Lesson 9
The simplest sentence form will be one single verb conjugated into one type of ending. But in some cases, Korean sentences will end in “compound” forms, when connectors like -고(and), -ㄴ/는데(and/but), or -아/어/여서(so/because) are added at the very end.
Here are some examples.
- 오늘은 바빴어요. 어제는 안 바빴고요. (and)
- 어제는 안 왔어요. 어제 바빠서요. (so/because)
- 안에 사람이 없는데요? (and/but)
When a sentence ends with a compound ending like this, you can simply drop the last -요 to change the sentence into 반말.
- 오늘은 바빴어. 어제는 안 바빴고. (I was busy today. And as for yesterday, I wasn’t.)
- 어제는 안 왔어. 어제 바빠서. (I didn’t come yesterday. I was busy yesterday, so…)
- 안에 사람이 없는데? (There’s no one inside… and now what?)