naneun sukjereul hagi jeone soneul ssiseo.

I wash my hands before doing my homework.

Breakdown of naneun sukjereul hagi jeone soneul ssiseo.

• 하다: to do
• ~을: object particle
• ~는: topic particle
• 나: I

Questions & Answers about naneun sukjereul hagi jeone soneul ssiseo.

What role does 나는 play in this sentence?

나는 is made up of 나 (informal “I”) plus the topic particle 는. It marks “I” as the topic.

• In casual speech you often drop it if the subject is clear.
• In polite or formal speech you’d use 저는 instead of 나는.

How is 숙제를 하기 전에 constructed? Can you break it into parts?

It breaks down as follows:

1. 숙제 “homework”
2. 를 object particle (since 숙제 ends in a vowel, you attach 를)
3. 하다 “to do” → stem 하
   • nominalizer -기 → 하기 “doing”
4. 전에 “before”
   Put together: 숙제를 하기 전에 = “before doing homework.”

If I want to say “before finishing the homework,” do I need to change anything?

Yes. Add 다 (all/to completion) after the verb:
“before finishing the homework” → 숙제를 다 하기 전에
Here 다 emphasizes “completely/entirely doing” the homework.

What’s the difference between -을 and -를 after a noun, as in 손을 씻어 vs. 숙제를 하기 전에?