Usage
i) The direct object of a transitive verb
편지를 보내다
send a letter
ii) Location of movement
도서관을 가다
go to the library
iii) Activities in which people go somewhere to engage in
낚시를 갈 거야
going fishing
iv) Path of a movement verb
길을 걷다
walk the street
v) Extent covered by an action
5시간을 공부했다
studied for 5 hours
vi) Location of a dynamic action
눈 위를 뛰어다니다
running all over the snow
vii) The object of a cognate verb
춤을 추다
dance the dance
viii) Use in ‘double object’ sentences
철수를 목을 잡았다
grabbed 철수 by the neck
ix) The direct object of a passive-transitive verb
가슴을 채이다
get kicked in the chest
x) The object of a causative verb
방을 어두워지게 하다
make the room dark
xi) Clausal object
나는 엄마가 돌아오기를 기다렸다.
I waited for mum to return.
xii) Indirect object
책을 동생을 줬다
gave the book to my brother
xiii) Emphatic 를
놀라질 마라.
Don’t be surprised.
Marking
| Noun | Marking | |
|---|---|---|
| Vowel | 남자 | 남자를 |
| Consonant | 사람 | 사람을 |
Contents
Introduction
i) The direct object of a transitive verb
ii) Location of movement
iii) Activities in which people go somewhere to engage in
iv) Path of a movement verb
v) Extent covered by an action
vi) Location of a dynamic action
vii) The object of a cognate verb
viii) Use in ‘double object’ sentences
ix) The direct object of a passive-transitive verb
x) The object of a causative verb
xi) Clausal object
xii) Indirect object
xiii) Emphatic 를
Additional details
Associated grammar
See also
Bibliography
User examples
Introduction
Commonly known as the ‘object particle’, particle 을/를 has a large number of usages, some of which don’t correspond to ‘object marking’ per se.
Perhaps the best way to describe 을/를 is as a particle which marks something that is ‘affected’ by an action.
i) The direct object of a transitive verb
영희는 영화를 좋아한다.
영희 likes movies.
철수는 영희에게 편지를 보냈다.
철수 sent a letter to 영희.
저녁을 맛있게 먹었습니다.
I had a delicious dinner.
In these instances, particle 를 signals to the listener that the noun it attaches to is a direct object. That is, the entity acted upon by the subject. When the relationships between nouns (what is subject, what is object) are obvious, particle 를 can be omitted. When this particle is used despite the noun relationship being obvious, it can have an emphatic effect.
ii) Location of movement
나는 내일 도서관을 간다.
I’m going to the library tomorrow (to study for the test).
추워지니까 산을 빨리 내려왔다.
I hurried down the mountain because it was getting cold (to stay alive).
이 야밤에 너 어디를 가니?
Where are you going in the middle of the night (and for what purpose)?
In these instances, particle 를 seemingly replaces locative particles 에 and 에서 (not to be confused with dynamic 에서). Here a location is marked with 를 with a change in nuance. The speaker is expressing they are going to/from a location for some goal or purpose.
Compare:
A: Where are you going?
B: 대학교에 간다.
B: I’m going to university.
A: What are you doing for your future?
B: 미래를 위해서 대학교를 간다.
B: I’m going to university (to secure) my future.
In the first example, to say 학교를 would be unnatural as the question doesn’t presuppose a goal or purpose; it only asks the location. In the second example, it’s more appropriate to use 를 because the question enquires about a purpose. Note this is only possible with movement verbs such as 가다, 떠나다, 다니다, 돌아오다, 건너다 etc.
One will question why speakers use 를 rather than 에/에서. The intuition of native speakers is that particle 를 emphasises the marked locations.
Compare:
도서관에 가다
going to the library
도서관을 가다
going to the library
In the second example, emphasis is placed on 도서관 such that it excludes other locations.
iii) Activities in which people go somewhere to engage in
주말에 낚시를 갈 거야.
I’m going fishing this weekend.
철수가 여자친구랑 영화구경을 갔다.
철수 went to see a movie with his girlfriend today.
In these instances, particle 를 attaches to noun phrases which describe activities. These activities are the type which people traditionally “go somewhere” to do. This is similar to how English speakers use phrases like ‘go fishing’ or ‘go to the horse races’. For this reason, only certain movement verbs (variants of 가다/오다) are possible.
These sentences express going to a specific place to perform an action. What is the purpose of going to the lake? To go fishing. Note that the place involved is rarely mentioned because only a small set of possibilities (lake/river/beach etc.) exist and is trivial when the expression is focused on the activity.
Activities include 낚시 (fishing), 등산 (hiking), 영화구경 (movie viewing), 여행 (travel), 수영 (swimming) and 산책 (going for a walk).
iv) Path of a movement verb
길을 걷다
walk the street
하늘을 날다
fly in the sky
강을 건너가다
cross the river
햇빛 속을 걷다
walk in the sunlight
In these instances, particle 를 simply marks the path of movement. Such use is often literary.
v) Extent covered by an action
어제 5시간(동안)을 공부했다.
I studied for 5 hours yesterday.
영희는 날마다 2km를 수영한다.
영희 swims for 2km each day.
한참을 마주보고 있었다.
They were looking at each other for quite long.
널 만나러 세번을 왔었다.
He came to see you three times.
In these instances, particle 를 occurs with nouns of time, distance or frequency. Here the particle denotes the extent covered by the action. Note that while 쉬는 시간에 공부하다 is to acceptable, *5시간에 공부하다 would be unnatural because the speaker is specifying a duration.
vi) Location of a dynamic action
Compare:
a) 어린이들이 눈 위에서 뛰어다녔다.
Children were running on the snow.
b) 어린이들이 눈 위를 뛰어다녔다.
Children were running all over the snow.
a) 영희가 숲에서 산책했다.
영희 walked in the forest.
b) 영희가 숲을 산책했다.
영희 walked through the forest.
Dynamic locations are normally marked with 에서, denoting an action occurs at the given place. However, when dynamic locations are marked with 를, there is a change in meaning. Here the action is denoted as being performed across the location, from one end to the other.
vii) The object of a cognate verb
춤을 추다
dance a dance
꿈을 꾸다
dream a dream
Cognate verbs take an object which repeats its meaning. Here the cognate object is etymologically related to the verb. English examples include: walk the walk and laugh a nervous laugh.
viii) Use in ‘double object’ sentences
그 놈이 철수를 목을 잡았다.
He grabbed 철수 by the neck.
철수가 회의를 최소를 했다.
철수 cancelled the meeting.
영희가 딸을 사과를 먹였다.
영희 fed her daughter an apple.
‘Double object’ sentences are ones which have two objects. In these instances, particle 를 is used twice for various motivations.
Compare:
a) 놈이 철수의 목을 잡았다.
He grabbed 철수’s neck.
b) 놈이 철수를 목을 잡았다.
He grabbed 철수 by the neck.
The first example is what speakers would normally use while the use of 를 in the second example is for added effect. In b) there is a subtle nuance of the action more directly affecting 철수; whereas in a), the emphasis in on 철수’s neck.
Compare:
c) 철수가 회의를 취소했다.
철수 cancelled the meeting.
d) 철수가 회의를 취소를 했다.
철수 cancelled the meeting.
Once again, the difference between the two is subtle. In d) there is some ‘exertion’ implied to the meeting. Here the nuance is that there was some difficulty in cancelling the meeting. Note that such example sentences feel contrived and perhaps unnatural without being physically present in the situations they occur.
The term ‘double object’ is a deliberate misnomer as the linguistic properties behind the phenomena are complex. There are many different types of sentences which take ‘two objects’ depending on the verb used. Advanced learners can refer to Chung 2015.
ix) The direct object of a passive-transitive verb
가슴을 채이다
get kicked in the chest
목을 잘리다
get fired (throat cut)
도둑이 경찰한테 손목을 잡혔다.
The thief was caught on the wrist by the policeman.
Passive constructions normally seek to turn objects into subjects. In some sentences where passive verbs take subjects, particle 를 normally carries the nuance of ‘suffering’ (not just being affected) from an action.
x) The object of a causative verb
Causation is when something is made to happen. In these constructions, an agent causes a state/event to occur. For example, ‘making a room dark’ or ‘allowing (letting) someone to make a mistake’. The degree of influence ranges from letting something happen to forcefully making it happen.
철수가 방을 어두워지게 했다.
철수 made the room dark.
영희가 딸에게 사과를 먹였다.
영희 fed her (baby) daughter an apple.
선생님은 학생들을 떠나게 했다.
The teacher made the students leave.
In these instances, particle 를 is used to indicate what has been affected by the agent. That is, ‘the room being made dark’ or ‘the apple being eaten’.
xi) Clausal object
In these instances, a (noun) clause functions as an object.
나는 엄마가 돌아오기를 기다렸다.
I waited for mum to return.
Just as nouns can be objects, noun clauses can be objects. A noun clause is a clause (subject + verb) where the verb takes a ‘nominalised’ form (ㅁ, 기 or M 것). Nominalisation is simply where something that wasn’t a noun, becomes a noun.
UIUNoun clauses are almost always marked with a particle because embedded clauses (a clause within a sentence) make sentences difficult to disambiguate.IUI
xii) Indirect object
책을 동생을 줬다.
I gave the book to my brother.
돈을 나를 줘라.
Give me the money.
An indirect object is something which receives a direct object. Indirect objects are normally marked with particles 에게, 한테 or 께. In instances where they are marked with 를, the speaker is using this particle for emphatic effect. This only occurs with a limited set of dative verbs, such as: 주다 (give) and 가르치다 (teach).
xiii) Emphatic 를
말을 듣질 않는다.
He doesn’t listen.
놀라질 마라.
Don’t be surprised.
나 홍대에를 자주 간다.
I always go to 홍대.
Interestingly, particle 를 can be also used for purely emphatic reasons. In these instances, it performs as an auxiliary particle rather than a case particle. This usage is colloquial and in such cases, the particle is usually shortened to ㄹ.
Additional details
General
• In colloquial speech, particle 를 is often shortened to ㄹ. For example: 나를 > 날. The object of a causative verb
• Linguists have noted that particles 가 and 를 can alternate in causative sentences, though such occurrences are rare and seem unnatural.
Compare:
a) 철수가 방이 어두워지게 했다.
철수 made the room dark.
b) 철수가 방을 어두워지게 했다.
철수 made the room dark.
Associated grammar
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See also
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Bibliography
Affiliate links help support uK.
— Choo, M., & Kwak, H. (2008). Using Korean: A Guide to Contemporary Usage. New York: Cambridge University Press.
— Chung, E. A Construction Grammar Approach to Korean Double Accusative Construction. (2015). Language Information, 21, 41–66.
— Martin, S. E. (1992). A Reference Grammar of Korean. Singapore: Tuttle Publishing.
— Sohn, H. (1999). The Korean Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
— Yeon, J., & Brown, L. (2008). Korean: A Comprehensive Grammar. New York: Routledge.
User examples
i) Direct object of transitive verb
Context: The ten precepts of Buddhism.
10. 불측금은보계(不蓄金銀寶戒):
금은 보화를 지니지 말라.
10. Don’t wear gold or silver jewelry. (Refrain from materialistic values)
[Submitted by 주호]