We have learned a few particles so far, such as the topic marking partles -이 and -가, and the subject marking particles -은 and -는, and also the object marking particles -을 and -를. In this lesson, let us learn about one more particle: -도 [-do].
-도 [-do] is used to represent the meaning of “also” and “too”.
In English, you add the expression “too” “also” or “as well” to the sentence, but in Korean, you add the particle -도 [-do] after the noun. And when the particle -도 needs to be attached to a noun or a pronoun that already has a particle behind it, -도 can replace the particle.
Examples
- I am a student. = 저는 학생이에요. [jeo-neun hak-saeng-i-e-yo.]
- I am a student, too. = 저도 학생이에요. [jeo-do hak-saeng-i-e-yo.]
* Note that it’s NOT “저는도 학생이에요.”
- I brought this. = 이것 가져왔어요. [i-geot ga-jyeo-wa-sseo-yo.]
- I brought this, too. = 이것도 가져왔어요. [i-geot-do ga-jyeo-wa-sseo-yo.]
- Do you work today? = 오늘 일해요? [o-neul il-hae-yo?]
- Do you work today as well? = 오늘도 일해요? [o-neul-do il-hae-yo?]
Depending on the location of the particle -도, the meaning of the entire sentence can change.
Examples
“Please give me water.” is 물 주세요. [mul ju-se-yo.] in Korean.
Now let’s say you want to say “Give that water to me, as well, not just to other people.” then
you can say, 저도 물 주세요. [jeo-do mul-ju-se-yo.]
“Please give some water to me, too.” = 저도 물 주세요.
But if you want to say “Give me not only other things but water as well.” then you can say, 저 물도 주세요. [jeo mul-do ju-se-yo.]
“Please also give some water to me.” = 저 물도 주세요.
In this lesson, we’ve looked at how to use -도 with nouns and pronouns. But what if you want to say “also” or “too” about verbs, too? Let us cover that in the following lesson. Stay tuned!
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