erigi chaegeul han gwon ilgeoyo.

에릭이 책을 한 권 읽어요.erigi chaegeul han gwon ilgeoyo.
Erik reads one book.
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Questions & Answers about erigi chaegeul han gwon ilgeoyo.

Why is 에릭이 used with 이 instead of 가?

Korean subject markers attach to nouns to indicate the subject of a sentence.

  • 이 is used after nouns ending in a consonant.
  • 가 is used after nouns ending in a vowel.
    Here 에릭 ends in ㄱ (a consonant), so we add 이 (making 에릭이) to mark “Eric” as the subject.
Why does 책을 have 을 instead of 를?

Korean object markers attach to nouns to mark the direct object.

  • 을 follows nouns ending in a consonant.
  • 를 follows nouns ending in a vowel.
    Since 책 ends in ㄱ (consonant), we use 을, giving 책을 (“(the) book” as the object).
What does 한 권 mean in this sentence?

한 권 is a counter expression:

  • 한 is the native Korean word for “one.”
  • 권 is the counter (classifier) used for books or volumes.
    Together, 한 권 literally means “one volume” or simply “one book.”
Why is the phrase ordered as 책을 한 권 읽어요 instead of 한 권 책을 읽어요?

When indicating how many of something you perform an action on, a common pattern is:
 [Noun] + 을/를 + [Number] + Counter + [Verb]
So you say 책을 한 권 읽어요 (“Eric reads one book”).
An alternative, more formal way is 한 권의 책을 읽어요, but the first pattern is very natural in conversation.

Why does the verb 읽어요 appear at the end of the sentence?
Korean sentences follow Subject–Object–Verb (SOV) word order, so the verb always comes last. In 에릭이 책을 한 권 읽어요, 읽어요 (“reads/is reading”) sits at the end as the main verb.
What does the -어요 ending in 읽어요 signify?

-어요 is the polite-informal present tense ending:

  • You attach -어요 to the verb stem to make it polite but not overly formal.
  • Here, 읽다 → 읽- + -어요 = 읽어요, meaning “(he) reads” or “(he) is reading” in polite speech.
Does 읽어요 mean “reads” (habitual) or “is reading” (ongoing)?

The simple present -어요 form is ambiguous in Korean; it can convey both habitual and ongoing actions.

  • If you want to stress “is reading right now,” you’d use the progressive form: 읽고 있어요 (“(he) is reading”).
Why is 읽어요 spelled with ㄺ (in 읽-) but often heard as 일거요?

This is due to Korean consonant assimilation rules. In 읽어요:

  1. The stem ends in the consonant cluster ㄺ.
  2. When followed by the vowel 어, the ㄱ moves to the next syllable.
  3. You pronounce it as 일거요 even though it’s still spelled 읽어요.
How could you adjust this sentence to make it more formal or more casual?

You can swap out the verb ending to change politeness:

  • Formal polite: 읽습니다 → 에릭이 책을 한 권 읽습니다.
  • Casual (with close friends/family): 읽어 → 에릭이 책을 한 권 읽어.
    In very casual speech, you might even drop particles: 에릭 책 한 권 읽어.