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Questions & Answers about oneul babi masisseosseoyo.
Why is 오늘 placed at the beginning of the sentence?
In Korean, time adverbs (like 오늘 “today”) typically come before the subject or verb. Placing 오늘 at the front sets the time frame right away. You could also say 밥이 오늘 맛있었어요, but the most natural order is 오늘 밥이 맛있었어요.
Why is 밥 marked with 이 instead of 은/는?
The particle 이/가 marks the subject of a descriptive verb (adjective) like 맛있다 “to be delicious.” Using 이/가 emphasizes that 밥 (“rice/meal”) is what tastes good. In contrast, 은/는 is a topic marker and would add contrast or generalize (e.g. 밥은 맛있었어요 might imply “As for the rice, it was delicious [but something else maybe wasn’t]”).
Why can’t I say 밥을 맛있었어요?
The verb 맛있다 is an intransitive adjective in Korean. It describes the subject itself rather than someone doing something to it. Therefore you must use the subject marker 이/가 (밥이) and not the object marker 을/를.
Why is there no “I” (저는/제가) in the sentence?
Korean often omits pronouns when context is clear. Here the focus is on 밥 (“the meal”) being delicious, not on who did something. Since 밥 is the subject of 맛있었어요, there’s no need to mention 저는 (“I”). Listeners assume you tasted it yourself.
Why is it 맛있었어요 (past tense) instead of 맛있어요 (present tense)?
-었어요 is the past-tense polite ending. You use 맛있었어요 to say “it was delicious” (i.e. you already ate it). If you want to comment on a meal you’re eating right now or a general truth, you’d say 맛있어요.
Can I drop particles or words to make it shorter?
In casual speech you might hear 오늘 밥 맛있었어 (dropping 이 and using 반말). But in polite conversation you should keep 밥이 and 었어요. Omitting particles in formal/polite contexts can sound ungrammatical.
Could I just say 밥이 맛있었어요 without 오늘?
Yes. 밥이 맛있었어요 means “The meal was delicious.” Adding 오늘 simply specifies that it was delicious today. Without it, you’re making a more general statement about that meal.
If I want to say “I ate a delicious meal today,” how would I express that?
You’d normally use the verb 먹다 (“to eat”) and the adjective 맛있다 in its attributive form:
• 오늘 맛있는 밥을 먹었어요.
This literally means “Today, I ate a delicious meal.”
Can I move 오늘 elsewhere, like after 맛있었어요?
Adverbs of time are flexible, but they usually come before the verb. Saying 밥이 맛있었어요 오늘 sounds odd. Better placements are:
• 오늘 밥이 맛있었어요. (most natural)
• 밥이 오늘 맛있었어요. (also fine)