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Questions & Answers about beoseuga gojang nasseoyo.
What part of speech is 고장, and how does combining it with 나다 affect its meaning?
고장 is a Sino-Korean noun meaning “malfunction” or “breakdown.” When you attach the native verb 나다 (“to occur”) to it, you get the intransitive verb 고장나다, literally “a malfunction occurred,” which is used to say “to break down.”
Why is there no 이 after 고장 in 고장 났어요?
In everyday spoken Korean, speakers often drop the subject marker 이/가 on nouns when the context is clear. So both 고장이 났어요 and 고장 났어요 mean “(it) broke down,” but the shorter 고장 났어요 sounds more natural in casual conversation.
What function does 가 have in 버스가?
The particle 가 marks 버스 as the grammatical subject—the entity that experienced the action of breaking down.
What tense and politeness level is conveyed by 났어요?
났어요 is the past-tense, polite (존댓말) form of 나다. The suffix -었- indicates past, and -어요 adds a polite ending.
Why can’t we say 버스가 고장이에요 or 고장 있어요 instead?
Korean uses 고장나다 to express “to break down.” Saying 고장 있어요 (“there is a breakdown”) or 고장이에요 feels unnatural for “to break down.” Always use 고장 나다 for that meaning.
How would you ask “Did the bus break down?” in Korean?
Simply use the same sentence with a rising tone or a question mark:
버스가 고장 났어요?
How can you make 버스가 고장 났어요 more casual or more formal?
• Casual (반말): 버스가 고장났어.
• Very formal: 버스가 고장 났습니다.
How is 고장 났어요 pronounced?
It’s pronounced [go-jang-nass-eo-yo]. The final 장 (ŋ) plus the initial ㄴ of 났어요 gives a slight “ng-n” sequence: 장 + 났 → [jangnass].