SACE Stage 2 Korean cheat sheet

Speech-level selection: 해요체 (-아/어요) is the default informal polite style for everyday conversation with strangers, acquaintances, and service staff; 합니다체 (-ㅂ니다/습니다) suits presentations, announcements, and formal service encounters; 반말 is limited to close peers or younger people when the relationship permits.

Subject honorification: when the subject is respected, add -(으)시- to the verb or adjective stem and use 께서 instead of 이/가, as in 선생님께서 오셨어요; 드리다 replaces 주다 when the recipient is respected.

Addressee honorifics and subject honorifics are separate systems: -(으)시- honors the subject, while endings such as -아/어요 and -ㅂ니다 honor the listener; one sentence can contain both.

Turn-taking cues: backchannels such as 네, 아, 그렇군요, and 정말요 signal attention; clarification phrases such as 다시 말씀해 주시겠어요? and 무슨 뜻이에요? are used when the message is unclear.

Request softening: -아/어 주시겠어요? is more polite than -아/어 주세요; -ㄹ/을 수 있을까요? is an indirect request that leaves room for refusal; a refusal commonly follows 죄송하지만 + reason + alternative.

Formulaic oral openings and closings include 처음 뵙겠습니다, 잘 부탁드립니다, 오늘 말씀 잘 들었습니다, and 수고하셨습니다; these set the relationship and frame the interaction.

Pronunciation in interaction: final consonants are unreleased before a pause; a final consonant moves to a following vowel-initial particle or suffix in liaison, as in 한국어 [한구거]; ㅎ may weaken, aspirate, or delete depending on context.

Repair strategy: self-repair uses 다시 말하면 or 제 말은 ...; confirmation uses ...라는 말씀이죠?; repeating the key phrase back to the speaker checks understanding without guessing.

Register-shift decision: choose speech level by age, status, setting, purpose, and the interlocutor’s previous turn; mirror the other speaker’s formality where appropriate but do not over-honorify yourself.

Text-type cues: diary writing often uses -았/었/였다 and informal endings; news reports use -ㅂ니다/습니다 and third-person reference; advertisements use imperatives and -(으)세요; notices use -(으)ㅂ니다 and -기 바랍니다.

Topic versus subject: 은/는 marks topic or contrast and often signals old or contrasted information; 이/가 marks the grammatical subject or new/focused information, so the choice changes emphasis.

Connector logic: 그러나/하지만 signal contrast; 따라서/그래서 signal result; 또한/게다가 signal addition; 예를 들어 introduces an example; 반면에 signals a contrasting parallel; 즉 signals rephrasing.

Tense and aspect: -고 있다 is progressive; -아/어 있다 often describes a resulting state; -더라 marks recalled observation; -겠- can mark supposition or intention; -시- is honorific, not tense.

Reported speech: statements use -다고 하다 or -(이)라고 하다; questions use -냐고 하다; suggestions use -자고 하다; informal contractions include -대요, -래요, -냬요, and -재요.

Listening discrimination: contrast ㅓ/ㅗ, ㅡ/ㅜ, ㄱ/ㄲ, ㅅ/ㅆ, and final consonants; use collocations and sentence context when individual sounds are ambiguous.

Relationship inference: -(으)시- and 께서 suggest a respected subject; 반말 endings suggest closeness or a superior-to-lower relationship; address terms and titles also indicate relative status.

Written cohesion: track pronoun substitution (그, 그녀, 이것, 그것), ellipsis, and conjunctive adverbs across clauses; identify who does what before summarizing the paragraph.

Response construction: paraphrase the main claim in your own Korean, add one supporting detail from the text, and state agreement or disagreement with evidence rather than copying the original sentence.

Paragraph structure: a topic sentence states the claim; supporting sentences give evidence or examples; a concluding sentence links back to the claim; academic essays often follow 서론-본론-결론.

Genre-ending match: reports and essays use -ㅂ니다/습니다 or -다; diaries and personal letters use -아/어요 or 반말; formal letters and emails use -ㅂ니다 with fixed openings and closings.

Cohesion: use 그리고, 그러나, 따라서, 또한, and 예를 들어 to show relationships; replace repeated nouns with pronouns or ellipsis; keep one logical relation per connector.

Honorific consistency: do not mix 반말 and 합니다체 in one formal text; use -(으)시- with 께서 for a respected subject; use humble 드리다 and 뵙다 for the writer’s actions toward a superior.

Spacing rule: particles attach to the preceding word; independent words and auxiliary verb forms are generally spaced, as in 도와 주세요 and 학교에 갑니다; dependent nouns are spaced from modifiers.

Punctuation and numbers: Korean uses ., ,, ?, and ! like English; quotations use “ ” or ‘ ’; Arabic numerals are usual for dates and amounts; Sino-Korean and native Korean unit nouns must match the numeral type.

Voice choice: passive suffixes -이/히/리/기 form verbs such as 보이다, 닫히다, 들리다, and 열리다; -게 하다 is causative; -아/어지다 expresses change; vary voice to keep the subject consistent.

Formal email frame: open with 안녕하십니까?; develop the body in -ㅂ니다; close with 감사합니다 or 이상입니다 plus 드림; address the recipient by title and name rather than using 반말.

Editing checklist: verify speech-level consistency, subject honorific agreement, tense consistency, connector logic, spelling and spacing, and whether each paragraph has a clear topic sentence.

Researchable question: a strong question names a population, text or artifact, time period, and a clear language or culture claim; broad topics such as “Korean food” are too wide for an in-depth investigation.

Source triangulation: combine at least two independent source types, such as interviews, surveys, news articles, or linguistic examples; a claim supported only by one source type remains provisional.

Research ethics: participants need clear information about purpose, procedures, data use, anonymity, and the right to withdraw; consent must be voluntary and documented, and Korean-language consent materials should be plain and accurate.

Culture concepts: 눈치 is social awareness of unspoken cues; 정 is emotional attachment and solidarity; 빨리빨리 values speed; 한 is deep sorrow or resentment; 체면 is social face; define each in context and avoid stereotyping.

Language-culture link: honorifics index age and status; kinship terms extend to non-relatives; address terms depend on relationship and setting; these patterns show how grammar and social meaning interact.

Data analysis: code recurring themes, distinguish emic insider categories from etic outsider categories, and quote original Korean with translation so the interpretation can be checked.

Background facts: Hangul was promulgated in 1446 under King Sejong; South Korean standard language is based on Seoul speech; North Korean standard differs; Chinese and English loanwords are widespread but stylistically variable.

Presentation of findings: state method, evidence, interpretation, and limitations; cite Korean sources with author, title, year, and URL or access date; separate description from evaluation.

Qualified claims: use qualifiers such as 많은, 일부, and 경향이 있다; distinguish prescriptive norms from observed usage; do not present one example as representative of all Korean behavior.