Breakdown of jigeum jaryoreul boksahago isseunikka jogeumman dowa jwoyo.
Questions & Answers about jigeum jaryoreul boksahago isseunikka jogeumman dowa jwoyo.
지금 means now / at the moment, and putting it first sets the time frame for the whole sentence: “Right now, …”.
It doesn’t have to be first. You could also say things like 자료를 지금 복사하고 있으니까… to emphasize when you’re copying, or 지금 복사하고 있는 자료를… in a different structure. Sentence-initial 지금 is just the most natural, “scene-setting” placement.
자료 means materials / documents / data (often “documents” in an office context).
-를 is the object marker, showing that 자료 is what you’re copying: 자료를 복사하다 = to copy the materials/documents.
복사하다 is the plain verb to copy.
복사하고 있다 uses -고 있다 to express an ongoing action: “(I’m) copying (it) right now / I’m in the middle of copying.”
So the sentence is explicitly saying the copying is happening currently, not just generally.
Both can be translated like “because I’m copying…”, but the nuance differs:
- 복사하니까: can sound like “since I copy / since I will copy / because I’m copying (in a general sense)” depending on context.
- 복사하고 있으니까: clearly emphasizes the ongoing situation right now: “since I’m (currently) in the middle of copying…”
The 있- is part of the progressive -고 있다, and -니까 attaches after it.
Here -니까 means “since / because” and often carries a sense of giving a reason/explanation that leads to a request, suggestion, or command.
Typical tendencies:
- -니까: frequently used with requests/commands and can feel a bit more “speaker-justifying” or explanatory: “Since I’m doing X, (so) please do Y.”
- -아서/어서: also means because/so, often feels more like a natural cause-effect flow.
In this sentence, -니까 fits well because the second clause is a request (도와 줘요).
Korean commonly drops subjects when they’re obvious from context. In a normal situation:
- The omitted subject for 복사하고 있으니까 is likely I (I’m copying).
- The implied subject for 도와 줘요 is you (Please help (me)).
If you wanted to make it explicit, you could say:
- 저 지금 자료를 복사하고 있으니까… (I’m copying…)
- 조금만 도와 줘요 still implies you.
조금 = a little.
-만 = only / just.
So 조금만 means “just a little (bit)” and softens the request: “Help me just a bit.”
It can imply either a small amount of effort or a short time, depending on context.
도와 주다 is a common “verb + 주다” helper construction:
- 돕다 (dictionary form) = to help
- 도와 = the irregular/conjugated form used before another verb
- 주다 = to give, but when used after another verb, it often means “do it for me / do me the favor of…”
So 도와 줘요 is like “Please help me (as a favor).”
Without 주다, you could say 도와요, but 도와 줘요 sounds more natural as a polite request.
Both appear, but spacing depends on whether you treat 주다 as an auxiliary verb:
- 도와 줘요: spaced to show 돕다 + 주다 (main verb + auxiliary), common in careful/standard writing.
- 도와줘요: very common in casual writing because it’s pronounced like one unit.
In speech, they sound essentially the same.
도와 줘요 is polite but relatively casual—appropriate with coworkers you’re friendly with, classmates, people your age, etc.
Alternatives:
- 도와 주세요: more standard/polite, good default to strangers or in more formal situations.
- 도와 주실래요?: softer, “Would you help me?”
- 도와 주시겠어요?: more formal and polite.
The rest of the sentence can stay the same; only the request ending changes.