Object Particle · 을/를

3. Examples

Example 1 — Food and drink

빵을 먹어요.
ppang-eul meo-geo-yo.
→ I eat bread.

물을 마셔요.
mu-reul ma-syeo-yo.
→ I drink water.

밥을 먹어요.
ba-beul meo-geo-yo.
→ I eat rice.

커피를 마셔요.
keo-pi-reul ma-syeo-yo.
→ I drink coffee.

Look at the particle before each verb. 빵, 물 and 밥 end in a consonant, so they take 을. 커피 ends in a vowel, so it takes 를.

Notice the sound change in 밥을. The final ㅂ moves to the next syllable, so you hear ba-beul.

Example 2 — Shopping and daily actions

옷을 사요.
o-seul sa-yo.
→ I buy clothes.

사과를 사요.
sa-gwa-reul sa-yo.
→ I buy apples.

가게에서 책을 사요.
ga-ge-e-seo chae-geul sa-yo.
→ I buy a book at the store.

친구를 만나요.
chin-gu-reul man-na-yo.
→ I meet a friend.

음악을 들어요.
eu-ma-geul deu-reo-yo.
→ I listen to music.

The word 가게에서 tells you where the action happens. It is not the object, so it has no 을/를. Only 책 is the thing being bought, so only 책 gets 을.

When a noun ends in a consonant and the next syllable starts with a vowel, the consonant links over. That is why 옷을 sounds like o-seul.

Example 3 — Watching, reading and studying

영화를 봐요.
yeong-hwa-reul bwa-yo.
→ I watch a movie.

책을 읽어요.
chae-geul il-geo-yo.
→ I read a book.

한국어를 공부해요.
han-gu-geo-reul gong-bu-hae-yo.
→ I study Korean.

학교에서 한국어를 공부해요.
hak-gyo-e-seo han-gu-geo-reul gong-bu-hae-yo.
→ I study Korean at school.

The same verb 보다 can take different objects. You can watch a movie or other things, and each object gets 을/를 by its last sound.

The sentence with 학교에서 is longer, but the object is still just 한국어. Add place and time words if you like, and keep 을/를 right after the object.

Example 4 — 좋아하다 and 하다 verbs

김치를 좋아해요.
gim-chi-reul jo-a-hae-yo.
→ I like kimchi.

이 노래를 좋아해요.
i no-rae-reul jo-a-hae-yo.
→ I like this song.

운동을 해요.
un-dong-eul hae-yo.
→ I exercise.

숙제를 해요.
suk-je-reul hae-yo.
→ I do homework.

날씨가 좋아요.
nal-ssi-ga jo-a-yo.
→ The weather is good.

The first two sentences use 좋아하다, a verb, so the thing you like takes 를. The last sentence uses 좋다, an adjective, so 날씨 takes 가.

The two 하다 sentences show the separated form. 운동을 해요 and 숙제를 해요 literally mean "do exercise" and "do homework".