Learn Hardcore Korean: i yeonseup munjeneun neomu swiwoyo.

In 이 연습 문제는 너무 쉬워요, 이 is a demonstrative determiner meaning this. It modifies 연습 문제 (“practice problem”), pointing to a specific set of problems the speaker has in mind.

What does 연습 문제 mean, and why are the words combined like that?

연습 means practice and 문제 means problem or question. In Korean, nouns can be combined directly to form compound nouns. So 연습 문제 literally means practice problem or exercise.

Why is 는 attached to 연습 문제 instead of 이?

는 is the topic particle and attaches to the noun 연습 문제, not to the demonstrative 이. The phrase breaks down as:

이 (this)
연습 문제 (practice problem)
는 (topic marker)
So the entire phrase 이 연습 문제는 means as for this practice problem….

What does 너무 mean here? Is it always positive?

너무 is an adverb that means too or very. In this context, it intensifies 쉬워요 to mean very easy. However, 너무 can also carry a negative nuance when used with verbs or adjectives that are inherently negative: for example, 너무 피곤해요 means I’m too tired.

Why is 쉬워요 used instead of a verb form? Isn’t it an adjective?

In Korean, descriptive verbs (often called adjectives in English) behave grammatically like verbs. The dictionary form is 쉽다 (“to be easy”). To make it polite present tense, you remove 다, add (으)ㅂ니다/어요/아요, and choose 어요 because the stem 쉽- ends with a consonant:
쉽 + 어요 → 쉬워요 (“is easy”).

How does the verb stem change from 쉽다 to 쉬워요?

When you attach -어요 to stems ending in ㅂ, Korean switches ㅂ to 우 or 오 before adding 어요. So:
쉽 + 어요 → 쉬우 + 어요 → 쉬워요.

Can you explain the word order of this sentence?

Korean typically follows Subject/Topic–Object–Verb order. Here:

이 연습 문제는 (Topic)
[No object in this sentence]
너무 쉬워요 (Predicate)
So it reads literally, “As for this practice problem, (it) is very easy.”

What politeness level is 쉬워요?

쉬워요 uses the polite informal ending -어요. It’s appropriate for everyday conversation with people you’re not extremely close to or with whom you want to be respectful but not overly formal.