이 식당을 친구에게 추천했어요.i sikdangeul chinguege chucheonhaesseoyo.
I recommended this restaurant to a friend.
……
Breakdown of i sikdangeul chinguege chucheonhaesseoyo.
~을~eul
object particle
친구chingu
friend
이i
this
식당sikdang
restaurant
~에게~ege
dative particle
추천하다chucheonhada
to recommend
Questions & Answers about i sikdangeul chinguege chucheonhaesseoyo.
What does the particle 을 do in 이 식당을?
The particle 을 marks 이 식당 as the direct object – the thing you are recommending. Without it, the verb 추천했어요 wouldn’t know what is being recommended.
Why is 에게 used after 친구 in 친구에게?
에게 marks the indirect object or recipient of the action – in this case, your friend. You are “recommending to” someone. Informally, you could also use 한테 (친구한테).
What is the structure of the verb 추천했어요?
- The base verb is 추천하다 (to recommend).
- Drop -다 → 추천하-.
- Change -하- to -했- for past tense.
- Add the polite ending -어요 → 추천했어요 (I recommended).
Why does the verb appear at the end of the sentence?
Korean follows Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) word order. Even when you drop the subject (common in Korean), the verb still comes last.
Can you omit the subject in 이 식당을 친구에게 추천했어요?
Yes. Korean often drops the subject when it’s clear from context. Here, I (제가 or 저는) is implied.
How would you make this sentence present tense?
Change 추천했어요 to 추천해요:
이 식당을 친구에게 추천해요.
(“I recommend this restaurant to my friend.”)
Is there a more casual way to say 추천했어요?
Yes. In very casual speech, you can say 추천했어 instead of 추천했어요.
More from this lesson
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“How do speech levels work in Korean?”
Korean has multiple speech levels that indicate formality and politeness. The most common are the formal polite (‑습니다/‑ㅂ니다), informal polite (‑아요/‑어요), and casual (‑아/‑어) forms. Which level you use depends on who you're speaking to and the social context.
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