jaknyeone hangugeoreul bae-ugi sijakhaesseoyo.

object particle

Breakdown of jaknyeone hangugeoreul bae-ugi sijakhaesseoyo.

• 한국어: Korean
• 배우다: to learn
• ~에: time particle

Questions & Answers about jaknyeone hangugeoreul bae-ugi sijakhaesseoyo.

What does 작년에 mean and how is it formed?

작년 means “last year” in Korean. The particle -에 is a time marker that attaches to nouns to indicate “at,” “on,” or “in” a point in time. So 작년 + -에 = 작년에, which translates as “last year” or “in last year.”

Why is -를 used in 한국어를 instead of -을?

Korean has two object markers: -을 (after consonants) and -를 (after vowels). Since 한국어 ends in the vowel ㅓ, you use -를 to mark it as the direct object of the verb. Thus 한국어를 means “Korean (language)” as the thing being learned.

How does 배우기 시작했어요 break down grammatically?

This phrase is made of three parts:

1. 배우다 (to learn) – the base verb.
2. -기 – a nominalizer that turns the verb into a noun-like form (배우기, “learning”).
3. 시작하다 (to begin/start) – in the past polite form 시작했어요, “started.”

So 배우기 시작했어요 literally means “(I) started learning.”

Why is there -었 in 시작했어요? What tense and politeness level is that?