How to Make a Korean Sentence (SVDOIO)

Grab a copy of 700 Korean Sentence Patterns for $30 and get two more files for free!

In this lesson, we are going to construct an S-V-DO-IO sentence in Korean. S-V-DO-IO stands for subject, verb, direct object, indirect object which is a normal word order in English. A subject is what the sentence is about and a verb is an action word. A direct object is the receiver of the action, a word that follows a transitive verb. The indirect object is the the recipient of the object. Here are typical examples.

I / showed / the money / to him.
I / gave / the money / to him.
The subject is I (나).  The transitive verbs are to show (보여주다) and to give (주다). The direct object is  money (돈). The indirect object is him (그). It is possible to switch the position of the DO and IO. In this case, the preposition to (sometimes, for) is omitted. 

I / showed / him / the money.
I / gave / him / the money.

Korean is an SVO language, which means that the verb appears at the end of a sentence. See what happens when we arrange the words based on Korean syntax.

 I / him-to / the money / showed.
I / him-to / the money / gave.

 S-V-DO-IO in Korean is S-IO-DO-V. Here is the translated version of the sentences in casual speech.

 (나는) (그에게/그한테) (돈을) 보여줬어.
(나는) (그에게/한테) (돈을) 보여줬어.

  • The subject, direct object, and indirect object are enclosed because they can be omitted from the sentence. It depends on the context and flow of the conversation.
  • The marker 는 is attached to the subject. If the word ends in a consonant, 은 is used.
  • In some cases, the use of markers 이/가 is more suitable. We can also say 내가. The nuance is slightly/strongly different.
  • The word 그 is the unofficial term for he. It is used in literal translations only.
  • The markers 에게 or 한테 are attached to the indirect object. 에게 is more common in writing and 한테 is more common in speaking.
  • The marker 을 is attached to the object. If the word ends in a vowel, 를 is used.
  • The use of markers is not strictly enforced. It is not uncommon for people to drop them and say 나 그한테 돈 줬어 for instance. Nevertheless, they are helpful in determining the role of a word in a sentence.
  • Unlike other markers, 에게 and 한테 cannot be omitted.
  • This may work coincidentally for verbs show and give, but not all S-V-DO-IO sentences are necessarily applicable.