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KOREAN NEGATIVE STRUCTURE
Up until now, we have studied the basic sentence structures.
But we also need to understand the basic negations of a sentence to use in simple conversations.
There are several ways to make sentences in negative forms for different uses.
CASE 1 || 안 / -지 않아요 (NOT)
This is one of the easiest ways to make a negative sentence.
You only need to add 안 in front of the verb or adjective.
PATTERN
안 + Verb / Adjective
안 could be replaced with -지 않아요. It should be used with the word stem of the verbs or adjectives.
For example:
| NEGATION 1 | NEGATION 2 | ENGLISH |
|---|---|---|
| 저는 브로콜리를안먹어요. | 저는 브로콜리를 먹지 않아요. | I don’t eat broccoli. |
| 지수는 초콜릿을안좋아해요. | 지수는 초콜릿을 좋아하지 않아요. | Jisu doesn’t like chocolate. |
| 그 목걸이는안예뻐요. | 그 목걸이는 예쁘지 않아요. | The necklace isn’t pretty. |
| 민지는 키가안커요. | 민지는 키가 크지 않아요. | Minji isn’t tall. |
CASE 2 || 못 / -지 못해요 (CANNOT)
못 can be placed in front of the verb only. It cannot be used with adjectives.
못 could be replaced with -지 못해요. It should be used with the word stem of the verbs.
For example:
| NEGATION 1 | NEGATION 2 | ENGLISH |
|---|---|---|
| 저는 수영을못해요. | 저는 수영을 하지 못해요. | I cannot swim. |
| 내 여동생은 술을못마셔요. | 내 여동생은 술을 마시지 못해요. | My younger sister cannot drink alcohol. |
| 그 학생들은 대학교에못가요. | 그 학생들은 대학교에 가지 못해요. | The students cannot go to university. |
CASE 3 || 몰라요 (DO NOT KNOW)
The Korean language has its own words for the negative form of ‘know’ and ‘be’ to show existence.
In English, you can simply put ‘not’ in front of the verbs just like any other verb. However, you should remember these two words to make a negative sentence with the verbs ‘know’ and ‘Be Verbs’.
The word ‘to know’ in Korean is 알다.
However, we rarely apply the methods of case 1 and case 2 for this word.
Instead, we use the word 몰라요. For example:
| KOREAN | ENGLISH |
|---|---|
| 나는 그녀의 연락처를몰라요. | I don’t know her phone number. |
| 그는 한국문화를 잘몰라요. | He doesn’t know well about Korean culture. |
| 우리는 그 식당의 위치를몰라요. | We don’t know the location of the restaurant. |
DO NOT EXIST WITH 없어요
We use 있어요 when talking about the existence of something.
The word 있어요 has the role of ‘Be verbs’.
When we make a sentence to talk about the absence of something, we would use 없어요.
Some examples:
| KOREAN | ENGLISH |
|---|---|
| 공원에 사람들이 거의없어요. | There are not many people in the park. |
| 냉장고에 음식이없어요. | There is no food in the refrigerator. |
| 우리 사이에는 비밀이없어요. | There is no secret between us. |
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MORE RESOURCES
Want to learn more? Check out these other free resources:
- Learn more about negative sentences in Mandarin
- Learn more about negative sentences in Japanese
- Learn more about negative sentences in Vietnamese
FAQs
How to make negative sentences in Korean?
Expressing ‘not’. For verbs and adjectives. Add ‘안’ or ‘-지 않아요’ in front of them.
Example: 지수는 초콜릿을 좋아하지 않아요.
Expressing ‘cannot’. For verbs only. Add 못’or ‘-지 못해요’ in front of the verb.
Example: 저는 수영을 못 해요.
Expressing ‘do not know’. The word ‘to know’ in Korean is ‘알다’. However, we rarely apply the methods of case 1 and case 2 for this word. Instead, we use the word ‘몰라요’
Example: 나는 그녀의 연락처를 몰라요.
Expressing ‘not have’. When we make a sentence to talk about the absence of something, we would use ‘없어요’.
Example: 공원에 사람들이 거의 없어요.
What is the difference between 안 and 지 않아요?
‘안’ can be replaced with ‘-지 않아요’. It should be used with the word stem of the verbs or adjectives.
지수는 초콜릿을 안 좋아해요 becomes 지수는 초콜릿을 좋아하지 않아요.
Is Korean SVO or SOV?
Korean is a SOV language, meaning the basic language structure is:
Subject + Object + Verb
Japanese, Mongolian and Turkish are also SOV languages for example.
English is a SVO language: subject + verb + object
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Learn more about Korean sentence structure here.
How do you say “do not know” in Korean?
The Korean language has its own word for the negative form of “know”, it is 몰라요.
The verb “to know” in Korean is 알다.
What are some basic Korean sentence structure?
Here are the 3 most basic Korean sentence structure:
#1 || Subject + Verb
#2 || Subject + Object + Verb
#3 || Subject + Noun / Adjective
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Learn more about Korean sentence structure here.
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