Story 18 Flashcards
은지는 아침에 옷을 입고 있다.
Eunji is putting on clothes in the morning.
옷을: Object (clothes) + -을 (object marker)
입고 있다: Present progressive form of 입다 (to wear/put on clothes), meaning “is wearing/putting on”
그녀는 뭘 입을지 모른다.
She doesn’t know what to wear.
뭘: Contraction of 무엇을 (what)
입을지: 입다 + -지 (used in indirect questions)
모른다: Present tense of 모르다 (to not know)
Vocabulary
자신의: Possessive Pronoun (“One’s Own”)
The word 자신의 is a possessive pronoun that means “one’s own.” It emphasizes that the noun belongs specifically to the subject of the sentence.
Basic Structure
자신의 + Noun → One’s own [Noun]
그녀는 자신의 집으로 돌아갔다.
(She went back to her own house.)
→ “자신의 집” emphasizes that it’s her house, not someone else’s.
그는 자신의 실수를 인정했다.
(He admitted his own mistake.)
→ “자신의 실수” clarifies that the mistake is his, not someone else’s.
“자신의” adds emphasis to indicate that the possession is specifically linked to the subject.
Used for All Persons (1st, 2nd, 3rd Person)
자신의 can be used for I (my own), you (your own), he/she (his/her own), they (their own).
그녀는 자신의 옷장을 들여다본다.
(She looks into her own wardrobe.)
자신의 (Possessive) - one’s own
자신의 is used when the subject and the possessor are the same.
This prevents confusion, especially in longer sentences.
옷장 = Wardrobe, closet
옷 (Clothes) + 장 (Cabinet, storage furniture)
들여다보다 = To look into, to peer into
들여 → Derived from “들이다” (to put in, let in), meaning inside
다 → Directional nuance (toward something)
보다 → To look
그녀에게 갈색 치마가 보인다.
She sees a brown skirt.
그녀에게: “To her” (dative marker -에게)
갈색 치마가: “Brown skirt”
보인다: Passive form of 보다 (to see), meaning “is visible” or “can be seen”
Literally: “A brown skirt is visible to her.”
그러나 오늘은 매우 춥다!
But today is very cold!
그러나: However
오늘은: 오늘 (today) + -은 (contrastive topic marker)
매우: Adverb meaning “very”
춥다: Adjective meaning “cold” (describing the weather)
춥다: To be cold
그녀에게 검정 바지가 보인다.
She sees black pants.
그녀에게: “To her”
검정 바지가: “Black pants” (subject)
보인다: “Can be seen”
그러나 그것은 너무 낡았다.
But it is too worn out.
그러나: However
그것은: 그것 (that thing) + -은 (topic marker)
너무: Too, excessively
낡았다: Past tense of 낡다 (to be old/worn out)
그리고 오늘 그녀는 회사에서 회의가 있다.
And today, she has a meeting at the company.
Contrastive Meaning of -는
When -는 appears again after a time expression (오늘), it often contrasts today’s situation with other days.
→ “Today, unlike other days”
→ “As for today, she…”
그리고: And
오늘 그녀는: “Today, she” (contrastive topic marker -는 used again)
회사에서: 회사 (company) + -에서 (location marker, “at the company”)
회의가 있다: “There is a meeting” (subject 회의 + verb 있다 (to exist))
은지는 갈색 치마를 입는다.
Eunji wears the brown skirt.
은지는: 은지 (topic marker -는)
갈색 치마를: Object 갈색 치마 (brown skirt) + -를 (object marker)
입는다: Present tense of 입다 (to wear)
그녀는 예쁘지만, 다리는 춥다.
그녀는: Subject (topic marker -는)
예쁘지만: 예쁘다 (to be pretty) + -지만 (but)
다리는: 다리 (legs) + -는 (contrastive topic marker)
춥다: “Cold” (adjective)
Without -는, the sentence would just be stating two facts. But with -는, it emphasizes that while she looks pretty, the legs specifically are cold, creating a more natural contrast.
Implied meaning:
“She looks pretty, but (the problem is) her legs feel cold.”
If we used “다리가 춥다” instead of “다리는 춥다,” the contrast wouldn’t be as clear. It would just state that her legs are cold, without linking it to the fact that she looks pretty.
은지는 자신의 옷장에서 입을 것을 찾는다.
Eunji looks for something to wear in her closet.
“자신” (oneself)
입을 → “입다” (to wear) in the -(으)ㄹ future/relative clause form
입을 것 = “something to wear” (literally: “something that she will wear”).
찾는다 → “찾다” (to look for, search for, find) in the neutral present-tense -ㄴ다 form.
