The Object Particle 을/를 and 하다 Verbs
Mark the object of a verb with 을/를 and use the huge family of 하다 verbs, like 공부해요 and 운동해요, in polite present tense.
Mr. Gaon · Grammar, vocabulary & TOPIKWhat you will learn in this lesson
- Attach 을 or 를 to the object of a sentence
- Build Subject–Object–Verb sentences
- Conjugate 하다 verbs into 해요
- Understand when 을/를 is dropped in speech
Hello again! So far we have used nouns with 이에요/예요. Today we start using real action verbs. You will learn one particle, 을/를, and one magic verb, 하다. Together they let you say hundreds of sentences.
The object: what receives the action
In “I drink coffee”, the coffee receives the action of drinking. We call it the object. In Korean, the object gets the particle 을/를.
The word order is Subject – Object – Verb:
저는 커피를 마셔요. “I coffee drink.” → “I drink coffee.”
Because the particles show each noun’s job, the order of subject and object can sometimes change. But the verb stays at the end.
object particle
- After a consonant (batchim): 을 — 밥을, 책을, 음악을.
- After a vowel (no batchim): 를 — 커피를, 영화를, 사과를.
- The object comes before the verb.
- In casual speech, 를 is sometimes shortened to ㄹ: 뭘 (뭐를), 날 (나를).
- 밥을 먹어요. [바블 머거요] babeul meogeoyo.I eat a meal / rice.
- 음악을 들어요. [으마글 드러요] eumageul deureoyo.I listen to music.
- 영화를 봐요. yeonghwareul bwayo.I watch a movie.
- 친구를 만나요. chingureul mannayo.I meet a friend.
- 뭘 사요? mwol sayo?What are you buying?
을 or 를?
| Noun | Ends in | With particle | Sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 책 | consonant | 책을 | 책을 읽어요 |
| 빵 | consonant | 빵을 | 빵을 사요 |
| 한국어 | vowel | 한국어를 | 한국어를 배워요 |
| 물 | consonant | 물을 | 물을 마셔요 |
| 숙제 | vowel | 숙제를 | 숙제를 해요 |
하다: the most useful verb
The verb 하다 means “to do”. It is the most common verb in Korean. Many Korean words for activities are nouns, and you add 하다 to make a verb.
공부 (study) + 하다 → 공부하다 (to study)
운동 (exercise) + 하다 → 운동하다 (to exercise)
요리 (cooking) + 하다 → 요리하다 (to cook)
The dictionary form ends in -다. To speak politely in the present tense, every 하다 changes into 해요. This rule has no exceptions.
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polite present of 하다 verbs
- Remove 하다 and add 해요: 공부하다 → 공부해요.
- 해요 can mean “I do”, “you do”, “he does”, “they do”. The subject comes from context.
- For a question, just raise your voice: 공부해요?
- You can also split the noun out: 공부해요 = 공부를 해요. Both are natural.
- 도서관에서 공부해요. [도서과네서 공부해요] doseogwaneseo gongbuhaeyo.I study at the library.
- 아침에 운동해요. [아치메 운동해요] achime undonghaeyo.I exercise in the morning.
- 주말에 요리를 해요. [주마레 요리를 해요] jumare yorireul haeyo.I cook on the weekend.
- 지금 뭐 해요? jigeum mwo haeyo?What are you doing now?
- 숙제를 해요. [숙쩨를 해요] sukjereul haeyo.I’m doing my homework.
Common 하다 verbs
| Dictionary form | Polite present | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 하다 | 해요 | to do |
| 공부하다 | 공부해요 | to study |
| 일하다 | 일해요 | to work |
| 운동하다 | 운동해요 | to exercise |
| 요리하다 | 요리해요 | to cook |
| 청소하다 | 청소해요 | to clean |
| 전화하다 | 전화해요 | to phone |
| 좋아하다 | 좋아해요 | to like |
| 사랑하다 | 사랑해요 | to love |
일해요 is pronounced [이래요], and 좋아해요 is pronounced [조아해요].
This one is easy to mix up, so let’s compare. 좋아요 means “something is good / pleasing”, and the thing takes 이/가. 좋아해요 means “I like something”, and the thing takes 을/를. Look at the examples below.
좋아요 vs 좋아해요
- 저는 고양이가 좋아요. [저는 고양이가 조아요] jeoneun goyangiga joayo. I like cats. (Cats are pleasing to me.) 좋다 is a describing verb, so the thing takes 이/가.
- 저는 고양이를 좋아해요. [저는 고양이를 조아해요] jeoneun goyangireul joahaeyo. I like cats. 좋아하다 is an action verb, so the thing takes 을/를.
- 공부해요. gongbuhaeyo. I study. One word.
- 공부를 해요. gongbureul haeyo. I study. (I do studying.) Same meaning. Splitting lets you add words: 한국어 공부를 해요.
Dropping particles in speech
In written Korean and careful speech, particles are always used. In everyday conversation, Koreans often drop 을/를 when the meaning is clear: 밥 먹었어요? (“Did you eat?”), 커피 마셔요 (“I drink coffee”).
As a learner, it is better to use the particles first. When you can use them correctly, dropping them will feel natural later.
Nouns for daily activities
- 밥 bap cooked rice; a meal
- 빵 ppang bread
- 사과 sagwa apple
- 음악 [으막] eumak music
- 영화 yeonghwa movie
- 숙제 [숙쩨] sukje homework
- 한국어 [한구거] hangugeo Korean language
- 운동 undong exercise
- 청소 cheongso cleaning
- 주말 jumal weekend
Weekend plans
Practice tips
Make a small list of things you do every day and turn each one into a sentence. Start with the noun, add 을 or 를, and finish with the verb. For example: 커피를 마셔요, 음악을 들어요, 한국어를 공부해요.
When you learn a new activity word, check whether it can take 하다. Many words that end in -ing in English are nouns in Korean: 쇼핑 (shopping) → 쇼핑해요, 산책 (a walk) → 산책해요, 운전 (driving) → 운전해요. This one pattern will grow your vocabulary very quickly, because you only need to learn the noun.
Check quiz
Q1. Choose the correct particle: 커피__ 마셔요.
Q2. Choose the correct particle: 책__ 읽어요.
Q3. What is the polite present of 청소하다?
Q4. Which sentence is correct?
Q5. What is the normal Korean word order?
Wonderful! You can now describe your daily activities. Try to make five sentences about what you do every day using 을/를 and 해요. In the next lesson, we learn how to conjugate all the other verbs.
Key points
- 을 after a consonant, 를 after a vowel marks the object.
- Korean word order is Subject – Object – Verb.
- Every 하다 becomes 해요 in the polite present.
- Many activity nouns + 하다 make verbs: 공부하다, 운동하다.
- 좋아요 takes 이/가; 좋아해요 takes 을/를.
Recommended official free resources
- Korean Basic Dictionary (11 languages) — National Institute of Korean Language
- Everyone’s Korean (모두의 한국어) — Ministry of Education
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