Learn Hardcore Korean: jeoneun jeomsime saelleodeureul meogeoyo.

저 means “I” in the humble form, but Korean usually marks the topic of the sentence with the particle 는 (or 은 after a vowel). So 저는 literally means “As for me…,” signaling that what follows is about you. Without 는, the sentence would sound incomplete or overly abrupt.

What does the -에 in 점심에 do?

The particle -에 marks a point in time or place. Here, 점심 means “lunch,” so 점심에 means “at lunch.” You can think of -에 as the equivalent of “at” or “on” in English when referring to time.

Why is 샐러드 written in Korean letters instead of a native word?

샐러드 is a loanword borrowed from English salad. Korean often adapts foreign words into Hangul, matching their pronunciation as closely as possible. The spelling 샐러드 (sael-leu-deu) reflects how native speakers approximate the English sounds.

What role does -를 play in 샐러드를?

-를 (or -을 after a consonant) is the object marker. It shows that 샐러드 is the direct object of the verb 먹어요 (“eat”). If you removed -를, the sentence would lose clarity about what’s being eaten.

What tense and level of politeness is 먹어요?

먹어요 is present tense, polite but not overly formal. It’s called the 해요체 level. If you wanted to sound more formal, you could say 먹습니다. If you spoke casually to close friends, you might say 먹어.

Why does the verb 먹어요 come at the end of the sentence?

Korean follows a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) order. You first introduce your topic (저는), then time or place (점심에), then the object (샐러드를), and finally the action (먹어요). This order is fixed, although you can move adverbial phrases (like 점심에) for emphasis, but the verb still stays last.

Can you omit 저는 or rearrange words?

Yes. If context makes the subject clear, you can drop 저는, saying simply 점심에 샐러드를 먹어요. You can also say 점심에 저는 샐러드를 먹어요 for emphasis on “as for me,” or 샐러드를 점심에 먹어요 if you want to stress 샐러드. But the verb 먹어요 always remains at the end.