Breakdown of chaseoneul bakkugi jeone banghyangjisideungeul kyeopnida.
전에jeone
before
켜다kyeoda
to light
바꾸다bakkuda
to change
방향지시등banghyangjisideung
the turn signal
Questions & Answers about chaseoneul bakkugi jeone banghyangjisideungeul kyeopnida.
What does 차선을 mean, and why does it have -을?
차선 means lane (as in a traffic lane).
The -을 is the object marker, so 차선을 means the lane as the thing being acted on.
In this sentence:
- 차선 = lane
- 차선을 바꾸다 = to change lanes / to change the lane
Even though English says change lanes, Korean often treats lane as the direct object:
- 차선을 바꾸다 = literally change the lane
Because 차선 ends in a consonant, it takes -을 rather than -를.
Why is it 바꾸기 전에 instead of just 바꾸다 전에?
In Korean, when a verb comes before 전에 (before), it usually has to be turned into a noun-like form. That is what -기 does.
So:
- 바꾸다 = to change
- 바꾸기 = changing / the act of changing
- 바꾸기 전에 = before changing
You generally cannot say 바꾸다 전에 here.
A useful pattern is:
- Verb stem + 기 전에 = before doing something
Examples:
- 먹기 전에 = before eating
- 자기 전에 = before sleeping
- 출발하기 전에 = before departing
What exactly does 전에 mean here?