sigani eobseul ttae taeksireul tayo.

subject particle

Breakdown of sigani eobseul ttae taeksireul tayo.

• ~를: object particle
• 시간: time
• 없다: to not have

Questions & Answers about sigani eobseul ttae taeksireul tayo.

What does -을 때 mean in 없을 때?

-ㄹ/을 때 means when or at the time that.

• 없다 → stem 없-
• Because the stem ends in a consonant, you add -을 때
• So 없을 때 = when there is not / when someone does not have

A few quick comparisons:

• 갈 때 = when going
• 먹을 때 = when eating
• 바쁠 때 = when busy

In this sentence, 시간이 없을 때 means when there isn’t time / when I don’t have time.

Why is it 시간이 없을 때, not 시간을 없을 때?

Because 있다 and 없다 usually mark the thing that exists or does not exist with 이/가, not 을/를.

So:

• 시간이 있다 = there is time / I have time
• 시간이 없다 = there is no time / I don’t have time

Using 시간을 없다 is not correct.

This is different from English, where we say have time with a direct object. Korean structures it more like time exists / time does not exist.

Does 시간이 없다 literally mean there is no time, or I don’t have time?