Word
지금 서두르면 제시간에 도착해.jigeum seodureumyeon jesigane dochakhae.
Meaning
If you hurry now, you’ll arrive on time.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of jigeum seodureumyeon jesigane dochakhae.
지금jigeum
now
~에~e
time particle
도착하다dochakhada
to arrive
~면~myeon
if
Questions & Answers about jigeum seodureumyeon jesigane dochakhae.
Who is the subject? Why is “you” not written?
Korean commonly drops subjects when they’re obvious from context. Here, the subject is understood as “you.”
- You can make it explicit: 지금 네가 서두르면 제시간에 도착해. (네가 is pronounced “니가.”)
- It could also be “we”: 지금 우리가 서두르면 제시간에 도착해.
What does the ending -(으)면 mean in this sentence?
It marks a condition: “if/when.” With time words like 지금, it reads as a real, immediate condition: “If you hurry now.” -(으)면 can also mean “whenever” in general truths.
Why does 도착해 (present) talk about the future?
In Korean, present tense in an -(으)면 clause sequence often expresses a future result that follows the condition. So … 서두르면 … 도착해 naturally means “If …, (you) will arrive.” You can make the future explicit with 도착할 거야/요, but it’s not required.
Why is it 서두르면 and not 서둘러면 or 서둘르면?
Because 서두르다 is a “르-irregular” verb that only changes before -아/어 endings (e.g., 서둘러요, 서둘렀어요). It does not change before -면, so it stays 서두르면.
- Compare:
- 서둘러요 (before -어)