VCE Korean Second Language cheat sheet

Register choice: 반말 for close peers and younger people, 해요체 for polite everyday speech, 합니다체 for formal or public settings; mixing levels within one turn sounds inconsistent.

Age and status decide verb endings: add -시- for a respected subject (선생님께서 오세요), and use 드리다/뵙다 suppletive verbs when the listener or subject outranks the speaker.

Honorific particle mismatch is a common error: 께서 with -시-, but 에게/한테 for equals or inferiors; 께 is the honorific dative (선생님께).

Turn-taking markers: 네/예 for agreement, 아니요 for disagreement, 그렇지만/근데 to pivot, and -는데요 to soften a request or invite a response.

Indirect requests use -아/어 주시겠어요? or -아/어 주실 수 있나요?; direct imperatives (-아/어라) are limited to intimates or written rules.

Refusals follow a three-move pattern: acknowledge (그렇군요), give a reason (제가 그날 약속이 있어서요), then offer an alternative (다음 주는 어떠세요?).

Second-person pronoun 너 is avoided in polite speech; use name + 씨, title (선생님, 사장님), or plural 여러분 instead.

Korean conversation favors back-channeling (네, 그래요?, 정말요?) over silent listening; a bare silence can read as disinterest.

Identify the text type first: 안내문 (notice), 광고 (ad), 기사 (news), 편지 (letter), 대화 (dialogue); each carries predictable structure and purpose.

Scan for the 요지 (main idea) in the first and last sentences of a paragraph; Korean expository writing often restates the topic sentence at the end.

Signal words for contrast (그러나, 하지만, 반면에) and cause (그래서, 때문에, 따라서) usually mark the answer to inference questions.

Numbers and dates: Sino-Korean (일, 이, 삼) for money, phone numbers, minutes; native Korean (하나, 둘) for counters like 개, 명, 시.

Distinguish 사실 (stated fact) from 추론 (inference); options that add information not in the passage are wrong even if true in general.

Pronoun tracking: 그/그녀 and 그것 refer to the most recently mentioned compatible noun; zero pronouns are common and must be inferred from context.

Tone and feeling questions hinge on evaluative vocabulary (걱정되다, 기대되다, 아쉽다) and on sentence-final forms such as -네요, -군요, -겠-.

Table and schedule texts require matching two conditions at once (time plus place, or price plus age); eliminate options that satisfy only one.

Paragraph architecture for essays and speeches: 서론 (topic and purpose), 본론 (2-3 supporting points with examples), 결론 (restate and recommend).

Formal written style uses -다/-ㄴ다 endings for statements (한다, 중요하다) and -았/었다 for past; polite -어요 forms belong to spoken or personal writing.

Cohesive devices to sequence points: 첫째, 둘째, 또한, 게다가, 반면에, 마지막으로; each new device should signal a real logical shift.

Cause-effect connectors: -기 때문에 and -아/어서 attach to verb stems; 때문에 after a noun (비 때문에), and -므로 is more formal.

Quoting and citing: -라고 하다 for statements, -냐고 묻다 for questions, -자고 하다 for suggestions, -달라고 하다 for requests.

Comparisons use A는 B보다 + adjective, or A만큼 B가 adjective; avoid double-marking particles on the same noun.

Summarizing a source requires nominalization: -는 것이다, -기 때문이다, or -ㄴ/는다는 점이다 turn clauses into reportable claims.

Spelling and spacing rules that graders check: 띄어쓰기 between words, correct irregular conjugation (듣다→들어, 돕다→도와, 예쁘다→예뻐).

Honorific system layers: subject honorific -시-, humble verbs (드리다, 모시다, 뵙다), and speech levels (해라체, 해요체, 하십시오체) operate independently.

Irregular verbs to memorize: ㅂ irregular (춥다→추워), ㄷ irregular (걷다→걸어), ㅅ irregular (낫다→나아), 르 irregular (모르다→몰라), 으 irregular (쓰다→써).

Korean word order is Subject-Object-Verb; modifiers precede the noun, so relative clauses end in -ㄴ/는/(으)ㄹ before the noun.

Particles carry grammatical role: 이/가 subject, 을/를 object, 은/는 topic or contrast, 에 time/place, 에서 location of action, 도 'also'.

Cultural norms: two hands when giving or receiving items, older person initiates the handshake, shoes off inside a home, elder eats first at the table.

Age hierarchy shapes vocabulary and address: 형/오빠, 누나/언니, 선배/후배; asking age early in a relationship is conventional, not rude.

Holiday vocabulary: 설날 (lunar New Year, 세배 and 떡국), 추석 (harvest moon, 송편 and 차례), plus 현충일 and 광복절 as national remembrance days.

Sound changes in pronunciation: 연음 (한국어→한구거), 비음화 (국물→궁물), 경음화 (학교→학꾜); these affect listening comprehension and spelling accuracy.