Larn Korean '하고 있다' Easily: Expressing Active Voice in Korean Sentences

What is Active Voice? Active Voice refers to a sentence structure where the subject performs the action on the object directly. Do you know the difference between active and passive voice? 

Active Voice refers to a sentence structure where the subject performs the action on the object directly. Keep in mind that when we want to emphasize the object of the sentence, passive voice can also be used.

In Korean, the active voice 현재진행형 (present progressive tense) can be expressed by "고 있다" (go itda) which indicates that an action is taking place or still taking place at the time of speaking. In English, we are usually familiar with progressive or continuous. 

So, how to make active voices in Korean? The way to make active voices in Korean is to use the word "고 있다" which means "am/is/are doing".

Let's look at the following examples :
1. 나는 소설 이야기를 쓰고있어
    (I'm writing a novel story)
2. 나의 고양이는 먹고있어
    (My cat is eating)
3. 나는 꿈구고있어
    (I am dreaming)

To express location and position in an active sentence in Korean, you can use the particle "에" to express location and "에" (e) or "에서" to express position. However, the particle "고 있다" is not commonly used in this context.

Here are some examples of the correct construction of active sentences related to location and position:

1. 저는 앉아고있다 > 저는 앉아있다 (I am sitting)
"고 있다" is not used to say "sitting", instead "있다" is an adverb that can be used at the end of a sentence to indicate that someone is in a sitting.
2. 저는 서고있다 > 저는 서있다 (I am standing)
*고 있다 is not used to declare that I am standing, instead "있다" is an adverb that can be used at the end of a sentence to indicate that someone is in standing. In addition, the word "doing" cannot be used in sentences that have adjectives in it. Example:
    1. 나는 행복 하고 있어 the sentence is incorrect, the truth is 나는 행복해
    2. 나는 슬프고 있어 the sentence is incorrect, the correct one is 나는 슬퍼

 

Doing Something for Someone and Something

When we want to say that we are doing something for someone in Korean, then we can use ~ 을 / 를 위해 (서) after the subject we are heading to. It is used to express the purpose or intention behind an action. It can be translated as "for the sake of," "for the purpose of," or "in order to." Here's how you can use "를 위해서" in a sentence:

1. Attach "를 위해서" directly after a noun or verb stem.

2. Combine it with the preceding noun or verb stem using the appropriate particles. 

Example:
> 나는 친구 를 위해서 꽃 샀어

    I bought flowers for my friend
    [Used for activities carried out for someone]
> 나는 그 결혼식 을 위해 열심히 일 했어
    I worked hard for the wedding
    [Used to express activities carried out for a job, etc.]

So, the difference between the two examples of the sentence is 서 used for human or animate subjects, whereas for inanimate subjects 서 do not need to be used.

How to say "About Something" in Korean

This word is used when we are talking about something, we can add ~ 에 대해 to the noun or subject being discussed or thought about. Example:

1. 나는 내 언니 에 대해 말해 (I talked about my sister's marriage)
2. 나는 너 에 대해 생각해 (I'm thinking about you)