Object Marker ~을/를

~을/를 is the object marker. This is a very important grammar point in Korean. It is used to indicate the object of a phrase. You need to put 을/를 after the grammatical object. You need to use ~를 with an object that ends in a vowel and ~을 with an object that ends in a consonant.

I did not mention the object marker in the Wild Korean textbook. As this is quite basic grammar, I expected the readers to already know this concept and I personally think it's not very important for conversational Korean. But, I realized many people are still confused about the object marker, so I want to mention it here on the blog.

Although English does not use object markers, once you know the meaning of the verb and understand the phrase structure, it’s not that difficult to use. Understanding the verb is the first step to using the right object marker. Of course, real experiences are the most important.


Please see the phrases below.
마시다 (to drink) > 내가 맥주를 마셨어요.   I drank beer.  맥주 : object      를 : object marker 
먹다 (to eat) > 내가 김치를 먹었어요.   I ate kimchi.     김치 : object       를 : object marker
죽이다 (to kill) > 내가 사람을 죽였어요.   I killed a person.    사람 : object       을 : object marker
These are very simple examples of the object marker. They are quite easy to understand.
You just need to understand the meaning of the verb to use the object marker correctly.

Let’s have a simple quiz to check whether or not you can use it properly. Please read the phrases below and decide whether or not they are correct. 

1. 사람을 죽었어요.

죽다 : to die    죽었어요 : died      사람 : a person     ~을 : object marker

사람을 죽었어요 means “died a person”, which does not make sense.

죽었어요 cannot have an object. 

This phrase needs to be changed to 사람이 죽었어요 which means “A person died”.

Or, 사람을 죽였어요 is also fine. It means “I (or someone) killed a person”.

~을 : object marker    죽이다 : to kill    죽였어요 : killed

2. 영화를 봤어요.

보다 : to see, watch      봤어요 : watched    영화 : movie   ~를 : object marker

영화를 봤어요 means “I (or someone) watched a movie”. The subject is omitted.

This is a correct phrase.

3. 책이 읽었어요.

읽다 : to read   읽었어요 : read (past tense)       책 : book    ~이 : subject marker

책이 읽었어요 means “A book read”, which does not make sense.

It needs to be changed 책을 읽었어요 which means “I (or someone) read a book”.

4. 택시를 섰어요 

서다 : to stop, stand up (intransitive verb)    섰어요 : stopped, stood up

서다 is an intransitive verb, which cannot have any object. 

택시를 섰어요 does not make sense, it needs to be changed 택시가 섰어요 which means “A taxi stopped”. 

Or you need to change the verb to 세우다. The phrase becomes 택시를 세웠어요, which means “I (or someone) stopped a taxi”.

세우다 : to stop, make something stand up  (transitive verb)

세웠어요 ; stopped, made something stop, made something stand up

You may see the subject markers  ~이/가 in the above phrases. Please check this post to learn how to use them.

The object marker is easily omitted. 


Please see the phrase below.

맥주 마셨어요.  I (or someone) drank beer.

저녁 먹었어요  I (or someone) ate dinner.

맥주 and 저녁 are the object of the phrase. Although they don’t have any object markers, these phrases sound natural. People often like to omit the object marker in casual conversation to make it sound more natural and casual. If your aim with Korean is conversation and you are not confident to choose the right subject/object/topic markers, you can usually omit those markers.


Similarly, the subject marker (이/가) and the topic marker (은/는) also can be omitted. This is why people are easily confused about choosing the right marker. I will say again, the first step is understanding the verb and the phrase structure.

Please check more about the subject and topic marker here.

If you use the confusing Transitive Verb and Intransitive verbs, you will have a very hard time to use the right object marker and subject/topic markers.
Please see the other article about  Transitive and Intransitive Verbs.

Quiz - Please fill the right markers in the blanks. You can use not only the object marker  을/를  but also the subject marker 은/는   or the topic marker  이/가. Post your results in the comments or e-mail them to wildkorean1 (at) hotmail (dot) com

A : 어제 저녁에 뭐 먹었어요?
B : 파스타하고 피자        먹었어요.
A : 뭐       더 맛있었어요?
B : 파스타        더 맛있었어요.
A : 원래 파스타       더 좋아해요?
B : 아니요. 피자       더 좋아해요. 하지만 어제 피자      이상했어요.
A : 오늘 저녁에 무엇        할 거예요?
B : 친구       만날거예요. 같이 한국음식          먹을거예요.

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs 타동사와 자동사

타동사 means transitive verb and 자동사 means an intransitive verb. Intransitive verbs don’t need an object, but transitive verbs need an object. The object is sometimes hidden. Let’s look at two phrases below.

원숭이가 동물원에 있어요.  A monkey is(exists) in a zoo. 
“있어요” means “exist”. It is the intransitive verb, because it doesn’t have any object.


나는 커피를 마셨어요.  I drank coffee. 
“마셨어요” means “drank”. It’s a transitive verb, because it has 커피 as an object.

The worst thing about this grammar point is that some English verbs have both transitive and intransitive meanings in the same word, but there are different Korean verbs depending on what you want to say.

Let’s see the dialog below to better understand this grammar point.

숙이 : 어제 무엇을 했어요? What did you do yesterday?
                    하다 : to do (transitive verb) 무엇 : object


똘이 : 어제 학교에서 한국어를 가르쳤어요. I taught Korean at school
                    가르치다 : to teach (transitive verb)   한국어 : object


숙이 : 수업이 언제 끝났어요? When did the class finish?
                    끝나다 : to finish (intransitive verb) 수업 : subject


똘이 : 수업을 일찍 끝냈어요. I finished the class early.
                    끝내다 : to finish (transitive verb) 수업 : object
           그래서 5시에 끝났어요. So, it finished at 5 o’clock.
                    끝나다 : to finish (intransitive verb)

하다 and 가르치다 are transitive verbs, they are same in English. Both 끝내다 and 끝나다 can be translated as “to finish” in English, but 끝내다 is a transitive verb and 끝나다 is an intransitive verb.
Also, as you can see, 은/는 and 이/가 are usually used as a subject marker, 을/를 are object markers.
To learn more about the subject marker and topic marker, please check another post - http://wildkorean.blogspot.com/2011/12/topic-marker-and-subject-marker.html


Is it confusing? Relax! You don’t need to worry about this grammar point in most cases. Let’s check several cases you need to pay attention.



1. 좋다 to be good (V.I)  Vs  좋아하다 to like (V.T)
좋다 > 이 자전거는 좋아요.  This bicycle is good.
좋다 > 어떤 음식이 좋아요?  Which food is good?
좋아하다 > 누구를 좋아해요?  Who do you like?
좋아하다 > 김치찌개를 좋아해요?  Do you like the kimchi stew?

2. 서다  to stop, to stand up, to have an erection (V.I)  Vs  
        세우다  to stop something, to make something stand up, to erect (V.T) 
서다 > 버스가 섰어요.  The bus stopped.
서다 > 야한 영화 때문에 섰어요.  I have an erection because of an erotic movie.
세우다 > 차를 여기에 세워 주세요.  Please stop the car here.
세우다 > 세워 주세요.  Please give me an erection. (to your girlfriend or someone else..ㅋㅋㅋ)

3. 죽다  to die (V.I)  Vs  죽이다  to kill (V.T) 
죽다 > 내 개가 죽었어요.  My dog died.
죽다 > 죽어버릴거야!  I will just die!
죽이다 > 내가 내 개를 죽였어요.  I killed my dog.
죽이다 > 죽여버릴거야!  I will just kill you!

4. 끝나다  to finish (V.I)  Vs  끝내다  to finish something (V.T) 
끝나다 > 수업이 언제 끝났어요?  When did the class finish?
끝내다 > 수업을 언제 끝냈어요?  When did you finish the class?

5. 정지하다  to stop, to halt (V.I)  Vs  정지시키다  to stop (V.T) 
정지하다 > 버스가 갑자기 정지했어요.  The bus suddenly stopped.
정지시키다 > 신용카드를 정지시켜 주세요.  Please stop my credit card.

6. 타다  to burn (V.I)  Vs  태우다  to burn (V.T) 
타다 > 밥이 탔어요.  The rice burned.
태우다 > 밥을 태웠어요.  I burned the rice.  

Topic Marker 은/는 and Subject Marker 이/가

In this book, you can see ~은, ~는, ~이, ~가 in many places, but I did not explain them properly. ~은 / ~는 are the topic markers, ~이 / ~가 are the subject markers; they are placed after nouns and pronouns to indicate the subject (grammatical subject) or the topic of a phrase. It may sound quite similar to many people, but different markers can alter the meaning of a phrase.

The topic marker and subject marker are very important grammar points in Korean. As English has no concept of the topic and subject marker, people are easily confused at these markers. Some students may be against it, but, when I am asked about these markers in the beginner or low intermediate classes, I explain that they are not so important. Although you omit the markers while speaking or make some mistakes, you can express what you want to say easily. Also, there are tons of other things to care about in the beginner or low-intermediate level other than these markers. 

Why are they so confusing?


The noun in front of the subject marker is obviously the grammatical subject. Also, the word in front of the topic marker is often used as the subject of the phrase. However, if you replace it with another marker, the intent of the phrase is changed. 
Please see the dialog below.

똘이 : 어느 나라 사람이에요?                  Where are you from?

아사미 : 나는 일본 사람이에요.                I am Japanese.              ~는 : topic marker

베키 : 나, 미국 사람 이에요.                   I am American.

알란 : 내가 스코틀랜드 사람이에요.           I am Scottish.               ~가 : subject marker

아사미’s answer is perfect.

베키’s answer is correct in conversational Korean. Although she didn’t use the topic marker, her answer sounds natural to Korean people.

But 알란 used the subject marker ~가. People understand his answer, but many people may think it’s an awkward answer.

Although the English translations of 아사미 and 알란’s answer are the same, 알란’s answer is not proper.

What? Why?

Please see the example dialog below.

똘이 : 어느 나라 사람이에요?                  Where are you from?

아사미 : 나는 일본 사람이에요.                I am Japanese.              ~는 : topic marker

똘이 : 누가 미국 사람이에요?                  Who is American?          누가 : 누구 + 가

                                                                         누구 : who       

베키 : 내가 미국 사람이에요.                  I am American.              ~가 : subject marker

If you use the topic marker, the important content is usually the descriptive part, not the  topic part.

In the first question, 똘이 asks 아사미 about her nationality. 아사미’s answer needs to be focused on where she is from, not on 아사미. That is why she needs to use the topic marker.

If you use the subject marker, the important contents are usually the subject part.

In the second question, 똘이 asks who the American is. 베키’s answer needs to be focused on herself, not on her nationality. That is why she needs to use the subject marker.

It’s confusing, right? Let’s check another dialog.

똘이 : 알란은 어디에 있어요?                  Where is Allan?

숙이 : 알란은 학교에 있어요.                  Allan is at school.     ~은 : topic marker

똘이 : 누가 학교에 있어요?                    Who is in the school?     누가 : 누구 + 가

                                                                                     누구 : who       

숙이 : 알란이 학교에 있어요.            Allan is in the school      ~이 : subject marker

In the first question, 똘이 asks about 알란. As the important point is his location, not himself, 숙이 needs to use the topic marker, ~은.

In the second question, 똘이 asks who is in the school. As the important point is the person in the school, 똘이 needs to use the subject marker ~이.

Another case that you can be confused about is when the subject marker and topic marker are in the same phrase. In this case, the noun with the subject marker is the grammatical subject of the phrase. The word with the topic marker can be translated to “as for ~” or “talking about ~”. You need to put the topic in front of the phrase.

Please see the example dialog below.

똘이 : 누가 저 택시를 세웠어요?              Who stopped that taxi?

숙이 : 저 택시는 내가 세웠어요.               I stopped that taxi.

                                                                       (As for that taxi, I stopped it.)

똘이 : 라면이 좋아요? 아니면 밥이 좋아요?       Is ramen ok? Or rice ok?

숙이 : 나는 라면이 좋아요.                            I like ramen.

                                                                                (As for me, ramen is good.)

똘이 : 라면은 누가 먹을 거예요?              Who is going to eat the ramen?

                                                                         (As for the ramen, who will eat it?)

숙이 : 라면은 내가 먹을 거예요.              I will eat the ramen.

                                                                       (As for the ramen, I will eat it.)

From the dialog above, you can see that direct English translation is a bit awkward. When the topic marker and subject marker are used together in the same phrase, it is usually better to translate the topic as the object of the phrase.

For example, “나는 라면이 좋아요” can be translated as “I like ramen”.  Also, "라면은 내가 먹을 거예요." can be translated as "I will eat the ramen."






Another interesting aspect of the topic marker is that, not only a noun, but also an adverb, position marker and place marker can be used for the topic. 
Please see the dialog below.


똘이 : 어제 집에 안 갔어요?  Didn't you go home yesterday?
숙이 : 네. 게임방에 있었어요.  No. I was in the PC room.
똘이 : 집에는 언제 갈 거예요?   When will you go home?  (As for home / to home ,  when will you go?)
                                           집에 : to home     ~는 : topic marker    
숙이 : 내일 저녁 까지는 갈 거예요.  I will go home by tomorrow evening. (As for by tomorrow evening, I will go home.)                                        내일 저녁 까지 : by tomorrow evening     ~는 : topic marker




Let's see another dialog.


똘이 : 한국어 잘 해요?  Do you speak Korean well?
베키 : 잘은 못 해요.   I don't speak well.   
                                     잘 : well    ~은 : topic marker
아사미 : 조금은 할 수 있어요.  I can speak a little bit.  (As for a little bit, I can speak.)
                                                     조금 : a little    ~은 : topic marker

As I mentioned in the beginning, the topic marker and the subject marker are important grammar points. However, it is not a good idea to try too hard to understand this grammar when you are still in beginner's level. When you feel you really need to study these markers again, it could be a sign that you are going up to a higher level, or ready to be more serious about learning Korean.

Webtoon: Penguin Loves Mev

For intermediate to advanced readers of Korean, Penguin loves Mev is the perfect webtoon to improve your reading skills. Penguin, a Korean woman writes about her dating (and eventually marrage) adventures with her boyfriend Mev, a British man living with her in Korea. Foreigners can easily relate to the mistakes Mev makes and the humor is something that anyone, Korean or non-Korean can understand. It is probably particularly resonant for those in multi-cultural relationships.

You can download Naver's Webtoon application for your smartphone or ipod/ipad (search: 네이버웹툰 on your app download application, like iTunes), or if you want to read it with an English translation, you can see it on the web at http://comic.naver.com/webtoon/list.nhn?titleId=169080&page=1 , just be sure to start from 1화 which is the first week's webtoon as they are listed from newest to oldest.

I hope everyone gets the chance to check this out as soon as possible! Download it onto your smartphone and read it on the subway on your way to work or on your next boring bus trip!