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How Korean sentences work — order, particles, endings, questions

The One Big Rule: Verb Comes Last

Korean word order is Subject + Object + Verb (SOV), while English uses Subject + Verb + Object. Whatever else happens in a Korean sentence, the verb always sits at the end — everything else lines up in front of it.

English (SVO)

I eat rice

Subject + Verb + Object

Korean (SOV)

나는 밥을 먹어요

Subject + Object + Verb

Why the order can bend: each noun carries a little tag (a particle) that says what job it does — 나는 밥을. Because the tags do the work, Koreans can shuffle the middle of a sentence and it still makes sense. Only the verb's final position is fixed.

Sentence Components

The three basic parts, color-coded. We keep these colors through the whole page:

Subject (주어)

나는

na-neun = I

Who or what does the action.
나 is casual "I" — use 저 (jeo) to be polite.

Object (목적어)

밥을

bab-eul = rice

What receives the action

Verb (동사)

먹어요

meog-eo-yo = eat (polite)

The action — always last

Korean loves to drop words. If everyone knows who you're talking about, leave the subject out. 밥을 먹어요 ("eat rice") is a perfectly complete, natural answer to "What are you doing?" — the "I" is understood. Even a lone verb, 먹어요!, is a full sentence.

Growing a Sentence

Start from a single verb and add information in front of it, piece by piece. Click any line to hear it:

1
먹어요.
meog-eo-yo — "(I) eat." A verb alone is already a sentence.
2
밥을 먹어요.
bab-eul meog-eo-yo — "(I) eat rice." Add what.
3
나는 밥을 먹어요.
na-neun bab-eul meog-eo-yo — "I eat rice." Add who.
4
나는 아침에 밥을 먹어요.
na-neun a-chim-e bab-eul meog-eo-yo — "I eat rice in the morning." Add when.
5
나는 아침에 집에서 밥을 먹어요.
na-neun a-chim-e jib-e-seo bab-eul meog-eo-yo — "I eat rice at home in the morning." Add where.
The usual line-up: who → when → where → what → verb. It's not a strict law — the particles keep things clear — but this order sounds the most natural to Korean ears.

Particles (조사) — the Little Tags

Particles glue onto the end of a noun and announce its job. Six will carry you a long way:

Picking the right shape is mechanical: if the noun ends in a consonant (받침), use the first form; if it ends in a vowel, use the second.

Topic · "as for …"
은 / 는

밥은 (bap ends in ㅂ → 은) · 나는 (na ends in a vowel → 는)

Sets what the sentence is about: "As for me, …"

Subject · points out the doer
이 / 가

학생이 (hak-saeng → 이) · 고양이가 (go-yang-i → 가)

Identifies who or what does it: "It's the cat that's sleeping."

Object · receives the action
을 / 를

밥을 (bap → 을) · 사과를 (sa-gwa → 를)

Marks the thing being eaten, read, liked…

Time / destination
에

아침에 (in the morning) · 학교에 가요 (go to school)

"At" a time, or "to" a place you're heading.

Place of action
에서

집에서 먹어요 (eat at home) · 학교에서 공부해요 (study at school)

Where the action actually happens.

Also / and-with
도 · 하고

나도 (me too) · 친구하고 (with a friend)

도 replaces 은/는/을/를; 하고 joins nouns.

은/는 vs 이/가 — the famous pair. Both can mark the doer, and beginners agonize over them. The working rule: 은/는 frames known information as the topic ("As for me, I eat rice"), while 이/가 points out or introduces something ("The cat is the one sleeping"). If you mix them up, Koreans will still understand you — keep going and your ear will tune itself.

Verb Endings & Politeness

Dictionary verbs all end in -다. To actually speak, drop 다 and attach an ending — the ending sets how polite you sound:

Style To eat (먹다) To go (가다) When to use
Polite everyday
해요체		 먹어요 가요 The all-purpose form. When in doubt, use this — it's what this site teaches.
Formal
합니다체		 먹습니다 갑니다 News, presentations, the military, first business meetings.
Casual
반말		 먹어 가 Close friends and children only — it's the polite form minus 요.
Good news: Korean verbs never change for who is doing them. English needs "I eat / she eats"; Korean uses 먹어요 for I, you, she, we, and they alike. Learn one form, use it for everyone.

Questions & Saying No

Two more moves and you can hold a tiny conversation. Click to listen:

Questions: just raise your voice

No word-shuffling like English "Do you…?". The statement and the question are the same words — only the intonation rises:

밥을 먹어요.
I eat rice. ↘
밥을 먹어요?
Are you eating? ↗

Negation: put 안 before the verb

안 (an) = "not", 못 (mot) = "can't":

밥을 안 먹어요.
I don't eat rice.
밥을 못 먹어요.
I can't eat rice.

Question words

뭐
mwo
what
누구
nu-gu
who
어디
eo-di
where
언제
eon-je
when
왜
wae
why
어떻게
eo-tteo-ke
how

Question words slot in where the answer would go: 뭐 먹어요? "What are you eating?" — same order, no rearranging.

Example Sentences

Read each one left to right, watching the colors: subject · time/place · object · verb. Click to hear the pronunciation!

나는 밥을 먹어요
na-neun bab-eul meog-eo-yo
I eat rice / I am eating rice
고양이가 자고 있어요
go-yang-i-ga ja-go iss-eo-yo
The cat is sleeping — no object needed
학생이 책을 읽어요
hak-saeng-i chaek-eul ilg-eo-yo
The student reads a book
친구가 학교에 가요
chin-gu-ga hak-gyo-e ga-yo
My friend goes to school — 에 marks the destination
저는 집에서 한국어를 공부해요
jeo-neun jib-e-seo han-gug-eo-reul gong-bu-hae-yo
I study Korean at home — polite 저, 에서 marks where it happens
아이가 사과를 좋아해요
a-i-ga sa-gwa-reul joh-a-hae-yo
The child likes apples
오늘 날씨가 좋아요
o-neul nal-ssi-ga joh-a-yo
The weather is nice today — Korean adjectives work like verbs and also come last

Sentence Building Practice

Try Building This Sentence:

English: "I read a book"
Subject: 나는
Object: 책을
Verb: 읽어요
나는 책을 읽어요

na-neun chaek-eul ilg-eo-yo

You Made It!

You've completed the basic Korean learning journey! You now understand:

Letters

The building blocks

Syllables

How letters stack into blocks

Words

Blocks chain into meaning

Sentences

Order, particles, and endings

수고하셨습니다!

su-go-ha-syeoss-seub-ni-da!

Great job! You've worked hard!

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