Learn Hardcore Korean: geosireseo chaegeul ilgeoyo. - I read a book in the living room.

In Korean, you can drop the subject when it’s clear from context. Here, 거실에서 책을 읽어요 literally means “(I) read a book in the living room.” The speaker 저 or 나 (“I”) is implied, so it’s omitted.

What does 거실에서 mean?

거실 means living room.
-에서 is a location particle meaning “at” or “in” when marking where an action takes place.
Put together, 거실에서 = “in the living room.”

Why use -에서 instead of -에?

-에 marks a static location or destination (“at/on/to”).
-에서 marks the place of an action or the source of movement.
Since reading is an action happening inside the living room, we use -에서.

What does 책을 represent, and why is 을 used?

책 = book.
-을 is the object particle used after a noun ending in a consonant. It shows that 책 is the direct object of 읽어요 (“read”).
If the noun ended in a vowel (e.g., 사과 “apple”), you’d use -를 instead: 사과를.

What tense and politeness level is 읽어요?

The verb stem is 읽- (“read”), and -어요 is the present-tense polite ending (non-honorific 존댓말).
It’s suitable for everyday polite conversation with strangers or colleagues.

How would you change the sentence to past tense?

Replace -어요 with -었어요:
거실에서 책을 읽었어요.
This means “I read a book in the living room” (past).

How do you express future tense?

You can use -을 거예요 after the verb stem:
거실에서 책을 읽을 거예요.
= “I’m going to read a book in the living room.”

Can particles like 을 or 에서 be dropped in casual speech?

Yes, in very casual or spoken Korean, native speakers sometimes omit particles:

거실에 → 거실 or 거실서
책을 읽어요 → 책 읽어
So you might hear 거실서 책 읽어. This is very informal and can sound rough or ambiguous to learners.