Course
Build Your First Sentences
You can read the letters — now make them into sentences. 이에요/예요, 있어요/없어요, the particles, and past and present, in the order they actually build on each other.
Your First Korean Sentence: 이에요 or 예요? (The 5-Second Rule Nobody Explains Clearly)
이에요 and 예요 both mean "it is." Which one you use depends on one sound at the end of the previous word — and once you hear it, you'll never guess again. Plus the three mix-ups that trip up every beginner.
있어요 / 없어요: How to Say a Thing Exists, or You Have It (or Don't)
이에요 says what something IS. 있어요 says it EXISTS or you HAVE it — and beginners mix them up constantly. Here's the difference, and the exact sentences you'll use to find, order, and ask for things in Korea.
가요, 먹어요, 해요: How Korean Verbs Actually Come Out of Your Mouth (-아요 / -어요)
Textbooks hand you 가다 and 먹다 — but nobody says those out loud. The everyday form is 가요 and 먹어요, and the whole rule for getting there is one sound at the end of the word. Here's the switch that unfreezes you mid-sentence.
은/는 vs 이/가: The Two Little Words Koreans Never Explain (and How to Pick One)
Both mark the subject, both are 'correct,' and every textbook hands you a rule that doesn't help mid-sentence. Here's the one question that tells you which to use — and why 제가 좋아해요 and 저는 좋아해요 aren't quite the same sentence.
Korean Past Tense the Easy Way: If You Can Say 먹어요, You Can Say 먹었어요
You learned 먹어요 (eat) and 가요 (go) — then someone asked what you did yesterday and you froze. Here's the secret nobody tells beginners: past tense isn't a new rule. It's the present-tense form you already know, with one small ㅆ added on the bottom. Native audio included.
밥__ 먹어요? The Two Particles That Finish a Korean Sentence: 을/를 and 에/에서
You learned 은/는 and 이/가 — then you tried to say 'I ate rice at the cafe' and stalled on two more blanks. 을/를 marks what you do it to; 에 and 에서 mark where. One reuses a 받침 trick you already know, the other ignores it — plus three traps English quietly sets for you.
Korean Future Tense: -ㄹ 거예요 (I'm going to) vs -ㄹ게요 (I promise I will)
You can say what you did and what you're doing — now the future. There are two 'will' endings, and English hides the difference: -ㄹ 거예요 is a plan or a guess, -ㄹ게요 is a promise you're making to the person in front of you. Pick the wrong one and you sound off. The 받침 rule is the same one you already know. Native audio included.
Korean Negation the Easy Way: Just Put 안 in Front (and When It's 못 Instead)
You can say 먹어요 (I eat) — so you're one small word away from 안 먹어요 (I don't eat). Negation in Korean isn't a new conjugation; it's one word dropped in front of the verb you already know. The only real decision is 안 (I choose not to) vs 못 (I can't) — a line English blurs with 'don't' and 'can't.' Native audio included.
Why 춥다 Becomes 추워요, Not 춥어요: The ㅂ Rule Behind Hot, Cold, and Spicy
You learned that verbs just take -아요/-어요 — then 맵다 (spicy) came out as 매워요 and broke the pattern. Here's the one rule behind Korea's most useful describing words: when a ㅂ sits at the bottom, it turns into 워. Weather, taste, difficulty — the words you reach for every day. Native audio included.
몰라요, Not 모라요: The Two Irregular Verbs Behind Korea's Most Common Words (르 and ㄷ)
You learned that 맵다 becomes 매워요 — the ㅂ irregular. But then 모르다 (to not know) came out as 몰라요, and 듣다 (to listen) became 들어요, and neither followed any rule you'd met. Here are the next two irregular patterns, hiding inside verbs you use every single day: 르 (double the ㄹ) and ㄷ (ㄷ turns into ㄹ). Native audio included.