seonbaega allyeo jun daero gyeyakseoreul dasi ilgeo boseyo.

Questions & Answers about seonbaega allyeo jun daero gyeyakseoreul dasi ilgeo boseyo.

How is this sentence structured?

It breaks down like this:

  • 선배가 = the senior / senior colleague
    • subject marker
  • 알려 준 대로 = as [they] told [you] / according to what [they] told [you]
  • 계약서를 = the contract
    • object marker
  • 다시 = again
  • 읽어 보세요 = please try reading / please read

So the overall structure is:

[As the senior told you] [the contract] [again] [please read/try reading].

A natural English version is: Please read the contract again as the senior told you.

What does 선배 mean exactly? Is it just older person?

Not exactly. 선배 means someone who entered a school, company, field, or group earlier than you did. It is often translated as:

  • senior
  • senior colleague
  • upperclassman
  • more experienced member

So it is not simply about age, although a 선배 may also be older. The key idea is seniority in a shared context.

Why is it 선배가 and not 선배는?

Here, marks 선배 as the subject of 알려 준:

  • 선배가 알려 준 = the senior told [you]

Using is very natural when you are identifying who did the telling.
If you used 선배는, it would sound more like you are setting up the senior as a topic or contrast, such as:

  • As for the senior, they told you...

In this sentence, is the straightforward choice.

What does 알려 준 mean, and why is it written that way?

알려 준 comes from 알려 주다, which means to tell, to inform, or to let someone know.

You can think of it like this:

  • 알리다 = to inform, to make known
  • 알려 주다 = to tell someone, to let someone know

In this sentence, is the form used before a noun-like expression or before 대로 to describe something that already happened:

  • 선배가 알려 준 대로 = the way the senior told [you]

So 알려 준 is describing the content or method that was given earlier.

Why is in a past-looking form if the whole sentence is a request about now?

Because the telling happened before the reading.

  • First: the senior told you something
  • Then: you are asked to read the contract based on that

So shows that the instruction from the senior is already completed.
The request itself is in 보세요, which is about what you should do now.

What does 대로 mean here?

대로 means according to, in the way that, or just as.

So:

  • 선배가 알려 준 대로 = according to what the senior told you
  • the way the senior told you

It often expresses following a rule, instruction, model, or example.

Some similar uses:

  • 말한 대로 = as said
  • 본 대로 = as seen
  • 들은 대로 = as heard
Is something omitted after 알려 준? Told whom?

Yes. Korean often leaves out things that are obvious from context.

Here, the sentence does not explicitly say to you, but that is understood:

  • 선배가 알려 준 대로 = as the senior told you

Korean frequently omits pronouns like you, me, we, and even indirect objects when they are clear from the situation.

Why is it 계약서를?

계약서 means contract, and is the object marker.

So:

  • 계약서를 읽다 = to read the contract

The contract is the thing being read, so it takes the object marker.

What does 다시 add to the sentence?

다시 means again.

So this is not just read the contract but read the contract again or re-read the contract.

It suggests that the listener has probably already read it once, and now should read it another time, likely more carefully or in light of the senior’s instructions.

Why does it say 읽어 보세요 instead of just 읽으세요?

읽어 보세요 uses -아/어 보다, which means to try doing something.

So:

  • 읽으세요 = Please read it
  • 읽어 보세요 = Please try reading it / Have a look and read it

In many situations, -아/어 보세요 sounds a little softer, more practical, and more natural than a plain command. It often suggests:

  • trying something
  • checking something
  • doing something and seeing the result

Here it can sound like: Please go ahead and read the contract again.

Is 보세요 literal here? Does it mean see?

Not really. In 읽어 보세요, 보다 is acting like an auxiliary verb, so it does not literally mean see.

It adds the sense of:

  • try
  • go ahead and
  • do it and check

So 읽어 보세요 is better understood as please try reading it rather than read and see in a literal sense.

Why is 알려 준 written with a space? Could it be 알려준?

The standard spacing is 알려 준, because 주다 is functioning as an auxiliary-like element after 알려.

So the sentence is normally written:

  • 선배가 알려 준 대로 계약서를 다시 읽어 보세요.

You may sometimes see forms like 알려준 in less careful writing, but the standard spacing taught to learners is 알려 준. The same applies to 읽어 보세요, which is also normally spaced that way.

What politeness level is 읽어 보세요?

It is in the polite style, using -세요.

That makes it appropriate for:

  • giving instructions politely
  • speaking to someone you are not very close to
  • workplace or everyday respectful situations

It is not extremely formal like 읽어 보십시오, but it is polite and very common.

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How do speech levels work in Korean?
Korean has multiple speech levels that indicate formality and politeness. The most common are the formal polite (‑습니다/‑ㅂ니다), informal polite (‑아요/‑어요), and casual (‑아/‑어) forms. Which level you use depends on who you're speaking to and the social context.

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