Learn Hardcore Korean: ajik babeul an meogeosseoyo.

아직 means “yet” or “still,” indicating that the action has not taken place up to now. It typically comes before the verb (or verb phrase) to modify the whole statement: 아직 안 먹었어요 = “haven’t eaten yet.” You can also say 아직도 안 먹었어요 to strengthen the sense of “still.”

Why is 안 placed before 먹었어요, and is this sentence past or present?

안 is the standard adverbial negator in Korean. When you attach it before a verb form (including the past tense 먹었어요), it negates the entire action. Since 먹었어요 is the polite past tense of 먹다, 안 먹었어요 literally means “did not eat.” Contextually in English you translate it as “haven’t eaten yet,” but grammatically it’s a past-tense negation.

What’s the difference between 안 먹었어요 and 못 먹었어요?

안 먹었어요: simply “did not eat” or “haven’t eaten” (you chose not to or just didn’t do it).
못 먹었어요: “could not eat” (you were unable to eat due to circumstances).
Use 안 for general negation, 못 when something prevented the action.

Why does 밥 take the object particle 을, and can you omit it?

The marker 을 shows that is the direct object of . In casual speech, Koreans often drop object particles if the meaning remains clear: . However, including makes your sentence more formally correct and helps avoid ambiguity in new or complex sentences.