Breakdown of seonsaengnimi yeonseuphalsurok bareumi johajindaeyo.
Questions & Answers about seonsaengnimi yeonseuphalsurok bareumi johajindaeyo.
What does -할수록 mean in 연습할수록?
-ㄹ수록 / -을수록 means the more..., as ... more and more, or the more A, the more B.
So:
- 연습할수록 = the more you practice
- 연습할수록 발음이 좋아진대요 = They say pronunciation gets better the more you practice
This pattern usually links two changes together:
- 많이 볼수록 좋아요 = The more I see it, the more I like it.
- 공부할수록 어려워요 = The more I study, the harder it gets.
Why is it 연습하다 → 연습할수록?
Because the pattern attaches to the verb stem.
- Dictionary form: 연습하다
- Stem: 연습하-
- Add -ㄹ수록
- Result: 연습할수록
This is normal for 하다 verbs:
- 공부하다 → 공부할수록
- 운동하다 → 운동할수록
- 연습하다 → 연습할수록
So 할수록 here is not a separate word meaning can do. It is just 하다 combined with the grammar pattern -ㄹ수록.
Why is it 발음이 and not 발음을?
Because 좋아지다 is an intransitive verb: it means to become better / to improve. The thing that improves is the subject, not the object.
So:
- 발음이 좋아지다 = pronunciation improves
- not 발음을 좋아지다
Compare:
- 발음을 연습하다 = practice pronunciation
Here 발음 is the object, so 을/를 is used. - 발음이 좋아지다 = pronunciation improves
Here 발음 is the subject, so 이/가 is used.
What is the difference between 좋다 and 좋아지다 here?
- 좋다 = to be good
- 좋아지다 = to become good / to get better / to improve
So:
- 발음이 좋다 = the pronunciation is good
- 발음이 좋아지다 = the pronunciation gets better
In this sentence, the idea is not just that the pronunciation is good, but that it improves as practice increases.
What does 좋아진대요 mean?
좋아진대요 is a conversational reported-speech form. It comes from 좋아진다고 해요.
So it means something like:
- (someone says) it gets better
- they say it gets better
- I hear it gets better
Breaking it down:
- 좋아진다 = it gets better
- 좋아진다고 해요 = they say it gets better
- 좋아진대요 = shortened conversational form of that
This ending is very common in spoken Korean.
What tense is 좋아진대요?
It is basically a reported present/general statement.
So 좋아진대요 usually means:
- they say it gets better
- they say it will get better
- I hear it improves
In English, the best translation depends on context. Korean often uses this form for general truths or repeated results.
For comparison:
- 좋아진대요 = they say it gets better
- 좋아졌대요 = they say it got better / has gotten better
Why are there two 이 particles: 선생님이 and 발음이?
This is something many learners notice. Korean can allow a kind of double-subject structure.
In a sentence like this, the first noun can set the overall person/topic, and the second noun can be the thing that actually has the property or changes.
So:
- 선생님이 발음이 좋다 can mean
- The teacher has good pronunciation
- more literally, As for the teacher, the pronunciation is good
In the same way:
- 선생님이 연습할수록 발음이 좋아진대요 can be understood as
- The teacher’s pronunciation gets better the more he/she practices
This structure is normal in Korean, even though it feels unusual from an English point of view.
Does 선생님이 mean the teacher's, or does it mean the teacher says?
It can actually be ambiguous without context.
Possible readings include:
Double-subject reading
선생님이 ... 발음이 좋아진대요
= The teacher’s pronunciation gets better...Source-of-report reading
= The teacher says that pronunciation gets better...
Context usually tells you which one is intended.
If you want to make the teacher says... clearer, Korean often uses something more explicit, such as:
- 선생님이 말씀하시길...
- 선생님께서 ... 하셨어요
- 선생님이 그러시는데...
So if you felt that 선생님이 could be interpreted in more than one way, that is a very reasonable question.
Who is doing the practicing in this sentence?
That depends on how the sentence is being interpreted.
If it means:
- The more you practice, the better your pronunciation gets
then the subject is understood from context, and Korean simply leaves it out.
If it means:
- The teacher’s pronunciation gets better the more the teacher practices
then 선생님이 is connected to the practicing as well.
Korean often omits subjects when they are clear from the situation, so English speakers often feel there is missing information, even though Korean sounds natural that way.
Could I say 연습하면 발음이 좋아져요 instead?
Yes, and it would be natural, but the nuance is a little different.
- 연습하면 발음이 좋아져요 = If/when you practice, your pronunciation improves.
- 연습할수록 발음이 좋아져요 = The more you practice, the better your pronunciation gets.
So:
- -면 focuses on a condition: if you practice
- -ㄹ수록 focuses on gradual increase: the more you practice
If you want the idea of increasing improvement, -ㄹ수록 is the better choice.
How polite or formal is 좋아진대요?
It is polite, but conversational.
- The -요 ending makes it polite.
- The -대요 form is common in everyday speech when reporting what someone said or what you heard.
So it is less formal than:
- 좋아진다고 합니다
and more natural in ordinary conversation than very formal written-style Korean.
If you wanted a more formal version, you could say:
- 연습할수록 발음이 좋아진다고 해요
- 연습할수록 발음이 좋아진다고 합니다
If the teacher is the person being respectfully quoted, you might also hear:
- 선생님께서 연습할수록 발음이 좋아진다고 하셨어요
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