Learn Hardcore Korean: jeoneun maeil jihacheoreul tayo.

저 means “I” (humble form). The particle -는 is a topic marker, so 저는 means “as for me.” You use -는 when you want to set something as the topic of the sentence. -가 marks a grammatical subject (focus on the doer), while -는 marks the topic (what the sentence is about).

What is the function of 매일 in this sentence?

매일 means “every day.” It’s an adverb of time, and in Korean it typically comes before the verb or before the object if you want to emphasize the frequency of the action. Here it tells us that riding the subway is a daily habit.

Why is there an -을 after 지하철?

-을 is the object marker. It attaches to 지하철 (subway) because the subway is what is being ridden. Whenever you have a transitive verb (a verb that acts on an object), you mark the object with -을 (after a consonant) or -를 (after a vowel).

How do you get 타요 from the dictionary form 타다?

타다 (“to ride”) is a verb stem ending in the vowel ㅏ. In the polite present tense (“–요” style, 해요체), you drop 다 and add 아요 after stems with ㅏ/ㅗ, but since 타 already ends in ㅏ, it becomes 타 + 요 = 타요.

Why is the word order Subject – Time – Object – Verb and not like English?

Korean typically follows Subject–Object–Verb (SOV) order. Time expressions (like 매일) often appear just before the verb or the object. So “I (저는) every day (매일) subway (지하철을) ride (타요).” English uses SVO, but Korean always tacks the verb to the end.

Can 지하철을 타요 be used with other modes of transportation?

Yes! You can swap 지하철 for any vehicle:

버스를 타요 (“I take the bus.”)
택시를 타요 (“I ride/take a taxi.”)
자전거를 타요 (“I ride a bicycle.”)

What level of politeness is 타요, and how would it change in more formal speech?

타요 is polite informal (해요체), suitable for everyday conversation. In formal speech (합니다체), you’d say 탑니다. In very casual speech (friends or younger), you could say 타.