Korean Through Folktales

[Chapter 2] KongJwi And PatJwi 제 2 과 콩쥐와 팥쥐 _______________________ _________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ 46 Go t o Table of Contents Korean Through Folktales E. Key Patterns & Forms 1. Level 1: Particle Usage – 이 / 가 ; 을 / 를 ; 은 / 는 ; 도 ; 한테 / 에 • The Korean language has a rich particle system. In this section, we’ll review a few sets of basic particles. • 이 / 가 Particle : – 이 follows a noun ending with a consonant and – 가 follows a noun ending with a vowel. With a few exceptions, this set is usually attached to the subject of a sentence. These particles highlight or single out the noun to which they are attached. In folktales like the ones you are reading in this book, a story usually begins with “ 옛날 옛날에 (noun) 이 / 가 살았습니다 ” Once upon a time ~ there lived (noun) . (You may see a different form of the verb 살다 to live in terms of the speech style and the level, depending on who is telling the story and who the audience is.) Here are a few examples from Version 1 of the story: 옛날 옛날에 콩쥐하고 홀아버지 가 살았어요. Once upon a time there lived KongJwi and her widowed father. 황소 가 도와줬어요 . An ox helped. 참새 들 이 도와줬어요 . Sparrows helped. 두꺼비 가 도와줬어요 . A toad helped 선녀 가 도와줬어요 . A fairy helped. • 을 / 를 Particle : – 을 follows a noun ending with a consonant and – 를 follows a noun ending with a vowel. This set is attached to the object of a sentence. Here are a few examples from Version 1 of the story: 팥쥐 엄마 를 만났어요 . (He) met PaJwi’s mother. 콩쥐 를 미워했어요 . (They) hated KongJwi.