Breakdown of meoriga apaseo sukjereul mos haeyo.
하다hada
to do
~을~eul
object particle
~가~ga
subject particle
숙제sukje
homework
Questions & Answers about meoriga apaseo sukjereul mos haeyo.
Why do Koreans say 머리가 아프다 (literally the head hurts) to mean I have a headache?
The pattern for expressing pain in Korean is body part + 이/가 + 아프다. It literally says "the head is painful," but it functions just like I have a headache. In everyday speech, people use 머리가 아프다 rather than more formal or medical expressions like 두통이 있다.
What is the function of -아서 in 아파서?
The ending -아서 (or -어서 after vowel stems) is a conjunctive ending that links two clauses by expressing a cause or reason—equivalent to because in English. Attaching it to the adjective stem 아프- gives 아파서, meaning because (I) am in pain, which leads into the result clause 숙제를 못 해요.
Why is it 숙제를 못 해요 and not 숙제를 안 해요?
못 하다 means cannot do (an inability or external condition prevents the action), whereas 안 하다 means do not do (a deliberate choice). Here, the speaker isn’t choosing to skip homework—they physically can’t because of a headache—so 못 해요 is the correct expression of inability.
Could the speaker use the past tense 못 했어요 instead of 못 해요?