How often do you clean your house? What is acceptable practice in your culture?

Now let’s read these two dialogues. What are they talking about?

In this lesson, you will learn how to talk about how frequently you do certain activities.

A. 에 per

You have learned that -에 marks a time word, such as on Monday or at  __ o’clock.  -에 can also be used to mean per, as in per day or per week.

하루에 네 번 세수해요.                I wash my face four times per day.

일 주일에 두 번 방 청소해요.       I clean my room twice a week.

B. 몇 How Many

Remember 몇 in 몇 시예요? 몇 means how many and cannot be used on its own like the question fragment “how many?” in English. It must directly precede a counter, a word needed to count particular items, such as 번 times or 시간 hours’ time.

알리사: 일주일에 몇 시간 운동해요?         How many hours per week do you exercise?

웨이: 세 시간 해요.                                     Three hours per week.

알리사: 하루에 몇 번 설거지해요?             How many times per day do you wash dishes?

웨이: 두 번 해요.                                        Twice.

C. 얼마나 자주 How Often

얼마나, an adverb which means how much with the word 자주 often is also used to ask how frequently someone does something. How you answer is exactly the same as when you are asked with 하루에/일주일에/한 달에/일 년에… 몇 번…:

알리사: 얼마나 자주 설거지해요?                          How often do you wash dishes?

웨이: 하루에 두 번 해요.                                        Two times per day.

하루토: 얼마나 자주 할머니한테 문자를 써요?     How often do you text your grandmother?

엠마: 일주일에 한 번 써요.                                    Once a week.

고 나서 is a verb connector that is based on the 고 connector. Adding 나서, however, places emphasis on the time sequence of the actions, the fact that the first action is completed before the second is undertaken.

저는점심을 먹고 나서 도서관에 가요.             After having lunch, I go to the library.

저는 주말에 청소하고 나서 쉬어요.                 I clean my place and then take a rest on the weekend.

Unlike 지만, 고 나서 is not conjugated into the past tense.

어제 여동생은 개하고 산책하고 나서 친구를 만났어요.

Yesterday, my younger sister took a walk with her dog and then met her friend.

CONJUGATION PRACTICE

Let’s try to fill in the following chart with the appropriate -고 나서 form.

<Answer key> 먹고 나서, 배우고 나서, 연습하고 나서, 걷고 나서, 마시고 나서, 쓰고 나서, 만들고 나서

A. NOUN +-(이)나 As Many As

The marker -이나 means as many as in sentences like 동생이 어제 열두 시간이나 잤어요! My younger sibling slept for (as many as) twelve hours yesterday! It marks some surprise as to the (large) number of things/happenings or intends to impress the listener with the large number (“as many as…” “that many!”). Use ‑이나 when the preceding noun ends in a consonant (such as 시간 and 번) and -나 when it ends in a vowel (such as 개).

생일 선물을 열 개나 받았어요.

I received ten whole birthday gifts!

룸메이트는 하루에 세 번이나 이를 닦아요!

My roommate brushes her teeth three times per day!

여동생은 지난 주말에 청소를 세 시간이나 했어요.

My younger sister cleaned the house for three hours last weekend!

B. Noun +- 밖에 Only, Merely

밖에is an interesting marker that comes from the noun, 밖, “outside.”  It is always followed by a negative construction, be it one of the negative verbs (없다, 아니다), or a negated verb with a short (안, 못) or long negative phrase (‑지 않다, ‑지 못하다).  Altogether, N-밖에+ negative means only, merely or no more than NOUN, with a note of emphasis.

내 여자 친구는 중국어를 조금밖에 못 해요.  My girlfriend can only speak a little Chinese.

룸메이트는 하루에 두 번밖에 안 먹어요!     My roommate eats only two times per day!

Similar sentences to those above could be made using 만 (and non-negative verbs), but the nuance is quite different. The -밖에sentences emphasize how small an amount or number is involved, whereas the 만sentences neutrally report facts.  In fact, you have to use -밖에 and a negative verb if you have even a slight sense of exaggeration with numbers.

Juan is looking for a new roommate and talking to Noah, who is also interested in finding a roommate. Listen to the dialogue and answer the following questions in Korean.

1) Whose place would be tidier and cleaner?

Choose your answer:  노아의 방 vs. 후안의 방

2) How often does Noah take out the trash?

3) What does Noah usually do on weekends?

4) Do you think Noah and Juan will be good roommates? Why do you think so? Explain in Korean.

Read the text messages below between Alyssa and her roommate Sarah. Then, answer the following questions.

*갈게요 I will go (I promise)

1) Alyssa is going to the market soon.                 T     F

2) Alyssa’s roommate Sarah is at the park alone.    T     F

3) Alyssa wants to take a walk before doing the dishes.    T     F

4) According to Alyssa, Sarah does the dishes three times per week. T    F

5) Alyssa and Sarah will be cooking together tonight.                 T   F

Interview

Part I. You have been asked to conduct a short survey on how often students do a certain activity. Choose three activities and ask 10 people how often they do them. Create a pie chart for a total of 100% for each activity. Report the results to the class.

(Report) 4명이 일주일에 두 번에서 세 번 운동해요. 그리고 2명이 일 주일에 한 번 운동해요. 그리고 한 명이 매일 운동을 하고 한 명이 운동을 안 해요..

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A. r and I in borrowed words

Many words borrowed from Western languages are used in Korean, including technology terms such as 인터넷 and 컴퓨터. Usually, r that comes at the end of the syllable is not pronounced in Korean.

인터넷                    internet                   컴퓨터                   computer

헤어 드라이어       hair dryer               피터                       Peter

When r does not come at the end of the syllable, it is written (and pronounced) as a single ㄹ. This can create confusion for English speakers because word-initially, l also is written (and pronounced) as a single ㄹ. Elsewhere, l is written (and pronounced) as two ㄹ’s:

라디오       radio         러브           love

도리           Dori          라인           line

필름           film           달러           dollar

외식

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Image by jyleen21 from Pixabay

Good, healthy, and reasonably-priced restaurant food is abundant in cities in Korea, so people eat out (or order in) frequently. According to a Gallop poll, 58% of Koreans ate out 1~3 times a month in 2015, which rose from 47% from the previous year. Both years, 32% of Koreans ate out more than once a week. The statistics fluctuate depending on the overall economy. In 2015, when the economy was still on the recovery slope from the world’s stock market crash, 33% of Koreans reported that they did not eat out at all.

운동

Perhaps due to their often-expected over-time work, not many Koreans take time out for exercise. In 2013, 36.8% of Korean office workers exercised 0 times a week, and only 0.4% of them exercised 6 times a week (by going to the gym or playing tennis, etc.).