은 심할 거예요 = The competition will be extreme because there is only one job available
Adverbs and Other Words
하루 종일 = all day long
Example:
- 그는 하루 종일 그냥 컴퓨터를 해요 = He just uses the computer all day
- 모든 학생들은 하루 종일 잤어 = All students slept all day
- 저의 게으른 남동생은 하루 종일 아무것도 안 해요 = My lazy brother doesn’t do anything all day
예전 = old days, past
Example: 우리 아버지는 예전에 옷을 팔았어요 = Our dad sold clothes in the past
관심이 있다 = to be interested in
Notes: Very common noun that you can use to say “I am interested” in something. “~에” is added to the thing you are interested in, and 관심 is followed by ~이 있다. Translates directly to “I have interest in ____.”
Examples:
- 저는 한국역사에 관심이 있어요 = I am interested in Korean history
- 그 학생은 과학에 관심이 별로 없어요 = That student doesn’t really have any interest in science
이때 = at this moment
Example: 학생들은 항상 이때 힘이 없어요 = Students are always without energy at this time
Introduction
Once again, the vocabulary list of this lesson is the lesson. While all slightly similar, these words are very difficult to understand on their own, so I dedicated an entire lesson to making you understand them. Here, you will learn how to say:
Every-
- (everybody, every time, everywhere, etc…)
Any-
- (anybody, anytime, anywhere, etc…)
Some-
- (somebody, sometime, somewhere, etc…)
No-
- (nobody, nowhere, nothing)
I left spaces in the vocabulary list between different sets of these words (for no reason other than to make it organized).
Everything/Everywhere/Every time/Everyone
Everything/All
모든
The most common way to say “every _____” is to place the word ‘모든’ before a noun. 모든 looks, sounds, and acts like an adjective, but it can not be used to predicate a clause or sentence. This means that you won’t see the word “모든” at the end of a sentence, just like in English. For example, you can’t say something like:
He is every…
Even though 모든 ends in ~ㄴ (which is the same as all adjectives when placed immediately before a noun to describe them – 예쁜, 아름다운, 똑똑한), the dictionary form of 모드다 does not exist.
However, as I mentioned, (like an adjective) “모든” can be placed before a noun. If you place “모든” before a noun, it has the meaning of “every _____.” For example:
- 모든 것 = everything
- 모든 사람 = all people/every person
- 모든 과일 = all fruits/every fruit
- 모든 선생님 = all teachers/every teacher
Those can now go in sentences very easily:
- 모든 아시아 사람들은 젓가락을 잘 쓴다 = All Asian people use chopsticks well
- 모든 학생들은 하루 종일 잤어 = All students slept all day
다
Another possible word to use in similar situations is 다. 다 is used as an adverb in sentences to indicate that “all” of something is done.
One way this is done is to use it in a sentence with an object to indicate that some action was completed without leaving anything behind. For example:
- 저는 라면을 다 먹었어요 = I ate all the ramen
- 저는 숙제를 다 했어요 = I did all of my homework
- 저는 소설을 다 읽었어요 = I read the whole book – or – I read all the books
- 저는 월급을 이미 다 썼어요 = I already spent all of my paycheque
In these situations using “모든” and “다” create a slightly different meaning. ‘다’ is more about doing one action to completion and leaving nothing behind. 모든 is indicating that the action was performed on all possible nouns after “모든”. For example, if I say:
- 저는 라면을 다 먹었어요 = I ate all of the ramen
In this sentence, I am indicating that I have completed the action of “eating ramen” and nothing was left behind. In other words, there is no ramen left in my bowl because I ate it all.
However, in this sentence:
- 저는 모든 라면을 먹었어요 = I ate every ramen
This sentence is a little bit ambiguous and a little but unnatural because in most situations you wouldn’t say this. However, bear with me as I use it to explain the difference in nuance. In this situation, there might have been many different types of ramen at my house. I would use this sentence to indicate that I ate/tried “every one of them.” It is ambiguous as to whether or not I finished eating them, which means that there could still be some left – either in my bowl or in the cupboard.
If you did actually eat every one of them and finished all of the ramen in your house, it would be more natural to use “저는 라면을 다 먹었어요” because the action was completed and nothing was left behind.
This is why I provided two translations for this sentence:
- 저는 소설을 다 읽었어요 = I read the whole book
- 저는 소설을 다 읽었어요 = I read all the books
Depending on the situation, that sentence could be translated to either of those English translations. In the first sentence, the action of ‘reading’ was completed on the subject (one book) without leaving any pages behind within that book. In the second sentence, the action of ‘reading’ was completed on the subject (more than one book) without leaving any pages behind in any of those books.
However, by just saying:
- 저는 모든 소설을 읽었어요
I am more indicating that I have tried reading every book, but there is no indication on if I have finished reading any of them.
다 can also be used to indicate that all the members/things that represent a subject do some action (or are some adjective). For example:
- 사람들이 다 왔어요 = All the people have come
- 사람들이 다 죽었어요 = All the people died
- 부모님은 다 그래요 = All parents are like that
- 남자들은 다 게을러요 = All men are lazy
- 학생들은 다 공부하고 있어요 = All of the students are studying
- 애기들이 다 낮잠 자고 있어요 = All the babies are taking a nap
In these cases, I have noticed that there is effectively no difference between using 다 or 모든. For example, each of these sentences would have the same meaning:
- 모든 사람들이 왔어요 = All the people have come
- 모든 사람들이 죽었어요 = All the people died
- 모든 부모님은 그래요 = All parents are like that
- 모든 남자들은 게을러요 = All men are lazy
- 모든 학생들은 공부하고 있어요 = All of the students are studying
- 모든 애기들이 낮잠을 자고 있어요 = All the babies are taking a nap
The only difference I can feel is that ‘모든’ is considering the subjects (although groups of people) almost as unique individuals/things within the group, whereas ‘다’ is describing the subjects a groups. At this point, this is not something you need to worry about. Understanding the precise nuance is more about feeling (which you will develop with time).
The similarities in these usages allow them to be used in the same sentence. For example:
- 모든 사람들이 다 왔어요 = All the people have come
- 모든 사람들이 다 죽었어요 = All the people died
- 모든 부모님은 다 그래요 = All parents are like that
- 모든 남자들은 다 게을러요 = All men are lazy
- 모든 학생들은 다 공부하고 있어요 = All of the students are studying
- 모든 애기들이 다 낮잠 자고 있어요 = All the babies are taking a nap
All of these can also be used in negative sentences, for example:
- 사람들이 다 안 왔어요 = Not all the people have come
- 저는 라면을 다 안 먹었어요 = I didn’t eat all of the ramen
- 저는 숙제를 다 하지 못했어요 = I couldn’t do all of my homework
다 can also be used as a noun. In this form, it is usually placed before 이다 or 아니다 to indicate that something is (or isn’t) “all.” For example:
- 그게 다야? = Is that all
- 이게 다가 아니야 = This isn’t all
모두
There is also another word that you should be aware of: “모두,” which has the meaning of “all.” It can generally be used in the following ways:
As an adverb
In these cases, 모두 essentially has the same meaning as “다.” For example:
- 선생님들은 모두 똑똑해요 = All teachers are smart
which could also be written as:
- 선생님들은 다 똑똑해요 = All teachers are smart, or
- 모든 선생님들은 똑똑해요 = Every teacher is smart
In this adverb form, 다 can also be placed after 모두 in the same sentence. For example:
- 선생님들은 모두 다 똑똑해요 = All teachers are smart
In this adverb form, you would not see particles attached to it.
As a (pro)noun
In these cases 모두 typically means “everybody” or “everything.” Particles are usually attached to it. For example:
- 모두가 이해했어요 = Everybody understood
- 모두가 산책하고 있어요 = Everybody is going for a walk
Here’s the part that is a bit confusing. Often times when the sentence structure is just Subject – 모두 – Verb, the ~를 is omitted from 모두. For example:
- 나는 모두를 이해했어
would be better said as:
- 나는 모두 이해했어 = I understood everything
And
- 저는 모두를 먹고 싶어요
would be better said as:
- 저는 모두 먹고 싶어요 = I want to eat everything
It took me a long time to come to this conclusion, but my explanation as to why this is done is because in these cases 모두 is acting as an adverb. Therefore, it is not so much that the ~를 is being omitted, but rather that the 모두 is serving a different function (and the sentence ends up having the same meaning anyways).
Just like how you would not see ~를 attached to 다 in the following sentences:
나는 다 이해했어 = I understood everything 저는 다 먹고 싶어요 = I want to eat everything
Often times a word that represents a group of people is placed before 모두. In these cases, ~를 is usually attached to 모두. For example:
- 저는 가족 모두를 사랑해요 = I love all of my family
- 저는 학생 모두를 가르쳤어요 = I taught all of the students
The same structure works when the group of people is the subject of a sentence. For example:
- 학생 모두가 기숙사로 갔어요 = All of the students went to the dorm
- 가족 모두가 고향에 갔어요 = All of the/my family went to the/our hometown
- 선생님 모두가 회의에 갔어요 = All of the teachers went to a meeting
Other particles can be attached to it as well, for example:
- 저는 선물을 모두에게 주었어요 = I gave a present to everybody
Everywhere/Every time/Everyone
~나 can be added to the words ‘where,’ ‘when,’ and ‘who’ to mean ‘everywhere,’ ‘every time,’ and ‘everyone.’ Particles are usually not added to these words. For example:
- 어디 = where
- 어디나 = everywhere
- 나는 한국에서 어디나 여행하고 싶어 = I (would) want to travel everywhere in Korea
- 우리는 동남아시아에 어디나 갈 거예요 = We will go everywhere in South East Asia
- 밥은 어디나 맛이 똑같아요 = Rice tastes the same everywhere
- 언제 = when
- 언제나 = every time/always
- 그녀는 언제나 늦게 와요 = She comes late every time
- 저는 언제나 똑같은 메뉴를 먹어요 = I always eat the same menu
- 저는 언제나 똑같은 시간에 일어나요 = I always wake up at the same time
- 누구 = who
- 누구나 = everyone
- 누구나 그 여자를 알아요 = Everybody knows that girl
- 누구나 우리 애기를 보고 싶어요 = Everybody wants to see our baby
- 누구나 한국을 좋아해요 = Everybody likes Korea
Something/Somewhere/Sometime/Somebody
~ㄴ가 can be added to the words ‘what,’ ‘where,’ ‘when,’ and ‘who’ to mean ‘something,’ ‘somewhere,’ ‘sometime,’ and ‘somebody.’ For example:
- 뭐 = what
- 뭔가 = something
The subject and object particles in general can be omitted from any sentence (although I don’t suggest omitting particles until you have a very deep understanding of Korean), but they seem to be more commonly omitted from these types of sentences. Many examples:
- 나는 방금 뭔가(를) 봤어 = I just saw something a minute ago
- 등에 뭔가(가) 있어요 = There is something on your back
- 등에 뭔가(가) 있나요? = Is there something on my back?
- 저는 팔에 뭔가(가)느껴져요 = I feel something on my arm
- 저는 뭔가(를) 먹고 싶어요 = I want to eat something
- 저는 뭔가(를) 말하고 싶어요 = I want to say something
- 어디 = where
- 어딘가 = somewhere
By the nature of the word “somewhere,” you are most likely to use the particles ~에 or ~에서 in these sentences. It would be acceptable to omit the particle ~에 from 어딘가 but less acceptable to omit the particle ~에서. Many examples:
- 열쇠를 어딘가(에) 뒀어 = I left my keys somewhere
- 전쟁이 아시아 어딘가에서 났어요 = A war broke out somewhere in Asia
- 피가 어딘가에서 나오고 있어요 = Blood is coming out of somewhere
- 저는 그릇을 어딘가(에) 두었어요 = I put the bowl in some place
- 선생님들이 회의를 어딘가에서 하고 있어요 = The teachers are having a meeting somewhere
- 저는 휴일에 어딘가에 가고 싶어요 = I want to go somewhere on the holiday
- 저는 어딘가에서 커피를 마시고 싶어요 = I want to drink a cup of coffee somewhere
- 언제 = when
- 언젠가 = sometime/someday
~에 is typically not attached to 언젠가. Many examples:
- 그 날이 언젠가 올 거예요 = The day will come sometime
- 구름이 언젠가 걷힐 거예요 = The clouds will clear eventually/sometime
- 저는 언젠가 경찰관이 되고 싶어요 = I want to become a police officer someday
- 저는 언젠가 중국어도 배우고 싶어요 = I want to learn Chinese as well some day
- 저는 언젠가 고향에 돌아가고 싶어요 = I want to return (go back) to my hometown some day
When I first learned about this word, I wondered if particles like ~까지 or ~부터 could be attached to it because 언젠가 represents a time. I kept bugging Korean people to try to make me example sentences of these particles attached to 언젠가 and they always came up with nothing. I realized that in both English and Korean, it isn’t logical to make sentences with “until someday” or “from someday.”
- 누구 = who
- 누군가 = somebody
- 누군가(는) 너를 찾고 있어 = Somebody is looking for you
- 저는 누군가의 열쇠를 찾았어요 = I found somebody’s keys
- 경찰관들은 누군가와 얘기하고 있어요 = The policemen are talking with somebody
- 누군가가 지갑을 잃어버렸어요 = Somebody lost their wallet
- 누군가가 그 파일을 저에게 보냈어요 = Somebody sent that file to me
In Lesson 22, you learned about using 어느 in sentences. Another usage of 어느 is to reference a vague place or point in time. I am including this explanation in this section of the lesson because of the similarities with the sentences above.
You would often see this type of thing in stories, poetry or news reports where the specific location does not need to be given. This would be similar to something like this at a start of a story in English:
- A long time ago in a far-away castle, or
- A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away
In this usage, 어느 is commonly placed before a broad indication of time or place. For example:
- 어느 날 = some day (an ambiguous day)
- 어느 밤 = some night (an ambiguous night)
- 어느 겨울 = some winter (an ambiguous winter)
- 어느 여름 = some summer (an ambiguous summer)
- 어느 마을 = some village (an ambiguous village)
- 어느 시장 = some market (an ambiguous market)
Here, the person speaking/writing this way because he/she does not need to specifically reference the time. Some example sentences:
- 어느 겨울 꽃이 다 사라졌다 = Some winter, all the flowers disappeared
- 어느 마을에서 애기 두 명이 태어났다 = Two babies were born in some village
- 그 다음 날, 할머니가 어느 시장을 구경하고 있었다 = The next day, the grandmother was browsing around some market
Again, like I said, you would most likely see these types of sentences used in stories, often setting up the scenario or something within a book.
It is also possible to use a question word to refer to an ambiguous place, thing or person. This is most commonly done with the following words:
어디
- Person 1: 엄마가 집에 있어? = Is mom at home
- Person 2: 아니요. 어디 갔어. = No, she went somewhere
뭐
- 우리가 이미 뭐 먹었어요 = We already ate something
누구
- 나는 내일 누구 만날 거야 = Tomorrow I’m going to meet somebody
Using these words like this is quite advanced, and is not something I learned until a few years of exposure with Korean. What makes these usages even more confusing is that you can use these words in sentences when you are asking a question. For example:
뭐 먹었어요? Could mean both:
- What did you eat? or
- Did you eat something?
어디 갔어요? Could mean both:
- Where did you go? or
- Did you go somewhere
누구(를) 만났어요? Could mean both:
- Who did you meet? Or
- Did you meet somebody
Distinguishing them, believe it or not, can be done quite easily if you train your ear correctly. When using “뭐, 어디 or 누구” as the question word in the sentence, the stress of the sentence is on the question word itself. Pay close attention to the audio in the following examples:
- 뭐 먹었어요? = What did you eat?
- 어디 갔어요? = Where did you go?
- 누구 만났어요? = Who did you meet?
When using “뭐, 어디 or 누구” to refer to an ambiguous thing, place or person, the stress of the sentence is on the verb. Again, pay close attention to the audio in the following examples, and specifically how they differ from the examples above:
- 뭐 먹었어요? = Did you eat something?
- 어디 갔어요? = Did you go somewhere?
- 누구 만났어요? = Did you meet somebody?
As I mentioned however, this is quite advanced. You might not be able to hear the difference at this stage in your learning, but it is good to be aware of as you continue to progress through your studies.
아무
Anybody/Nobody
아무 is a pronoun that refers to “any” person. When using it in a sentence, the speaker is indicating the person he/she is referring to is not a specific “set” person, but could actually be “anybody.”
It is most commonly used with ~나 attached to it. This particle (when attached to other nouns as you will learn in Lesson 58) often indicates the same indifference meaning that “아무” itself has.
When used together, it can almost be seen as one unit that means “anybody.” As ~나 is actually a particle in itself, when used as the subject or object of a sentence, particles ~는 or ~가 are not usually doubled up on top of ~나. For example:
- 아무나 그 책을 좋아할 거예요 = Anybody will/would like that book
- 이렇게 좋은 학교에서는 아무나 공부를 잘 할 거예요 = Anybody can study well at this school
However, particles can be added before ~나 if the word being used has other functions within a sentence (other than the subject or object). Because 아무 refers to a person in this case, the most common particles you would see here are particles meaning “to” (~에게/한테) and “with” (~와/하고). For example:
- 나는 아무와나 사귀고 싶어 = I want to go out with anybody
- 저는 이 선물을 아무에게나 주고 싶어요 = I want to give this present to anybody
- 저는 아무하고나 축구를 하고 싶어요 = I want to play soccer with anybody
When ~도 replaces ~나 in these cases, we get the opposite meaning. 아무도 can be used as the subject or object of a sentence to mean “nobody.” Just like 아무나, particles are not usually attached to 아무도 as “~도” is actually the particle being used.
When using 아무도, the sentence must be conjugated in a negative way or end with some negative word like 없다. This is counter intuitive for English speakers – because it makes us think we are saying a double negative. For example, the following sentence:
집에 아무도 있어요 looks like it should mean “there is nobody at home.” However, as I said, a sentence with “아무도” should end in a negative way. Therefore, this is correct:
- 집에 아무도 없어요 = There is nobody at home/There isn’t anybody at home
Because of the double negative in the Korean version, this creates a confusing translation for the English version. In the English version, we can usually say either “anybody” with a negative conjugation, or “nobody” with a positive conjugation.
For example:
- 저는 아무도 못 봤어요 = I didn’t see anybody/I saw nobody
- 저는 아무도 만나고 싶지 않아요 = I don’t want to meet anybody/I want to meet nobody
- 아무도 집에 가지 않았어요 = Nobody went home
- 아무도 나를 좋아하지 않아 = Nobody likes me
Particles can be added before ~도 if the word being used has other functions within a sentence (other than the subject or object). Because 아무 refers to a person in this case, the most common particles you would see here are particles meaning “to” (~에게/한테) and “with” (~와/하고). For example:
- 저는 그 말을 아무에게도 안 했어요 = I didn’t say that to anybody/I said that to nobody
- 저는 아무하고도 얘기하고 싶지 않아요 = I don’t want to talk with anybody/I want to talk with nobody
It is very easy to be confused with these double negatives at first. To make it simple at the beginning, just tell your brain to use “아무나” when you want to say something that ends positively, and to use “아무도” when you want to say something that ends negatively. In theory, 아무나 and 아무도 are the same word in Korean (with different particles attached). One just happens to be used with positive sentences, and the other happens to be used in negative sentences.
아무 Used Before Other Nouns
Another function that 아무 has is to be placed before a thing/place/time to describe it. The most common nouns you will see after 아무 are:
- 거 = short form of 것, meaning “thing”
- 데 = meaning “place”
- 때 = meaning “time”
When ~나 is attached to these nouns, the speaker is indicating that the thing/place/time is not a specific “thing/place/time,” but could actually be “anything,” “anywhere” or “anytime.” For example:
- 저는 아무 거나 먹고 싶어요 = I want to eat anything (I’d eat anything)
- 아무 때나 좋아요 = Anytime is good
- 저는 아무 데나 가고 싶어요 = I want to go anywhere (I’d go anywhere)
In the example above, you can see that “데” is used to refer to a place. When the verb being used requires “~에” to be attached to that place, “~에” is omitted. However, when the verb being used requires “~에서” to be attached to that place “~에서” should be added before ~나.
For example, even though the same place is being used in both sentences below, because of the nature of the verbs 가다 and 먹다, ~에 should be used in one case, and ~에서 should be used in the other.
- 저는 공원에 가고 싶어요 = I want to go to the park
- 저는 밥을 공원에서 먹고 싶어요 = I want to eat in the park
The difference between these two sentences is the same as the difference between these two sentences:
- 저는 아무 데나 가고 싶어요 = I want to go anywhere
- 저는 아무 데서나 먹고 싶어요 = I want to eat (at) anywhere
~도 can replace ~나 in these cases to have the meaning of “nothing” or “nowhere.” For example:
- 저는 아무 것도 먹고 싶지 않아요 = I don’t want to eat anything/I want to eat nothing
- 아기는 아무 데도 가지 않았어 = The baby didn’t go anywhere/The baby went nowhere
“아무 때도” means “no time?” This doesn’t make sense. Instead, the word 전혀 (introduced in Lesson 34) should be used.
It is possible to use other nouns after 아무. For example:
- 저는 아무 버스나 타고 갈 거예요 = I’m going to take any bus and leave
- 저는 아무 말도 하지 않았어요 = I didn’t say anything/I said nothing
- 저는 엄마랑 아무 관계도 없어요 = I don’t have any relationship with my mother/I have no relationship with my mother
However, by far the most common three things to use after 아무 are 거, 데 and 때.
I would love to provide way more examples, but many of the examples I want to make with 아무 (and the words it can create) use grammatical principles that you haven’t been introduced to you yet. The two most common grammatical principles that you haven’t learned yet that would be used in these situations are:
Making a command (introduced in Lesson 40), and One can/cannot do (Introduced in Lesson 45)
Here are some quick examples using those two principles. The only reason I am showing you these is because I think it is likely you have learned about these either by looking ahead or by using some other resource.
Making a command 가방을 아무 데나 두세요 = Put your bag down anywhere 아무 거나 고르세요! = Choose anything! 아무 거나 먹자! = Let’s eat anything!
One can/cannot do 아무나 그것을 할 수 있어요 = Anybody can do that
It also might be helpful to take a peek at Lesson 58 to see how ~나 can be used when not used in these specific cases of 아무나, 아무 거나, 아무 때나, etc. In theory, I should have presented these words after I taught you about ~나, but in my opinion the use ~나 as it is used in this lesson is more common (and therefore more important) than the general use of ~나 introduced later.
Each (마다)
마다 means “each” and is attached directly to the end of a noun:
- 날마다 = each day
- 학생마다 = each student
- 금요일마다 = each/every Friday
- 30분마다 = each/every 30 minutes
When I first learned about this, I asked the following question to my grammar teacher:
“What is the difference between ‘모든 학생’, and 학생마다?”
The answer is so subtle, but there is a difference. The only way I can explain it is by saying the following: If you can explain the difference between “every student” and “each student” in English, then you fully understand the difference between “모든 학생” and “학생마다.”
But really, can you explain the difference between “every student” and “each student?” There is a difference. I know there is a difference. “Each” has something to do with ‘each individual student,’ whereas “every” has something to do with ‘all students.’… huh?
I don’t know. I always think I can explain the difference between “each” and “every” in English, but it’s too confusing.
Just remember that 마다 means “each” and “모든” means “every.” That is more than enough.
- 그 버스는 10분마다 와요 = That bus comes each/every 10 minutes
- 학생마다 달라요 = Each student is different
… and with that, you have finished Unit 1! You have come a really long way from our first lessons. When you first started learning through our website, you were learning sentences like: “나는 선생님이다.”
Hopefully you enjoyed our first unit, and hopefully you didn’t get too confused – because in Unit 2 you will start learning Korean grammar concepts that will not only make your sentences much more complex, but also make your head explode.
If you are confident in what you learned in Lessons 17 – 25, why not check your knowledge on our Lessons 17 – 25 Mini-Test.
Or you can go directly to our Unit 1 test, which will test you on everything you learned in Unit 1.
If you are not into taking the tests, you could always head directly to Unit 2 and check out our first lesson (Lesson 26).
Summary
Want to practice your listening skills?
This YouTube video will prompt you with Korean sentences to dictate using the concepts from this lesson.