sureul masimyeon jadongchareul unjeonhaji anhayo.

-면 is a conditional ending meaning if or when.

• 마시다 = to drink
• 마시면 = if/when (someone) drinks

So 술을 마시면 means if you drink alcohol or when someone drinks alcohol.

In this sentence, it sounds like a general rule or condition:
If alcohol is drunk, driving does not happen.

Because there are two different verbs/actions, and each one has its own object.

• 술을 마시다 = to drink alcohol
  
  • 술 is the object of 마시다
• 자동차를 운전하다 = to drive a car
  
  • 자동차 is the object of 운전하다

So the sentence has two clauses:

1. 술을 마시면 = if (someone) drinks alcohol
2. 자동차를 운전하지 않아요 = (they) do not drive a car

Each clause keeps its own object marking.

술 usually means alcohol, alcoholic drinks, or liquor in a broad sense.

In this sentence, 술을 마시다 is the standard expression for to drink alcohol. It does not mean just any beverage. If you wanted to say drink water, you would say 물을 마시다.

So here, 술 clearly refers to alcoholic drinks.

This is the negative form of 운전하다.

Breakdown:

• 운전하다 = to drive
• 운전하지 않아요 = do not drive / does not drive / am not driving / will not drive
  depending on context

The pattern is:

• verb stem + 지 않다 = to not do something

So:

• 운전하다 → 운전하지 않다
• polite form: 운전하지 않아요

This is a very common way to make negatives in Korean.

Korean often leaves out the subject when it is understood from context.

So this sentence could mean:

• I don’t drive if I drink
• You don’t drive if you drink
• He/She doesn’t drive if he/she drinks
• People don’t drive if they drink

Without context, it often sounds like a general statement or rule.

That is very normal in Korean. You do not need to say the subject every time.

It is in the non-past form, which in Korean can cover several ideas:

• present habit
• general truth
• future result

Here, the most natural reading is a general rule/habit:

If someone drinks alcohol, they do not drive.

Depending on context, it could also sound like:

If I drink, I won’t drive.

So Korean non-past forms are often broader than English present tense.

Not exactly.

The original sentence is a statement, not a command. It says something like:

If you drink, you do not drive.

That sounds like a rule, habit, or principle.

If you wanted a direct command such as Don’t drink and drive, Korean would more likely use something like:

• 술을 마시면 운전하지 마세요.
• 음주 운전하지 마세요.

So the original sentence is declarative, while Don’t drink and drive is imperative.

Yes. In everyday Korean, 차 is much more common than 자동차.

• 자동차 = automobile / car
• 차 = car

So:

• 자동차를 운전하지 않아요
• 차를 운전하지 않아요

Both are correct, but 차를 운전하지 않아요 usually sounds more natural in casual everyday speech.

자동차 can sound a bit more formal or specific.

Yes. Both are correct.

• 운전하지 않아요 = do not drive
• 운전 안 해요 = do not drive

The difference is mainly style:

• 안 negation is very common and conversational
• -지 않아요 can sound a bit more neutral or slightly more formal

So these are both natural:

• 술을 마시면 자동차를 운전하지 않아요.
• 술을 마시면 자동차를 운전 안 해요.

Same basic meaning.

In casual spoken Korean, particles are often omitted if the meaning is still clear.

So you may hear things like:

• 술 마시면 차 운전 안 해요.

That sounds natural in conversation.

However, in careful or textbook-style Korean, keeping the particles is better:

• 술을 마시면 자동차를 운전하지 않아요.

So:

• with particles = clearer, more standard
• without some particles = common in speech

Both are possible, but learners should first get comfortable with the full version.