Korean Reading 300 - 002

Hi, everyone. This is the second lecture of Korean Reading 300. All right, let’s start with the first sentence of the second paragraph.

The first sentence is 바깥이 추우면 왜 콧물이 흐르는가? Why does your nose run when it's cold outside? 바깥 is ‘outside’, and 이 is the subjective case, and the next word, 추우면 can be divided into two words, 추운, and 이면. 추운 is an adjective, and its meaning is ‘cold’, and 이면 is a conditional conjunction, which is the same as ‘if’, or ‘when’. So, 바깥이 추우면 is ‘when it’s cold outside’, right? The final sound, ㄴ is eliminated, and the letter, 이 is also removed, so we can make the word, 추우면. And the word, 왜 is an interrogative adverb, ‘why’, and 콧물 is ‘snot’, and 이 is the subjective case. And 흐르는가 came from 흐르다, which means ‘to flow’, and 다 is replaced with 는가 in order to make an interrogative sentence. By the way, 콧물이 흐르다 is the same as ‘Someone’s nose runs’, so 왜 콧물이 흐르는가 is ‘Why does your nose run?’ So, the first sentence, 바깥이 추우면 왜 콧물이 흐르는가? is Why does your nose run when it's cold outside?

The second sentence is 감기에 걸렸기 때문일까? 아니다. Is it because you have had a cold? No. 감기 is a noun, and its meaning is ‘cold’, and the expression 감기에 걸리다 is ‘to have a cold’, and 감기에 걸렸다 is both the past tense, and the present perfect tense as you can see the double ㅅ[si-ot], which I mentioned at the previous lecture, right? And the next expression 기 때문일까 is substituted for the letter, 다 in 걸렸다. Actually, 기 때문이다 is the conjunction, ‘because’, but 이다 is replaced with 일까 in order to make an interrogative sentence, so 감기에 걸렸기 때문일까? is ‘Is it because you have had a cold?’ And 아니다 is the same as ‘No’ in English.

 

The third sentence is 흐르는 콧물이 반드시 감기에 걸린 것을 의미하는 것은 아니다. A running nose doesn't necessarily mean that you have a cold. As I said at the first sentence, 흐르다 is ‘to flow’, but if we replace the last letter, 다 with 는, this has become an adjective modifying the noun behind it. As I have said before at the vocabulary 10,000 Project, all the verbs of Korean language end with the letter, 다. In short, if you replace the letter, 다 of the verb with 는, the verb can be changed into an adjective. So, 콧물이 흐르다 is ‘Your nose runs’, and 흐르는 콧물 is ‘a running nose’, and 이 is the subjective case. 반드시 is actually an adverb, which means ‘absolutely, certainly, or necessarily’, but if 반드시 is used combined with 것은 아니다, which means ‘not’, this expression is the partial negation, so 반드시 의미하는 것은 아니다 is ‘doesn’t necessarily mean that’. And 감기에 걸린 것 is the form of the noun clause, so its meaning is ‘that you have a cold’, and 을 is the objective case, which indicates 감기에 걸린 것 is the object of the verb, 의미하다, which is the same as ‘to mean’. So, 흐르는 콧물이 반드시 감기에 걸린 것을 의미하는 것은 아니다. A running nose doesn't necessarily mean that you have a cold.

The fourth sentence is 코 안에는 콧물이라는 점액이 있다. On the inside of your nose is mucus which is called snot. 코 is ‘nose’, and 안에는 is ‘on the inside of’, and 콧물 is ‘snot’, and 이라는 is the same as ‘which is called’, and 점액 is ‘mucus’, so 콧물이라는 점액 is ‘mucus which is called snot’, right? And 이 is the subjective case. And the final word, 있다 is ‘to exist’, so 점액이 있다 is ‘There is mucus’, right? So, 코 안에는 콧물이라는 점액이 있다. On the inside of your nose is mucus which is called snot.

 

The fifth sentence is 콧물은 숨을 쉴 때 공기 중에 있는 먼지를 흡수한다. Snot absorbs dust in the air when you breathe. The subject of this sentence is 콧물, which is ‘snot’, and the verb of this sentence is 흡수한다, which means ‘to absorb’, so 콧물은 흡수한다 is ‘Snot absorbs’, and 숨을 쉴 때 is ‘when you breathe’, 숨 is a noun, and its meaning is ‘breath’, and 숨쉬다, or 숨을 쉬다 is ‘to breathe’, but if you place ㄹ under 쉬, and place 때 behind it, this ㄹ 때 indicates the conjunction, ‘when’, so 숨을 쉴 때 is ‘when you breathe’. And 공기 is ‘air’, and 중에 있는 is ‘in the middle of’, and 먼지 is ‘dust’, so 공기 중에 있는 먼지 is ‘dust in the air’, right? And 를 is the objcetive case. And as I said, 흡수한다 is the verb of this sentence, and its meaning is ‘to absorb’. As you can see, in Korean language, all the verbs are located to the end of all the sentences. On the other hand, in English, all the verbs are placed next to the subjects, so it’s kind of difficult for English users to identify the order of words in Korean language. For that reason, I try hard to explain the difference in detail in order for you to understand it. Anyway, 콧물은 숨을 쉴 때 공기 중에 있는 먼지를 흡수한다. Snot absorbs dust in the air when you breathe.

 

The sixth sentence is 이것은 먼지가 몸속으로 들어가는 것을 방지한다. This prevents dirt from going into your body. 이것 is ‘this’, and 은 is the subjective case. 먼지 is ‘dust’, and 가 is also the subjective case. As I said at the previous sentence, This sentence has two sets of subjects and verbs. 이것은 is the subject of 방지한다, which means ‘to prevent’, and 먼지가 is the subject of 들어가는, whose original form is 들어가다, and its meaning is ‘to go into, or enter’. Now, we will make two sentences respectively. 이것은 방지한다, This prevents. 먼지가 들어간다, Dust goes into. Into where? 몸속으로, which means ‘into your body’, 몸 is ‘body’, and 속 is ‘inside’, and 으로 is ‘to’, so 몸속으로 is ‘into your body’. And the reason why 들어가다 is changed into 들어가는 것 is 는 것 is used in order to make a noun phrase, or clause. All right, to sum up, 이것은 먼지가 몸속으로 들어가는 것을 방지한다. This prevents dirt from going into your body.

The seventh sentence is 콧물은 또한 당신이 호흡하는 공기를 더 축축하게 만든다. Snot also makes the air you breathe wetter. 은 is the subjective case, and 또한 is an adverb, and its meaning is ‘also’, and 당신 is ‘you’. And 호흡하는 came from 호흡하다, which means ‘to breathe’. However, we must pay attention to the letter, 는. This letter, 는 is used in order to modify the noun behind it, 공기, which means ‘air’. So, 당신이 호흡하는 공기 is ‘the air you breathe’, and 를 is the objective case. and the letter, 더 is used for comparative degree, which means 더 is placed in front of all the adjective, or adverb, indicating comparative degree. So, 축축한 is an adjective, ‘wet’, and 축축하게 is actually ‘wetly’, and 더 축축한 is ‘wetter’, and 더 축축하게 is ‘more wetly’, right? However, as you can see, even though we Koreans use the adverb in this sentence, I mean 더 축축하게, in English sentence, there is grammatical reason you use an adjective, wetter because ‘wet’ must be placed as the objective case complement of the verb, make, right? Anyway, the final word, 만든다 is ‘to make’. So, 콧물은 또한 당신이 호흡하는 공기를 더 축축하게 만든다. Snot also makes the air you breathe wetter.

The eighth sentence is 이것은 목구멍과 폐를 보호하는 데 도움을 준다. This helps to protect your throat and lungs. 이것 is ‘this’, and 은 is the subjective case. 목구멍 is ‘throat’, and this is compound word, which means 목 is ‘neck’, and 구멍 is ‘hole’, so 목구멍 is ‘throat’. And 과 is ‘and’, and 폐 is ‘lung’, and 를 is the objective case. 보호하는 came from 보호하다, which means ‘to protect’, and 다 is replaced with 는 in order to modify the letter, 데. The letter, 데 actually has three meanings, the place, the part, and the fact. And in this sentence, by the context, this indicates the second, the part, or aspect. And the final word, 도움을 준다 is ‘to help’, so 이것은 도움을 준다 is ‘This helps’, and 이것은 보호하는 데 도움을 준다 is ‘This helps to protect’, and 이것은 목구멍과 폐를 보호하는 데 도움을 준다. This helps to protect your throat and lungs.

The ninth sentence is 공기가 차고 건조할수록 더 많은 콧물이 필요하다. The colder and drier the air is, the more snot you need. The first expression, 공기가 차고 건조할수록 is kind of tricky, but listen carefully, you can master this, all right? 공기 is ‘air’, and 가 is the subjective case. And 차고 can be divided into two words, 차다 and the letter, 고. when 차다 is a verb, its meaning is ‘to kick’. I explained it at the Vocabulary 10,000 Project. It is in the second lecture, number 23. Check it out later, OK? But, when 차다 is an adjective, its meaning is ‘cold’, and is also used as 차갑다, 차가운. And the letter, 고 means ‘and’. 건조하다 is also an adjective, and its meaning is ‘dry’, and ㄹ수록 means ‘as someone or something does more’, so 공기가 차고 건조할수록 is ‘The colder and drier the air is’. And as I said, the letter, 더 is comparative degree, and 많은 is ‘many, or much’, so 더 많은 is ‘the more’, and 필요하다 is ‘to need’. So, 공기가 차고 건조할수록 더 많은 콧물이 필요하다. The colder and drier the air is, the more snot you need.

The tenth sentence is 그래서 겨울에 코는 많은 양의 콧물을 만들어낼 필요가 있다. So in the winter your nose needs to make lots of snot. 그래서 is ‘Therefore, or so’, and 겨울 is ‘winter’, and the letter, 에 is a kind of postposition equal to ‘in’ in English, so 겨울에 is ‘in the winter’ The letter, 양 is ‘amount’, so 많은 양의 콧물 is ‘lots of snot’, and 을 is the objective case. And 만들다, or 만들어내다 is ‘to make’, and 필요가 있다 is ‘to need’. If we combine these two verbs, we can say 만들 필요가 있다, or 만들어낼 필요가 있다, which is the same as ‘need to make’. 그래서 겨울에 코는 많은 양의 콧물을 만들어낼 필요가 있다. So, in the winter your nose needs to make lots of snot.

The eleventh sentence is 너무 많은 콧물이 있으면 그것은 갈 데가 없다. When there is too much snot, it doesn't have anywhere to go. 너무 is ‘too’, and 많은 is ‘much’, so 너무 많은 콧물 is ‘too much snot’, and we learned 있다 at the fourth sentence, do you remember? 있다 is ‘to exist’, so 너무 많은 콧물이 있다 is ‘There is too much snot’, right? And the letter, 면 represents the conditional conjunction, ‘if, or when’. We also learned this at the first sentence, right? So, 너무 많은 콧물이 있으면 is ‘When there is too much snot’. 그것 is ‘it’, and 은 is the subjective case, and the fianl word is 갈 데가 없다. 가다 is ‘to go’, and 다 is removed and ㄹ is placed under 가 in order to modify the noun behind it, 데. As I said at the eighth sentence, the letter, 데 actually has three meanings, the place, the part, and the fact. In this sentence, 데 is ‘the place’, so 갈 데 is ‘the place to go’, and 없다 is ‘There is no’, or ‘to have nothing’. So, 너무 많은 콧물이 있으면 그것은 갈 데가 없다. When there is too much snot, it doesn't have anywhere to go.

The twelfth sentence is 그래서 그것이 코에서 흘러나오는 것이다. So, it runs out of your nose. We learned 그래서, 그것이, and 코, right? And 에서 is a kind of postposition which is the same as ‘from, or out of’ in English. 흘러나오는 것이다 came from 흘러나오다, and 흘러나오다 came from 흐르다. As you can remember, 흐르다 is ‘to flow’, and 흘러나오다 is ‘to flow out’, and 는 것이다 is the predicate form. 그래서 그것이 코에서 흘러나오는 것이다. So, it runs out of your nose.

All right, we gonna go over the whole paragraph. Are you ready? Here we go.

바깥이 추우면 왜 콧물이 흐르는가? 감기에 걸렸기 때문일까? 아니다. 흐르는 콧물이 반드시 감기에 걸린 것을 의미하는 것은 아니다. 코 안에는 콧물이라는 점액이 있다. 콧물은 숨을 쉴 때 공기 중에 있는 먼지를 흡수한다. 이것은 먼지가 몸속으로 들어가는 것을 방지한다. 콧물은 또한 당신이 호흡하는 공기를 더 축축하게 만든다. 이것은 목구멍과 폐를 보호하는 데 도움을 준다. 공기가 차고 건조할수록 더 많은 콧물이 필요하다. 그래서 겨울에 코는 많은 양의 콧물을 만들어낼 필요가 있다. 너무 많은 콧물이 있으면 그것은 갈 데가 없다. 그래서 그것이 코에서 흘러나오는 것이다.

Why does your nose run when it's cold outside? Is it because you have had a cold? No. A running nose doesn't necessarily mean that you have a cold. On the inside of your nose is mucus which is called snot. Snot absorbs dust in the air when you breathe. This prevents dirt from going into your body. Snot also makes the air you breathe wetter. This helps to protect your throat and lungs. The colder and drier the air is, the more snot you need. So, in the winter your nose needs to make lots of snot. When there is too much snot, it doesn't have anywhere to go. So, it runs out of your nose.