Elementary - Grade 3

Lesson 2: Object Particles (을/를)

What's an "Object"?

In our last lesson, we learned how 은/는 and 이/가 mark the subject (the "doer") of the sentence.

The object is the noun that "receives" the action of the verb.

In the sentence "I eat an apple,"...

  • "I" is the subject (the one eating).
  • "an apple" is the object (the thing being eaten).
Today, we learn the particle that marks the object: 을 (eul) / 를 (reul).

The Attachment Rule (Same as always!)

This rule should be very familiar by now. It all depends on the final letter of the noun.

Ends in a CONSONANT (Batchim)

Use 을 (eul)

책 (chaek) 을 책을

Ends in a VOWEL

Use 를 (reul)

사과 (sagwa) 를 사과를

Putting It All Together (S-O-V)

Now we can build a complete, grammatically correct Korean sentence! Watch how the particles identify each "job."

"I eat an apple."

저는
사과를
먹어요.
(I + 는) (apple + 를) (eat)

"The student reads a book."

학생이
책을
읽어요.
(Student + 이) (book + 을) (read)

Why Particles are Awesome

Because particles "lock in" a noun's job, you can actually scramble the order (except for the verb!) and the meaning stays the same.

  • 저는 사과를 먹어요. (S-O-V) - Standard

  • 사과를 저는 먹어요. (O-S-V) - Also correct! (Just emphasizes the apple)

Rule of Thumb: You will almost *always* need an object particle when you are using an action verb like "eat," "read," "buy," "see," "like," etc.
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