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jega eoje bon yeonghwaneun jeongmal jaemiisseosseoyo.

제가 어제 본 영화는 정말 재미있었어요.jega eoje bon yeonghwaneun jeongmal jaemiisseosseoyo.
The movie I saw yesterday was really interesting.
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Questions & Answers about jega eoje bon yeonghwaneun jeongmal jaemiisseosseoyo.

Why is 제가 used instead of 저는?
  • 제가 = 저 (humble “I”) + subject marker -가, marking the doer of “saw” inside the relative clause.
  • 저는 uses the topic marker -는, which would make 저 (“I”) the main topic of the whole sentence—unnatural here, since the real topic is 영화 (“movie”).
  • Also, 제가 is the polite equivalent of the informal 내가; you wouldn’t use 내가 in this polite speech level.
What does 어제 본 영화 mean, and how does this structure work?
  • Literally: 어제 (yesterday) + 본 (past attributive form of “to see”) + 영화 (movie).
  • This is a relative clause: the verb in attributive form (본) comes before the noun it modifies (영화), so 어제 본 영화 = “the movie that (I) saw yesterday.”
How does the verb 보다 become 본 when modifying 영화?
  • To turn a verb into an adjective modifying a noun, Korean uses the attributive ending -ㄴ (for past) or -는 (for present).
  • Stem of 보다 is 보.
    • Past attributive: 보
    • ㄴ = 본
      • Present attributive: 보
      • 는 = 보는
  • So 본 영화 = “the movie (that I) saw.”
Why is the topic marker -는 used on 영화 (영화는) instead of the subject marker -가 (영화가)?
  • -는 marks 영화 as the topic: “As for the movie (that I saw yesterday)…” It frames what you’re talking about.
  • Using -가 would make 영화 the subject, slightly shifting focus to identification: “The movie (that I saw yesterday) was really fun.” Both are grammatical; -는 is more natural in personal anecdotes.
What does 정말 add to 재미있었어요?
  • 정말 means really or truly.
  • Placing it before 재미있었어요 intensifies the statement: “It was really fun.”
  • You could also use 진짜 for a more casual feel.
How is 재미있었어요 formed, and what tense and speech level is it?

Breakdown of 재미있었어요:

  1. Base adjective: 재미있다 (“to be fun”)
  2. Past tense: stem 있
    • 었 → 있었
  3. Polite ending: -어요 → 있었어요
    Result: 재미있었어요 = “It was fun” in the polite informal speech level.
What level of politeness is used here, and how would you say the same sentence casually or formally?
  • The ending -었어요 is polite informal (common in everyday conversation with strangers or acquaintances).
  • Casual (친구말): drop -요 → 재미있었어.
  • Formal (높임말): use -습니다 → 재미있었습니다.
Can 제가 be omitted in 제가 어제 본 영화는 정말 재미있었어요?

Yes. Korean often omits subjects or agents when context is clear. You can simply say:
어제 본 영화는 정말 재미있었어요.
The listener understands that “I” am the one who saw the movie.