Learn Hardcore Korean: geunyeoneun maeil yeolsimhi yeonseuphaeseo bareumi johajyeosseo. - She practices hard every day, so her pronunciation improved.

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Questions & Answers about geunyeoneun maeil yeolsimhi yeonseuphaeseo bareumi johajyeosseo.

Why is the topic marker -는 used after 그녀 instead of -가?

-는/은 marks the topic: “as for her…”. It frames the sentence and can contrast with others.
The actual grammatical subject of the change is 발음이 (pronunciation), not 그녀.
You could use 그녀가 to emphasize “she (as opposed to someone else) did the practicing,” but in natural speech you’d more often drop the pronoun or use a name.

Is 그녀 natural in everyday Korean?

In daily conversation, 그녀 is rare. Koreans usually use a name, a title (e.g., 선생님), or drop the pronoun.
For “she/her” in casual talk, people might say 걔 (about someone familiar, not polite) or 그분 (polite).
그녀 is common in writing, news, literature, or translations from English.

Why is it 발음이 and not 발음을?

좋아지다 means “to become better” and is intransitive. The thing that improves is the subject, so it takes 이/가: 발음이 좋아졌어.
Using 을/를 would suggest a transitive verb (e.g., 좋아하다 “to like”), which is a different meaning entirely: 발음을 좋아한다 = “(someone) likes pronunciation.”

What’s the difference between 좋다 and 좋아지다?

좋다 = “to be good” (a state). Example: 발음이 좋아 = “Her pronunciation is good.”
좋아지다 = “to become/get better” (change of state). Example: 발음이 좋아졌어 = “Her pronunciation got better.”
A near-synonym for “improve” is 나아지다, often interchangeable but a bit more general (health, conditions, skills, etc.).

How is 좋아졌어 formed, and why does it look contracted?

What exactly does -아서/어서 do in 연습해서?

-아서/어서/해서 links clauses with a reason or cause: “(she) practiced, so…/because (she) practiced…”.
With 하다 verbs, it becomes 해서: 연습하다 → 연습해서.

Why not say 연습했어서?

Generally, you don’t put a past marker (-았/었-) before -아서/어서. The time relation is understood: the cause precedes the result.
More natural alternatives:
- 연습해서 …
- 연습했기 때문에 … (more formal/explanatory)
- Two sentences: 연습했어. 그래서 …

Could I use 하니까, 하더니, or 하고 instead of 해서? What’s the nuance?

연습하니까 …: Reason found from experience or a general causal relationship; can sound a bit more explanatory/subjective.
연습하더니 …: The speaker observed an earlier situation and now notes the result (often used when reporting a change you witnessed).
연습하고 …: Neutral sequence “did X and then …”; it doesn’t inherently mark cause the way -아서/어서 does.

Can I split it into two sentences with 그래서?

Yes: 매일 열심히 연습했어. 그래서 발음이 좋아졌어. This is very natural and explicit: “(She) practiced hard every day. So her pronunciation got better.”

What does 열심히 really mean? Is it the same as “hard”?

열심히 = “diligently/with effort.” It’s perfect for studying, practicing, working.
For physically “hard/forcefully,” Korean often uses different words (e.g., 세게 for doing something forcefully).
열심히 연습하다 is an extremely common collocation.

Is 매일마다 okay? What about 날마다 and 매번?

매일 and 날마다 both mean “every day.” 날마다 can feel a touch more literary.
매일마다 is colloquial but redundant (literally “every day each”). Many speakers say it, but textbooks usually discourage it.
매번 = “every time” (not “every day”). Don’t mix it with 매일.
Don’t add 에: 매일에 is ungrammatical in this sense.

Where can I place 매일 and 열심히?

Common orders:
- (그녀는) 매일 열심히 연습해서 …
- (그녀는) 열심히 매일 연습해서 … (less common)
- (그녀는) 매일 연습을 열심히 해서 …
Adverbs are flexible, but keeping time adverbs (매일) early and manner adverbs (열심히) right before the verb is very natural.

Why do we have both 그녀는 and 발음이? Who is the subject?

그녀는 sets the topic (“as for her”).
The grammatical subject of the result clause is 발음이 (the thing that improved).
This topic–comment structure is very typical in Korean: the topic can be a person, and the subject inside the comment can be a different noun.

What are the politeness levels here, and how do I change them?

Current ending -었어 is casual/informal: 좋아졌어.
Polite: 좋아졌어요.
Formal: 좋아졌습니다.
Don’t add the honorific -시- here because the grammatical subject is 발음 (not a person). If you want to honor the person, rephrase so the person is the subject.

Any pronunciation tips for tricky parts like 연습해서 and 좋아졌어?

연습해서: The ㅂ before ㅎ becomes aspirated; it sounds like “연스패서” (yeon-seu-pae-seo).
좋아졌어: Pronounced roughly “조아져써” (jo-a-jyeo-sseo) due to contraction and liaison.
발음이 links smoothly: “바르미” (ba-reu-mi).

Can I say 연습을 해서 instead of 연습해서?

Yes. Both are fine:

연습해서 treats 연습하다 as a single verb.
연습을 해서 uses the noun + 하다 construction and can put a slight emphasis on the act of practice. Style choice more than meaning change.

If I want to say “her pronunciation is getting better” (ongoing), how do I change it?

Use the progressive:

How would I express the opposite, like “Even though she practiced every day, her pronunciation didn’t get better”?

Two natural options:

매일 열심히 연습했는데도 발음이 안 좋아졌어.
매일 열심히 연습해도 발음이 안 좋아졌어. (implies a general/expected result that doesn’t happen)

Are there more formal or alternative verbs for “improve” here?

향상되다 is formal/literary: 발음이 향상되었어(요) (sounds written or technical).
나아지다 is a common alternative: 발음이 나아졌어(요). It’s slightly broader in use than 좋아지다 but fits well here.