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Questions & Answers about jinanbeone daehakgyo sikdangeseo babeul meogeo bon jeogi isseoyo.
What does -어 본 적이 있다 mean, and how does it work in this sentence?
-어 본 적(이) 있다 is a set phrase that expresses “to have the experience of trying something.”
- -어 보다 = “to try doing (an action).”
- 적 = “occasion” or “experience.”
- 있다 = “to have” or “there is.”
When you combine them:
verb stem + -어 보다 → “to try doing”
→ add -적 → “the experience of having tried”
→ add 있다 → “to have had that experience.”
In our sentence, 밥을 먹어 본 적이 있어요 means “I’ve had the experience of eating (there).”
Why is it 먹어 본 and not 먹아 본 or simply 먹다?
- The verb 먹다 has the stem 먹-.
- For vowel harmony, since 먹- contains the vowel ㅓ, you attach -어 (not -아). → 먹어.
- Then you attach 보다 to mean “try” → 먹어 보다 (“to try eating”).
- Finally, when you modify 적, you use the attributive (past) form of 보다, which is 본.
So 먹다 → 먹어 보다 → 먹어 본 적이 있다.
How would you make this sentence negative to say “I haven’t eaten at the university cafeteria before”?
Just replace 있어요 with 없어요. The negative pattern of -어 본 적이 있다 is -어 본 적이 없다.
So you get:
지난번에 대학교 식당에서 밥을 먹어 본 적이 없어요.
= “I have no experience of having eaten at the university cafeteria last time.”
What does 지난번에 mean, and why is there an -에 at the end?
- 지난번 is a noun meaning “last time” or “previous occasion.”
- The particle -에 marks a specific point in time when something happens.
So 지난번에 literally means “at the last time,” functioning as “last time” or “previously” in English.
Why do we say 대학교 식당 instead of something like 식당 대학교?
Korean uses a modifier–head order: any word that modifies a noun comes before the main noun. Here, 대학교 (“university”) modifies 식당 (“cafeteria”), so you get the compound noun 대학교 식당 = “university cafeteria.”
Why is the particle 에서 used after 대학교 식당 instead of 에?
- -에 marks locations where something exists or the destination of movement.
- -에서 marks the location where an action takes place.
Since 밥을 먹다 (“to eat”) is an action that happens at the cafeteria, you use 대학교 식당에서.
What does 밥을 먹다 literally mean? Can I use other expressions for “eating a meal”?
- Literally, 밥 is “cooked rice,” but in Korean it also means “meal.”
- 밥을 먹다 is the most common way to say “to have a meal.”
Alternatives:
• 음식을 먹다 = “to eat food” (more general)
• 식사를 하다 = “to have a meal” (more formal)
Can I shorten 대학교 식당 to 대학 식당, and is there any nuance?
Yes. 대학교 and 대학 both mean “university.”
- 대학교 is the full form and sounds slightly more formal.
- 대학 식당 is perfectly natural in casual speech. Both refer to “the university cafeteria.”