Korean Grammar in Use Advanced - Grammar Points Ranked

This list is sorted based on how much I have personally seen them used in books, TV and media that I consume. It may not be 100% accurate and as I continue to learn I will continue to notice more the grammar that I rarely see. I have read a large variety of books at different levels and regularly watch science related content.

I want the different sections to represent how I feel about the contained grammar forms. There are actually a fair amount of grammar points missing from the entire series of Korean Grammar in Use. I will try to keep this list updated and add grammar points at the end that regularly come up but are not in the book.

I have placed a description in Korean next to each point because I've found that I understood the grammar much better once I had read the Korean description. Please note that the list is likely heavily biased to my own experiences and if you mainly consume content that is not the same domain as myself you may find certain grammar more or less common.

Please refer to the book or perhaps search the dictionary or google to find more information about the  grammar points. I recommend using this as a reference as to which grammar points you know. It is good to let yourself know of the existence of grammar prior to seeing it in context so that you can identify that it is grammar.

Talk to Me in Korean Advanced Idiomatic Expressions Reference List

Starting at Level 8 TTMIK added idiomatic expression lessons based on 1 word. Here the list is compiled for easy access with links to each lesson. There is also an Anki deck available which covers the idioms from the collaboration between TTMIK and Naver.

• TTMIK Grammar points list
• Hanja(word builder) lessons list

Billy Go's Korean Made Simple 1 Grammar Book Review

Just in case you don't know by now. Billy Go is an American, Korean teacher who makes videos explaining grammar and sometimes various aspects of the Korean language through slightly comedic videos. For the past year he has regularly been streaming on Sunday's on various topics voted for by subscribers.

According to his website, he began learning in 2005 and has lived in Korea for multiple years and now visits there for a few months every year. He started his YouTube channel in 2012 and released Korean Made Simple 1 in 2014. It was then followed up with Korean Made Simple 2 in the same year and Korean Made Simple 3 a few years later in 2016.

He recently started a Beginner video course that is completely free on YouTube that is set to span 100 videos. Although personally I would recommend the books due to it being quicker to go through overall or possibly playing the videos at 2x speed.

I personally used all 3 Korean Made Simple books when I was starting out, so I will also share a few tips on how to use the books throughout the review. Hopefully this review can help you make an informed decision on whether or not you wish to purchase the books.

Korean Made Simple grammar book front cover

The Role of Grammar Study in Language Learning

If you have ever taken a look at my fluency path you may notice that the focus on grammar quickly dwindles after the beginning stages. Many education institutions tend to put a focus on grammar instruction and focus on using that information for output. This partly contributes to a lot of students feeling like they make no progress due to not being able to spit out constructed sentences on the fly or people telling them they say things weirdly. This is even more evident in languages that are distant because ideas are expressed in completely different ways and words rarely overlap in exact us

In institutions and self teaching the focus has to be shifted from learning grammar to, output to using grammar for understanding content. Using this mindset we can take the stress off of trying to remember 100 grammar points by brute force and instead acquire them from content we consume making it much easier to output by way of copying native speakers instead of making up language by ourselves. There are many times where the meaning of grammar makes more sense when you pay attention to the intonation and tone in which it is said.

Useless grammar tests

Talk To Me In Korean Book Review and Thoughts on the Curriculum

If you are reading this I will presume you know who Talk To Me In Korean (TTMIK) are. Firstly let's talk about the free content available on the site. This book and curriculum review will be focused on the views as a learner and the worth of the content being provided in comparison to it's cost. It is perfectly fine to disagree, I am not affiliated with TTMIK, neither do dislike them, any criticism should be seen as constructive as I do honestly believe as the most influential figure they have the power to improve the community in turn.

Since the reshuffle of the website it now requires you to log in to view the free course material, although it is slightly inconvenient and may turn a few people away it, they are still the most popular recommendation when it comes to learning Korean. The main curriculum which can now be found in the courses section remains free to use, however the paid content is now the main attraction. I have not used a lot of the paid content so I will mostly be writing about the content I have used.

The Curriculum levels 1-10

Talk to Me in Korean Grammar Points Reference List [Level 1-10]

This list has been made due to the change of the TTMIK website where the lessons used to be nicely listed. I have compiled the lessons that just contain grammar points with links to the lessons so that they can be more easily accessed and can be used as a checklist to see if you understand them.

• Hanja(word builder) lessons list
  
• Advanced idiomatic expressions list