✍️ Intermediate Day 15: Expressing "Before and After" – ~기 전에 / ~(으)ㄴ 후에
📘 Intermediate Day 15: Expressing "Before and After" – ~기 전에 / ~(으)ㄴ 후에
Welcome to Day 15 of the Intermediate Korean series! 🕘 Today’s lesson helps you express time relationships between actions – specifically, how to say when something happens before or after something else.
We'll cover two essential grammar patterns:
- ~기 전에 – before doing something
- ~(으)ㄴ 후에 – after doing something
These are perfect for organizing your schedule, giving directions, or just talking about your day!
📘 1. ~기 전에 – “Before Doing…”
This form is created by attaching ~기 (the noun form of a verb) + 전에 (before).
🔧 Pattern:
- Verb stem + 기 전에
📌 Examples:
- 자기 전에 책을 읽어요.
ja-gi jeo-ne chaek-eul il-geo-yo
👉 I read a book before sleeping. - 수업 듣기 전에 커피를 마셔요.
su-eop deut-gi jeo-ne keo-pi-reul ma-syeo-yo
👉 I drink coffee before attending class. - 운동하기 전에 스트레칭해요.
un-dong-ha-gi jeo-ne seu-teu-re-ching-hae-yo
👉 I stretch before exercising.
📘 2. ~(으)ㄴ 후에 – “After Doing…”
This expression is used for describing what happens after an action is completed.
🔧 Pattern:
- Verb past tense (으)ㄴ + 후에
✔️ For verbs ending in vowels → -ㄴ 후에 ✔️ For verbs ending in consonants → -은 후에
📌 Examples:
- 운동한 후에 샤워해요.
un-dong-han hu-e sya-wo-hae-yo
👉 I take a shower after working out. - 밥을 먹은 후에 이를 닦아요.
bap-eul meo-geun hu-e i-reul dak-a-yo
👉 I brush my teeth after eating. - 수업이 끝난 후에 친구를 만나요.
su-eop-i kkeut-nan hu-e chin-gu-reul man-na-yo
👉 I meet my friend after class ends.
📌 비교표 – ~기 전에 vs ~(으)ㄴ 후에
| Expression | Function | Example | Romanization |
|---|---|---|---|
| ~기 전에 | Before doing something | 먹기 전에 | meok-gi jeo-ne |
| ~(으)ㄴ 후에 | After doing something | 먹은 후에 | meok-eun hu-e |
💬 Real-Life Dialogue
👧 수지: 수업 듣기 전에 뭐 해요?
👦 준호: 저는 항상 커피를 마셔요.
👧 수지: 저도요! 그리고 수업 끝난 후에 도서관에 가요.
📘 Practice Sentences
- 저녁 먹기 전에 숙제를 해요.
- 일하기 전에 준비운동을 해요.
- 일 끝난 후에 집에 가요.
- 운전한 후에 피곤했어요.
🧪 Mini Quiz – What Happened First?
- Translate: “Before I sleep, I drink tea.”
Click to Show Answer
자기 전에 차를 마셔요.
- Say: “After the class, I go home.”
Click to Show Answer
수업이 끝난 후에 집에 가요.
- Which is correct?
a) 운동기 전에
b) 운동한 전에
c) 운동하기 전에Click to Show Answer
✅ c) 운동하기 전에
✅ Conclusion
🎉 Awesome job! Now you can explain time relationships in Korean using:
- ✔️ ~기 전에 – Before doing something
- ✔️ ~(으)ㄴ 후에 – After doing something
📘 Coming Up Next
Tomorrow: Intermediate Day 16: Talking About Purpose – ~(으)러 가다 / ~(으)려고 We’ll learn how to say why you go somewhere in Korean!
Related Keywords:
learn korean, korean grammar, before after in korean, 기 전에, 은 후에, korean time expressions, intermediate grammar