sangsaga imeireul sseoyo.

상사가 이메일을 써요.sangsaga imeireul sseoyo.
The boss writes an email.
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Korean grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Korean now

Questions & Answers about sangsaga imeireul sseoyo.

What does 상사 mean in this sentence?
  • 상사 literally means “one’s senior at work” or “boss.” It refers to your direct supervisor or someone above you in the workplace hierarchy.
Why is 상사 followed by -가 rather than -는?
  • -가 (or -이/가) marks the grammatical subject performing the action.
  • -는/은 are topic markers, often used for contrast or when the topic is already established. Here, you’re simply stating who does the action, so -가 is used.
Why is 이메일 followed by -을 instead of -를?
  • -을 and -를 are object particles. You attach -을 after a noun ending in a consonant, and -를 after a noun ending in a vowel.
  • Since 이메일 ends in the consonant ㄹ, you use -을 to mark “email” as the direct object.
What form of the verb 쓰다 is 써요?
  • 써요 is the present-tense, polite (informal) form. To conjugate: drop 다 from 쓰다 and add -어요, adjusting for the irregular vowel change.
Why does 쓰다 change to 써요 instead of 쓰아요?
  • 쓰다 is an ㅡ-irregular verb. When the stem ends in ㅡ, you remove it before adding a vowel-based ending.
  • So 쓰
    • 어요 → 써요, not 쓰어요.
In 상사가 이메일을 써요, does 쓰다 mean “to write” or “to use”?
  • 쓰다 can mean both “to write” and “to use,” depending on context.
  • In 이메일을 쓰다, it means “to write an email.” If you wanted “to use,” you might see 컴퓨터를 쓰다 (“use a computer”).
Why does the verb come at the end of the sentence? Is that normal in Korean?
  • Yes. Korean typically follows Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) order. You place the subject 상사, then the object 이메일을, and finish with the verb 써요.
How would I make this sentence more honorific to show respect to the boss?
  • Use the subject honorific -께서 instead of -가 and the honorific verb ending -세요:
    상사께서 이메일을 쓰세요.
Can I change 써요 to 썼어요? What difference would that make?
  • Yes. Changing to 썼어요 turns the verb into past tense.
  • 상사가 이메일을 썼어요 means “The boss wrote an email” (completed action), whereas 써요 is present tense (“writes/an email is being written”).