뭐 먹어요?Food, Drink, and Basic Actions
Chapter Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Conjugate action verbs into the present polite -아요/어요 form.
- Mark the object of a sentence with the particle 을/를.
- Say what you like using 좋아해요.
- Negate simple action-verb sentences with short negation 안.
- Name common foods and drinks and order or talk about them in simple sentences.
- Read and write new batchim patterns that appear in this chapter's food vocabulary.
- Hold a short exchange about what someone eats, drinks, and likes.
Communication Scenario
It is lunchtime at Kim Seongsaengnim's school, and the class is at a small campus cafeteria, 학생 식당. Everyone is deciding what to eat and drink, comparing what they like, and telling each other what they do and do not want.
- To talk about eating, drinking, and liking things, you need your first action verbs — words like 먹다 (to eat) and 마시다 (to drink) — conjugated into a form people actually use in conversation.
- By the end of this chapter you will be able to say what you eat, drink, like, and do not eat, using complete polite sentences built from real action verbs rather than the copula and existence patterns you have used so far.
Core Vocabulary
The following productive vocabulary supports this chapter's communicative goal: ordering, describing, and talking about food, drink, and basic actions. Predicate entries show both the dictionary form and the chapter-appropriate polite present form.
음식과 음료 — Food and drink
| Korean | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 밥 | cooked rice; a meal | native Korean; also used generally for "meal" |
| 김치 | kimchi | native Korean |
| 빵 | bread | loanword, adapted spelling |
| 고기 | meat | native Korean |
| 채소 | vegetables | Sino-Korean |
| 과일 | fruit | Sino-Korean |
| 사과 | apple | Sino-Korean |
| 물 | water | native Korean |
| 커피 | coffee | loanword |
| 차 | tea | Sino-Korean |
| 우유 | milk | native Korean |
| 주스 | juice | loanword |
| 계란 | egg | Sino-Korean; also 달걀 (native, receptive) |
| 라면 | ramyeon (instant noodles) | loanword, fully Koreanized |
| 아침, 점심, 저녁 | breakfast; lunch; dinner | also mean "morning," "midday," "evening" |
동사 — Action verbs (dictionary form → chapter form)
| Dictionary form | Chapter form (-아요/어요) | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 먹다 | 먹어요 | to eat | object usually marked with 을/를 |
| 마시다 | 마셔요 | to drink | ㅣ+어 contracts to 셔 |
| 가다 | 가요 | to go | ㅏ stem absorbs 아 (no separate 아) |
| 오다 | 와요 | to come | 오+아 contracts to 와 |
| 읽다 | 읽어요 | to read | double batchim ㄺ |
| 보다 | 봐요 | to see; to watch | 오+아 contracts to 와 |
| 사다 | 사요 | to buy | ㅏ stem absorbs 아 |
| 만들다 | 만들어요 | to make | ㄹ stem, regular before 어 |
| 좋아하다 | 좋아해요 | to like | 하다 verb; object marked with 을/를 |
기타 — Other useful items
| Korean | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 안 | not (short negation) | placed directly before the verb |
| 뭐 | what | spoken form of 무엇 |
| 다 | all; everything | adverb |
| 같이 | together | adverb |
| 맛있어요 | it's delicious | descriptive verb, receptive introduction here; full noun-modifier use scheduled later |
Receptive load: 달걀 (native-Korean alternative for "egg") and 맛있어요 appear for recognition and natural reaction only; they are not required for independent production in this chapter.
Pronunciation Focus
This chapter does not introduce a new sound-change rule. It gives you controlled practice reading and producing the batchim and vowel-contraction patterns that appear in this chapter's action verbs.
When a verb stem ends in the vowels ㅏ or ㅗ, the ending contracts rather than simply attaching. 가다 becomes 가요, not 가아요. 오다 becomes 와요, not 오아요. 마시다 becomes 마셔요, not 마시어요. These contractions are pronunciation and spelling facts together — say and write the contracted form, not the full uncontracted one.
Read the following words aloud, paying attention to the double batchim in 읽어요 and the liaison that carries its second consonant into the following syllable.
먹어요 · 마셔요 · 가요 · 와요 · 읽어요 · 봐요 · 사요 · 좋아해요
받침 점검: in 읽어요, the batchim ㄺ carries its second consonant ㄱ into the following syllable, so the word is pronounced closer to 일거요 in connected speech. You will study this liaison pattern formally in a later chapter; for now, simply imitate the pronunciation as modeled.
Grammar and Sentence Patterns
문법 1 — The present polite ending -아요/어요
Communicative purpose: talk about actions happening now, habitually, or in the near future, in ordinary everyday polite speech.
Every dictionary-form verb ends in -다. Remove -다 to find the stem, then attach -아요 or -어요 depending on the stem's last vowel.
| Stem's last vowel | Ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ㅏ or ㅗ | -아요 | 가다 → 가요 |
| any other vowel | -어요 | 먹다 → 먹어요 |
- 저는 밥을 먹어요. I eat rice / a meal. 저는 [topic] + 밥을 [object] + 먹어요 [verb]
- 물을 마셔요. I drink water.
- 학교에 가요. I go to school.
Since Chapter 1 you have used 이에요/예요 to say what something is. The ending in this chapter, -아요/어요, attaches to action-verb stems to say what someone does. The two systems look similar because both end in polite 요, but they attach to different kinds of words and serve different functions. Do not attach -아요/어요 to a noun, and do not attach 이에요/예요 to an action-verb stem.
문법 2 — The object particle 을/를
Communicative purpose: mark the thing that receives the action of a transitive verb.
을 attaches to a noun ending in a consonant (batchim); 를 attaches to a noun ending in a vowel.
- 빵을 먹어요. I eat bread. 빵 ends in batchim ㅇ → 을
- 커피를 마셔요. I drink coffee. 커피 ends in a vowel → 를
In natural spoken Korean, 을/를 is sometimes dropped. This chapter's written and careful spoken practice keeps it, following the productive standard established in the Korean Language-Specific Master Instructions.
문법 3 — 좋아해요 ("to like")
Communicative purpose: say what you like.
좋아하다 behaves like an ordinary action verb and takes the object particle, not a subject-marking pattern.
- 저는 과일을 좋아해요. I like fruit.
- 커피를 좋아해요? 차를 좋아해요? Do you like coffee? Do you like tea?
문법 4 — Short negation with 안
Communicative purpose: say that you do not do something.
Place 안 directly before the conjugated verb.
- 고기를 안 먹어요. I don't eat meat.
- 우유는 안 마셔요. I don't drink milk.
This negation pattern applies to action verbs, as practiced here. You already know a separate way to negate the copula (아니에요, Chapter 2) and existence (없어요, Chapter 3); do not mix those patterns with 안.
Practice — Building action sentences
- Conjugate 읽다, 보다, and 사다 into the polite present form.
- Write one sentence with 을/를 saying what you eat for breakfast.
- Write one sentence with 안 saying something you don't drink.
- Write one sentence with 좋아해요 saying what food you like.
Model Dialogue
Setting: Nurul and Minjun are getting lunch together at the campus cafeteria, 학생 식당.
내용 이해 — Comprehension questions:
- What does Minjun eat for lunch?
- What does Nurul eat, and what does she avoid?
- What does Minjun say he likes and dislikes?
- What does each person drink?
Listening
Ask your instructor, a language partner, or a text-to-speech tool to read the following two short passages aloud. Listen twice without reading, then complete the tasks below.
지나 씨 이야기
저는 지나예요. 저는 아침에 빵을 먹어요. 우유를 마셔요. 저는 채소를 좋아해요. 저는 고기를 안 먹어요.
톰 씨 이야기
저는 톰이에요. 저는 아침에 계란을 먹어요. 커피를 마셔요. 저는 과일을 좋아해요. 저는 우유를 안 마셔요.
듣기 과제 — Listening task: Listen and complete the table.
| 이름 | Eats | Drinks | Likes | Doesn't eat/drink |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 지나 | ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| 톰 | ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ |
받아쓰기 — Dictation: Your partner or instructor reads the negation sentence from each passage once at natural speed. Write what you hear in Hangeul.
- (negation sentence from 지나 씨 이야기)
- (negation sentence from 톰 씨 이야기)
Reading
Below is a short note that Layla left for her roommate. Read it and answer the questions below.
냉장고 메모
안녕! 오늘 저녁에 친구가 와요. 우리는 같이 밥을 먹어요.
저는 채소하고 과일을 사요. 고기도 사요.
저는 고기를 안 좋아해요. 그런데 친구는 고기를 아주 좋아해요.
냉장고에 물하고 주스가 있어요. 우유는 없어요.
New item in this passage: 냉장고 (refrigerator, receptive — glossed here for comprehension only) and 그런데 (but, formulaic recognition — full connector analysis is scheduled for Chapter 19).
내용 이해 — Comprehension questions:
- What is happening this evening, according to the note?
- What is Layla buying?
- Who likes meat, and who doesn't?
- What is in the refrigerator, and what is missing?
Writing Workshop
This chapter's writing task is a short food diary entry, 오늘 뭐 먹어요?, describing what you eat, drink, and like in one day.
- State what you eat and drink. Use 을/를 with 먹어요 and 마셔요 for at least two different foods and two different drinks.
- State a preference. Use 좋아해요 to say what food or drink you like.
- State something you avoid. Use 안 with an action verb to say something you don't eat or drink.
- Revise. Check your draft against the editing checklist below.
체크리스트 — Editing checklist:
- Every action verb is correctly conjugated into -아요/어요, with vowel contractions applied where required (가요, 와요, 마셔요).
- 을/를 is chosen correctly based on whether the noun ends in batchim or a vowel.
- 안 is placed directly before the verb, not before the object.
- 은/는 and 이/가 from earlier chapters are still used correctly where they appear.
- No sentence relies on grammar not yet activated (Chapters 7 and beyond).
Speaking Practice
통제 연습 — Controlled practice: Conjugation chain
Working with a partner or alone, say the dictionary form and the -아요/어요 form of each verb from this chapter's vocabulary table in order, without pausing: 먹다–먹어요, 마시다–마셔요, and so on through the full list.
의사소통 과제 — Communicative task: Cafeteria interview
Work with a partner. Ask and answer the questions below, then report your partner's answers to a third classmate.
- 아침에 뭐 먹어요?
- 뭐 마셔요?
- 무슨 음식을 좋아해요?
- 무슨 음식을 안 먹어요?
혼자 하는 연습 — Solo alternative
Record yourself describing your typical breakfast, lunch, and dinner using -아요/어요, 을/를, 좋아해요, and 안. Listen back and check your vowel contractions and object-particle choices against the Grammar section.
Culture and Communication
The word 밥 literally means cooked rice, but it is also used broadly to mean "a meal" in everyday speech, since rice has traditionally been a central part of a standard Korean meal. Asking 밥 먹었어요? ("Have you eaten?") is a common, friendly way of checking in with someone — you will study this specific past-tense greeting formula more formally once past tense is introduced in Chapter 16.
In many everyday Korean dining situations, side dishes such as 김치 are placed in the center of the table and shared rather than individually plated. This is a common practical and social pattern in casual meals among family, friends, and classmates, though restaurant and household customs vary.
Korean diaspora communities sometimes use adapted or additional food vocabulary shaped by locally available ingredients. The vocabulary in this chapter reflects everyday South Korean usage; later volumes will address more specialized and regional food terminology.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Error: 저는 밥 먹이에요.
Correction: 저는 밥을 먹어요. — Action verbs take -아요/어요, not 이에요/예요. Keep the two ending systems separate.
Error: 학교에 가아요.
Correction: 학교에 가요. — When the stem already ends in ㅏ or ㅗ, the ending contracts; do not write both vowels separately.
Error: 고기 안을 먹어요.
Correction: 고기를 안 먹어요. — 안 goes directly before the conjugated verb, never attached to the object.
Error: 빵를 먹어요.
Correction: 빵을 먹어요. — 빵 ends in batchim ㅇ, so it takes 을, not 를.
Chapter Review
Section A — 어휘 (Vocabulary)
1. List five food or drink words from this chapter.
2. Give the dictionary form for 먹어요, 마셔요, and 가요.
Section B — 문법 (Grammar)
1. Conjugate into -아요/어요: 읽다, 보다, 만들다.
2. Choose 을 or 를:
- 사과___ 먹어요.
- 커피___ 마셔요.
- 채소___ 좋아해요.
3. Correct the errors:
- 저는 밥 먹이에요.
- 학교에 가아요.
- 고기 안을 먹어요.
Section C — 독해 이해 (Reading Comprehension)
1. According to the refrigerator note, what does Layla plan to buy?
2. What does the note say is missing from the refrigerator?
Section D — 쓰기 (Writing)
1. Write a four-to-six sentence food diary entry using -아요/어요, 을/를, 좋아해요, and 안, following the Writing Workshop checklist.
Section E — 말하기 (Speaking)
1. Without notes, tell a partner what you eat and drink in a typical day, including one thing you like and one thing you avoid.
누적 복습 — Cumulative review
This chapter recycles the copula, 은/는, 이/가, and 있어요/없어요 from Chapters 1 through 5 inside the Model Dialogue, Reading, and Writing Workshop, alongside the new action-verb system. If any earlier item felt uncertain while completing this chapter, return to Chapters 1 through 5 before continuing to Chapter 7.
Practical Performance Task
수행 과제
오늘 뭐 먹어요? — What Are You Eating Today?
You will describe your food and drink habits in speech and in writing, using only the systems activated through Chapter 6.
- Written: Write your food diary entry from the Writing Workshop, including at least two 을/를 sentences with 먹어요 or 마셔요, one 좋아해요 sentence, and one 안 sentence.
- Spoken: Present your entry aloud to a partner or record yourself, then answer one unscripted follow-up question about a food or drink you did not mention.
- Reflection: Write one English sentence identifying which part of this chapter — conjugation, 을/를, or 안 — still feels least automatic, and one specific thing you will review before Chapter 7.
| Criterion | What is evaluated |
|---|---|
| Conjugation accuracy | Correct -아요/어요 forms, including vowel contractions |
| Object-particle accuracy | Correct choice of 을 or 를 based on batchim |
| Negation accuracy | Correct placement of 안 before the verb |
| Vocabulary use | Accurate, level-appropriate food and drink vocabulary |
| Cumulative accuracy | Correct continued use of 은/는, 이/가, and the copula where relevant |
| Scope discipline | No structures used beyond Chapters 1–6 |
Answer Key
Grammar Practice
읽다 → 읽어요 보다 → 봐요 사다 → 사요
Dialogue — Comprehension
- Minjun eats ramyeon.
- Nurul eats rice and kimchi; she doesn't eat meat.
- Minjun likes meat and dislikes vegetables.
- Nurul drinks water; Minjun drinks coffee.
Listening comprehension table
- 지나 — Eats: 빵. Drinks: 우유. Likes: 채소. Doesn't eat: 고기.
- 톰 — Eats: 계란. Drinks: 커피. Likes: 과일. Doesn't drink: 우유.
Reading comprehension
- Layla plans to buy vegetables, fruit, and meat.
- Milk is missing from the refrigerator; there is water and juice.
- Layla doesn't like meat; her friend likes meat very much.
- (covered above)
Chapter Review — Section B
- 읽어요, 봐요, 만들어요
- (a) 사과를 먹어요. (b) 커피를 마셔요. (c) 채소를 좋아해요.
- (a) → 저는 밥을 먹어요. (action verb ending, not copula) (b) → 학교에 가요. (vowel contraction) (c) → 고기를 안 먹어요. (안 before the verb)
Section D — Sample food diary entry
저는 아침에 빵하고 계란을 먹어요. 커피를 마셔요. 저는 과일을 좋아해요. 저는 고기를 안 먹어요.
Check that: every action verb is conjugated correctly with contractions applied; 을/를 matches each noun's final sound; 안 appears directly before its verb; earlier systems (은/는, copula) remain accurate where used.
Looking Ahead
지금 할 수 있는 것 — What you can do now
You can conjugate action verbs into the present polite form, mark objects with 을/를, say what you like with 좋아해요, and negate simple actions with 안. Combined with Unit I, you can now introduce yourself, describe your family, state dates, and talk about what you eat, drink, and like — all in connected polite Korean.