oneul jeonyeogeneun saengseoneul gupneun daesine dwaejigogireul bokka meogeosseoyo.

For dinner today, instead of grilling fish, I stir-fried pork.

Breakdown of oneul jeonyeogeneun saengseoneul gupneun daesine dwaejigogireul bokka meogeosseoyo.

• ~을: object particle
• 먹다: to eat
• ~를: object particle
• ~는: topic particle

Questions & Answers about oneul jeonyeogeneun saengseoneul gupneun daesine dwaejigogireul bokka meogeosseoyo.

Why is it 오늘 저녁에는 and not just 오늘 저녁에?

에 marks the time, so 오늘 저녁에 simply means this evening / at dinner tonight.

Adding 는 after 에 makes it 오늘 저녁에는, which gives a topic or contrastive feeling. It can sound like:

• As for tonight’s dinner...
• Tonight, though...
• At least for dinner tonight...

In this sentence, 에는 helps set up the situation before the contrast with 대신에 (instead of). So it feels very natural.

---

Why is 생선을 marked with 을/를?

Because 생선 is the direct object of 굽는 (grilling).

So:

• 생선 = fish
• 생선을 = fish + object marker
• 굽다 = to grill / roast

Even though 굽는 is not the final verb of the sentence, it is still a verb, and 생선 is still its object. So 생선을 굽는 대신에 means instead of grilling fish.

---

Why is it 굽는 대신에? I thought 대신에 meant instead of by itself.