Breakdown of jeoneun siheom gongbureul haeyo.
~를~reul
object particle
저jeo
I
~는~neun
topic particle
하다hada
to do
시험siheom
exam
공부gongbu
study
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Questions & Answers about jeoneun siheom gongbureul haeyo.
What does 저는 mean and why is -는 used here?
저 is the humble/polite word for “I,” and -는 is the topic marker. Together, 저는 flags “I” as the topic of the sentence in polite speech.
Why is 시험 not followed by any particle?
Here 시험 modifies 공부, forming the compound noun 시험 공부 (“exam study”). Only the head noun 공부 takes a particle (in this case -를).
What is the function of -를 in 공부를 해요?
-를 is the object marker. Since 공부 is a noun and 하다 means “to do,” 공부를 해요 literally means “(I) do study.”
Could I say 공부해요 instead of 공부를 해요?
Yes. Because 공부하다 is a noun+하다 verb, you can conjugate it directly to 공부해요. Both forms mean “I study,” but 공부를 해요 can feel more explicit or formal in some contexts.
Why does the verb 해요 come at the end of the sentence?
Korean follows a Subject–Object–Verb (SOV) word order, so the action verb always appears last.
What politeness level is 해요, and what are some other common endings?
해요 is the standard polite ending (존댓말).
• Casual/informal: 해 (used with close friends or younger people)
• Formal polite: 합니다 (used in speeches, presentations, formal writing)
How do you conjugate 하다 into 해요?
The verb stem 하- is irregular and changes to 해- before adding -요, so 하다 → 해요.
Why do we say 시험 공부를 해요 and not 시험을 공부해요?
You don’t “study the exam” itself; you “study for the exam.” 시험 공부 is a noun phrase (“exam study”), so 시험 modifies 공부 and only 공부 takes the object particle -를.
How would you say “I studied for the exam” or “I will study for the exam” in Korean?
Past tense: 저는 시험 공부를 했어요.
Future tense: 저는 시험 공부를 할 거예요.