The Direct Object Particle 「을/를」

The direct object particle 을/를

The direct object refers to a noun that experiences the action indicated by the verb. In English the direct object of the sentence is typically determined by the place where it appears. For instance, the direct object of the sentence “I eat steak” is “steak”, as the word “steak” appears after the verb “eat”. In Korean, however the direct object is primarily determined by the direct object particle 을/를. Just like the subject particle, the direct object particle 을/를 is a two-form case particle: 을 is used when the preceding noun ends in a consonant, and 를 is used when the preceding noun ends in a vowel.

Although the particle 을/를 typically marks the direct object of the transitive verb in Korean, there is one exceptional case where it can appear with the intransitive verb, such as 가다(go) or 오다(come). Consider the following sentences:

Notice that 학교(school) can be marked by the locative particle “에” as well as the direct object particle “를”.

Noun + 을/를 해요

In Korean, one of the most useful ways to change a noun into a verb form is by adding 을/를 해요 to a noun. The verb 하다(do) is very resourceful and adaptable in that it can come after a noun and transforms the meaning denoted by the noun as the verb form. For instance, consider the following sentences:

In this noun + 을/를 + 해요 construction, the noun being used is treated as an independent noun due to the presence of the direct object particle 을/를. However, without the particle, the construction is treated as a compound verb. For instance, the following two sentences have the same meanings:

Notice that the first sentence has the particle 을, while the second sentence does not have it. There is no difference in their meanings. In Korean, a sentence may have two object particles. For instance, a sentence “John signs the contract” can be said 존이 계약서를 사인을 해요. However, he same can be said in the following three more ways:

The absence of the particles in the above examples is due to the particle omission tendency in the Korean language.

* Click to read related posts.
Grammar for Beginners
Particles Part.1 (What are the particles in Korean)
Particles Part.2 (Case Particles)
- The Subject Case Particle 「이/가」
- The Case particle 「(으)로」
- The Case particle 「의」
- The Case particle 「에」
- The Case particle 「와/과, (이)랑, 하고」
- The Case particle 「에서」
- The Case particle 「한테, 에게, 께」
- The Case particle 「한테서, 에게서」
Particles Part.3 (Special Particles)

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