Did you already quit your job? in Korean 🇰🇷

Sentence info.

Breakdown of "일은 이미 그만두셨어요?" word by word:

• 일은 (il-eun)
  • 일 (il): "work" or "job"
  • 은 (eun): topic marker (used after a noun ending in a consonant)
  Translation: "As for work/job, …"

• 이미 (imi)
  Translation: "already"

• 그만두셨어요 (geumandusyeosseoyo)
  • 그만두다 (geumanduda): "to quit," "to stop"
  • 셨어요 (-syeosseoyo): honorific past tense ending, which indicates respect (often used when talking about someone with a higher status or simply politely with anyone)
  Translation: "have quit"
  Note: The honorific form implies the speaker is showing respect toward the listener.

Combined, the sentence means: "Have you already quit your job?" or more literally, "Job, already have you quit?"

Tips to remember:
• Recognize "일" means "work/job" and is a common noun; pairing it with the topic marker "은" sets the focus of the sentence.
• "이미" usually appears before the verb in Korean sentences when emphasizing that something has already happened.
• Understanding verb endings: "-셨어요" is the combined honorific and past tense form. Recall that verbs like 그만두다 change to 그만두셨어요 in the polite honorific past.
• Notice the sentence structure often follows [Topic + Time/Adverb + Verb].

Alternate ways to say "Did you already quit your job?":
1. 일 그만두셨어요? (Il geumandusyeosseoyo?)
  – Dropping 이미 changes the nuance; used if the emphasis on "already" isn’t needed.
2. 벌써 일을 그만두셨어요? (Beolsseo il-eul geumandusyeosseoyo?)
  • 벌써 (beolsseo): another word for "already."
  • 일을 (il-eul): work/job with the object marker 을; this changes the topic emphasis slightly but is still correct in context.

Both alternate forms maintain politeness while slightly changing the focus or the marker used.

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