chaegeul da ilgeosseoyo.

I read the whole book.

Breakdown of chaegeul da ilgeosseoyo.

• 읽다: to read
• ~을: object particle
• 책: book
• 다: completely

Questions & Answers about chaegeul da ilgeosseoyo.

Why is 책을 used instead of just 책?

In Korean, the object of a verb needs a particle to show its role. 을 is the object marker used after a noun ending in a consonant (like 책). So 책을 tells us “book” is what you’re reading. Without 을, it’s harder to know that “book” is the direct object of 읽었어요.

What does 다 mean in 책을 다 읽었어요, and why is it placed before the verb?

Here 다 is an adverb meaning “completely” or “entirely.” Adverbs in Korean normally come right before the verb they modify. So 책을 다 읽었어요 literally is “(I) completely read the book,” i.e. “I finished the book.”

How do we form the past tense 읽었어요 from the dictionary form 읽다?

1. Remove 다 to get the verb stem: 읽-
2. Decide whether to add -았어요 or -었어요 based on vowel harmony:
   
   • If the last vowel in the stem is ㅏ or ㅗ, use -았어요
   • Otherwise use -었어요
3. Since 읽- has the vowel ㅣ, we add -었어요, giving 읽었어요 (“read” in polite past).

Why exactly -었어요 and not -았어요 after 읽-?

It’s because of Korean vowel harmony:

• -았- pairs with stems whose final vowel is ㅏ or ㅗ
• -었- pairs with all other vowels (including ㅣ)
  Since 읽다 has ㅣ, the correct past suffix is -었어요.

Why is there no word for “I” in 책을 다 읽었어요?

Korean often drops subjects (and objects) when they’re understood from context. If it’s clear you’re talking about yourself, you don’t need 저는 or 내가. In a conversation, simply saying 책을 다 읽었어요 naturally means “I finished the book.”

Can I say 책 다 읽었어요 instead of 책을 다 읽었어요?

Yes. In everyday speech Koreans often omit particles when the meaning is still clear. So 책 다 읽었어요 (“(I) completely read book”) is perfectly fine colloquially.

How would I say “I’ve read the books” in the plural?

To stress plurality, you can add the plural marker 들 to 책:

• 책들을 다 읽었어요
  But Koreans frequently skip 들 if plurality is obvious from context:
• 책 다 읽었어요 can still mean “I read the books.”

Is there a way to express a sense of regret or finishing something unintentionally when saying “I finished the book”?

Yes. You can use the auxiliary verb -버리다 to add a nuance of “completely” or “regretfully.” For example:

• 책을 다 읽어버렸어요
  This implies “I ended up reading the whole book (and I can’t do anything about it now).”