Learning Korean (한국어 배우기) [COMPLETE]

Unit 1.8 - Korean Adv / Negative Sentences (2)

Negative Sentences

There are two ways you can make a sentence negative:

1. By adding 안 (acting as an adverb in the sentence) before a verb/adjective
2. By adding ~지 않다 to the stem of a verb/adjective. 않다 then becomes the verb/adjective in that sentence and must be conjugated accordingly.

Both have the exact same meaning. First learners ask a lot of questions like "how do I know when to use one or the other?"
Well.......... It is totally up to the speaker.
For example:

저는 공부 안 했어요 = I didn't study, or
저는 공부하지 않았어요 = I didn't study

More Examples:
저는 안 행복해요 = I'm not happy
저는 행복하지 않아요 = I'm not happy

그 여자는 안 예뻐요
= That girl isn't pretty

그 여자는 예쁘지 않아요
= That girl isn't pretty

I have had people ask me about the word order of sentences is used with the negative adverb "안". One learner asked me if this sentence would be okay:

저는 안 공부했어요

While it might be understood, this sentence sounds very awkward in Korean. The reason is because 공부 is not the action. It the 했어요 that's the verb.

To not be: 아니다

아니다 (to not be) is the opposite of the word 이다 (to be), but they are used a little bit differently. Remember that 이다 is always attached directly to a noun. For example:

나는 선생님이다 = I am a teacher
나는 대학생이다 = I am a university student

However, when using 아니다, the particle ~이/가 is attached to the noun, and 아니다 is used as a separate word:

나는 형이 아니다 = I am not an older brother
나는 오빠가 아니다 = I am not an older brother

To not have: 없다

Just like how 아니다 is the opposite of 이다 - 없다 is the opposite of 있다. In Lesson 5, you learned some ways to use 있다. 없다 can indicate that one "does not have" something or that something "wasn't at a particular location." For example:

To not have:
저는 돈이 없어요 = I don't have money

To not be in a location:
제 친구는 지금 한국에 없어요 = My friend is not in Korea now

To not like: 싫어하다 and 싫다

While we are talking about negative words, I want to talk about 싫어하다 quickly. "싫어하다" is a verb that is used to indicate that one dislikes something. 싫어하다 is the opposite of 좋아하다 (to like). For example:

저는 과일을 싫어해요
= I dislike fruit
저는 과일을 좋아해요
= I like fruit

In Lesson 3, you learned how 좋다 and 좋아하다 are different. I explained that 좋다 is an adjective (meaning "to be good"), and thus cannot act on an object. For example:

그 선생님은 좋다
= That teacher is good

The adjective form of 싫어하다 is 싫다. However, contrary to what you probably expected, 싫다 is not used to mean "to not be good." In order to indicate that something is "not good", the adjective 나쁘다 is commonly used. Instead, 싫다 is often used to indicate that one dislikes something (just like 싫어하다). For example:

저는 과일이 싫어요
= I dislike fruit

Notice that because 싫다 is an adjective, it cannot act on an object, so the particles ~이/가 are attached to the noun. This type of sentence is a little bit too complex right now, so I don't want to dig too deep into it.

There's going to be a quiz next chapter!!! And after that chapter we will have a fun chapter waiting (≥∀≤)/
Aren't u tired of grammar? Lets rest for one chapter and go to (drum rollllll) how to write the names of ur FAVORITE KPOP BOY GROUP!!

Plzz comment ur favorite boy band on this chapter and the coming up next chapter. The top 3 most commented boy band will have pictures next to their names!! And the top 1 most mentioned boy band group will have their recent MV posted. So support ur artists!!! (≥∀≤)/

Commenting will end at April 2♥