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naega bonaen munjareul chinguga ilgeosseoyo.

내가 보낸 문자를 친구가 읽었어요.naega bonaen munjareul chinguga ilgeosseoyo.
My friend read the text message that I sent.
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Questions & Answers about naega bonaen munjareul chinguga ilgeosseoyo.

How is 내가 보낸 문자 structured, and why does 보낸 come before 문자?

“내가 보낸 문자” is a relative clause modifying 문자. In Korean, verbs that describe a noun take the attributive form and precede that noun. Here:

  • 내가 (I-subject)
  • 보낸 (sent, past attributive form of 보내다)
  • 문자 (message)
    Literally, “the message that I sent.”
Why is 보낸 used instead of 보냈어요 in that clause?
When a verb modifies a noun, you use the plain attributive form rather than a full tense ending. For past tense, the rule is stem + -ㄴ/은, so 보내다 → 보냈다 → 보낸. You don’t attach -었어요 inside a relative clause.
What roles do the particles 가 and 를 play in this sentence?
  • 가 marks the grammatical subject.
  • 를 marks the direct object.
    Breakdown:
  • 내가: “I” is the subject of “sent.”
  • 문자를: “message” is the object of “sent.”
  • 친구가: “friend” is the subject of “read.”
Could we use 는 instead of 가 on 친구 (i.e., 친구는 읽었어요)? What changes?

는 is the topic marker and indicates contrast or a known topic.

  • 친구가 읽었어요 focuses on who did the reading.
  • 친구는 읽었어요 suggests “As for my friend, (he/she) read it,” perhaps contrasting with someone else.
Is the word order fixed? Can we say 친구가 내가 보낸 문자를 읽었어요?

Korean word order is flexible because particles indicate grammatical roles. You can say:

  • 내가 보낸 문자를 친구가 읽었어요
  • 친구가 내가 보낸 문자를 읽었어요
    Both mean “My friend read the message I sent,” but the element placed first is slightly more emphasized.
Is this sentence in the passive voice?
No. It’s active: 친구가 is the agent performing 읽었어요. A passive construction would be 내가 보낸 문자가 친구에게 읽혔어요, which is grammatically correct but less commonly used for texts.
How would you make this sentence more honorific?

Honorify the subject and verb:
내가 보낸 문자를 친구께서 읽으셨어요.

  • 께서: honorific subject marker
  • 읽으셨다: honorific past form of 읽다
What’s the difference between 내가 and 제가 when saying “I”?
  • 내가 is the plain nominative form of “I.”
  • 제가 is the humble/polite nominative form.
    Use 제가 to show respect or humility: 제가 보낸 문자.
Could we change 보낸 to 보내는? What would that mean?

Yes.

  • 보낸 = “that I sent” (past).
  • 보내는 = “that I am sending” or “that I will send” (present/future attributive).
    So 내가 보내는 문자 means “the message that I send/am going to send.”