Questions & Answers about neutge jaseo pigonhaeyo.
What does 늦게 mean and how is it formed?
늦다 means “to be late.” To turn it into an adverb, attach -게:
늦다 + -게 → 늦게, meaning “late(ly).”
What does the -서 ending in 자서 do?
The ending -서 (from -아서/어서) connects a cause to an effect, meaning “because.” Here you have:
자다 (to sleep) + -아서 → 자아서 → 자서 (contracted) = “because I slept.”
Why is 자아서 contracted to 자서 instead of being written 자아서?
Korean phonology merges repeated vowels:
자 + 아서 → 자아서, which contracts to 자서 for ease of pronunciation.
What does 피곤해요 mean, and how is it constructed?
피곤하다 is the adjective “to be tired.” Drop the dictionary ending -다 and add the polite present ending -해요:
피곤하다 → 피곤하 + 해요 → 피곤해요 = “(I) am tired.”
Why is there no subject like “I” or “you” in the sentence?
Could I use -기 때문에 instead of -서 to show cause?
Yes. -기 때문에 is more formal/literal:
늦게 자서 피곤해요. (I’m tired because I slept late.)
늦게 자았기 때문에 피곤해요. (More formal: “Because I slept late, I’m tired.”)
Can I change the word order, for example putting 피곤해요 before 늦게 자서?
In spoken Korean you might hear:
피곤해요, 늦게 자서.
But the neutral, flow-on style is cause first (늦게 자서) then result (피곤해요).
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