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Lesson 24: Before, After, Since, Within (전/후/이래로/이내)

Click here for a workbook to go along with this lesson.
The following video is available to reinforce the concepts taught in this lesson: Dictation
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Vocabulary
Introduction

Before/Ago (전)
After/Later (후)
Since (이래로)
Within/inside (안/이내)

 

Vocabulary

Click on the English word to see information and examples of that word in use (you probably won’t be able to understand the grammar within the sentences at this point, but it is good to see as you progress through your learning).

A PDF file neatly presenting these words and extra information can be found here.

You can try to find all of the words from this lesson, and all of the words from every lesson in Unit 1 in a package of twenty five Word Searches.

Nouns:
설탕 = sugar

Common Usages:
무설탕 = sugar-free
설탕이 들어가 있다 = to contain sugar

Example:
이 식품에는 설탕이 안 들어가요 = There is a no sugar in this (food) product
커피에 설탕을 안 넣어도 돼요 = I/you don’t need to put sugar in my/your coffee

경찰관 = policeman

Common Usages:
경찰관이 되고 싶다 = to want to become a police officer

Example:
경찰관들이 그 장소에 파견되었어요 = Police officers were dispatched to the area
저는 그 사람을 살리려고 경찰관을 불렀어요 = I called the policeman in order to save that person

경찰서 = police station

Common Usages:
경찰서로 연행하다 = to take somebody to the police station

Example:
경찰관들은 경찰서에 돌아왔어요 = The police officers returned to the police station
경찰서
에 가기 전에 그것에 대해 엄마랑 얘기했어요 = Before I went to the police station, I talked about that with my mom

구름 = cloud

Common Usages:
구름을 걷히다 = for clouds to clear up

Example:
구름이 5분 전에 걷혔어요 = The clouds cleared up 5 minutes ago
새는 구름 위에 날고 있어요 = The bird is flying above the clouds
구름
이 걷힌 후에 날씨가 좋았어요= After the clouds cleared up, the weather was nice

경쟁 = competition

Common Usages:
경쟁자 = competitor (competing person)
경쟁사 = competitor (competing company)

Example:
일자리가 하나만 있어서 경쟁은 심할 거예요 = The competition will be extreme because there is only one job available

경쟁자 = competitors

Example:
저는 경쟁자를 이겼어요 = I beat the competitor

= blood

Common Usages:
피를 흘리다 = to be bleeding
피를 뽑다 = to take blood
코피 = nosebleed

Example:
저는 를 휴지로 닦았어요 = I wiped the blood with a tissue

구두 = shoes, boots

Common Usages:
구두를 신다 = to put on shoes/boots

Example:
그 여자의 구두가 예뻐요 = That girl’s boots are beautiful

목욕 = bath

Common Usages:
목욕탕 = public bath house
목욕하다 = to take a bath

Example:
오늘 너무 힘들어서 저는 따뜻한 목욕을 하고 싶어요 = Today was really difficult, so I want to take a warm bath

번호 = number

Common Usages:
전화번호 = phone number
등록번호 = registration number
등번호 = the number on a player’s back (in sports)

Example:
각 자리에 번호가 쓰여 있어요 = There is a number written on each seat

전화번호 = phone number

Common Usages:
전화번호는 뭐에요? = What is your phone number?
전화번호가 기억 안 나다 = to not remember a phone number

Example:
새로운 핸드폰을 사고 전화번호를 바꿨어요 = After buying a new phone, I changed my phone number

열쇠 = key

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “열쐬”

Common Usages:
열쇠고리 = key chain

Example:
저는 친구의 집에서 열쇠를 잃어버렸어요 = I lost my keys at a friend’s house
저는 열쇠를 잃어버렸어요 = I lost my keys
저는 열쇠를 어딘가(에) 두었어요 = I left my keys somewhere

수박 = watermelon

Common Usages:
수박 겉 핥기 = an idiom that describes something “superficial”

Example:
수박은 한국에서 너무 비싸요 = Watermelons in Korea are too expensive

과자 = candy, cookies, snacks

Common Usages:
전통 과자 = traditional candy

Example:
애기들은 과자를 많이 먹어요 = Babies eat a lot of candy/snacks

양복 = suit

Common Usages:
양복을 입다 = to wear a suit
양복을 맞추다 = to get a suit tailored

Notes:
Literally “Western clothes”

Example:
저는 보통 까만 양복을 입어요 = I usually wear black suits
양복
을 입은 후에 몸이 따뜻해졌어요 = After I put on a suit, my body got warm

Verbs:
날다 = to fly

날다 follows the ㄹ irregular

Common Usages:
날개 = wing
날아가다 = to fly away

Example:
새는 구름 위에 고 있어요 = The bird is flying above the clouds

걷히다 = to clear up (in weather)

Common Usages:
구름이 걷히다 = for clouds to clear up (go away)
안개가 걷히다 = for fog to clear up (go away)

Example:
구름은 5분 전에 걷혔어요 = The clouds cleared up 5 minutes ago

구경하다 = to sight see

Common Usages:
구경할래? = Shall we look around?

Example:
저는 유럽에서 구경을 많이 했어요 = I did a lot of sight-seeing in Europe
저는 이 가게에서 잠깐 구경하고 싶어요 = I want to look around for a bit in this store
그곳에서 구경하는 사람이 많아요 = There are a lot of people sightseeing in that place

뒤처지다 = to fall behind

Common Usages:
경기에서 뒤처지다 = to fall behind in a game

Example:
그 학생은 또래보다 영어실력이 뒤처지고 있어요 = That student is falling behind his peers in English ability

앞지르다 = to pass, to overtake

앞지르다 follows the 르 irregular

Common Usages:
상대방을 앞지르다 = to pass/go ahead of an opponent

Example:
경찰차는 우리를 빨리 앞질렀어요 = The police car quickly overtook (passed) us

감독하다 = to supervise

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “감도카다”

Common Usages:
감독관 = proctor
시험감독 = supervise/proctoring an exam

Example:
학생들이 시험을 보는 동안 저는 그들을 감독했어요 = I supervised the students while they wrote an exam

느끼다 = to feel

Common Usages:
느낌 = feeling
느껴지다 = to be felt

Example:
저는 그녀가 저의 머리를 만지는 것을 느꼈어요 = I felt her touch my hair

치우다 = to remove, to clear away

Common Usages:
방을 치우다 = to clean up/organize a room
눈을 치우다 = to remove/clean up snow
물건을 치우다 = to remove an object

Example:
저는 집 앞에 있는 눈을 다 치웠어요 = I cleaned up the snow in-front of the house
엄마가 나한테 방을 좀 치우라고 했어 = My mom told me to clean up my room a bit
책상이 너무 복잡해서 책을 조금 치워야 돼요 = I need to clean up (organize) the books a bit because my desk is very messy/unorganized

지우다 = to wipe off, to erase

Common Usages:
화장을 지우다 = to wash one’s makeup off
얼룩을 지우다 = to get rid of a stain

자기 전에 화장을 지워야 돼요
= Before one sleeps, they should remove their makeup

그 얼룩을 그 바지에 못 지울 것 같아요
= You probably won’t be able to get rid of that stain on those pants

선생님이 수업을 시작하기 전에 전 선생님이 칠판에 쓴 글을 다 지웠어요
= Before starting the class, the teacher erased the words/writing that the previous teacher wrote on the board

두다 = to put, to set, to place something

Common Usages:
놔두다 = to put something down
두고 가다 = to set something down, and then go

Example:
그 책을 아무데나 두세요 = Put that book down anywhere!

Passive Verbs:
느껴지다 = to be felt

Notes: Usually ~게 is attached to an adjective and then 느껴지다 follows that construction.

Example:
저는 기숙사에서 외롭게 느껴졌어요 = I felt lonely at the dorm
그 여행은 길게 느껴졌어요 = That trip felt like a long time

Adjectives:
달다 = to be sweet

달다 follows the ㄹ irregular

Common Usages:
단 맛 = sweet taste

Example:
스타벅스 커피가 너무 달아요 = Starbucks coffee is too sweet

깊다 = to be deep

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “깁따”

Common Usages:
깊은 의미 = deep meaning

Example:
애기 수영장은 지 않아요 = Baby swimming pools are not deep

조용하다 = to be quiet

Common Usages:
조용! = Shhh! Be quiet!
쥐 죽은 듯이 조용하다 = To be as quiet as a mouse (literally, as if a mouse died)

Examples:
요즘에는 길이 너무 조용해요 = These days the streets are very quiet
학생들은 조용히 공부했어요 = The students studied quietly

뜨겁다 = to be hot

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “뜨겁따”

뜨겁다 follows the ㅂ irregular

Common Usages:
뜨거운 물 = hot water
뜨거운 박수 = a warm applause

Notes: Only used to describe objects when they are hot. Not when describing the weather and usually not when describing one’s body temperature. It would only be used to describe a body temperature if somebody’s body is hot to the touch.

Example:
물이 매우 뜨거워서 만지지 마세요 = Don’t touch the water because it is very hot

차갑다 = to be cold

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “차갑다”

차갑다 follows the ㅂ irregular

Common Usages
차가운 물 = cold water
차갑게 거절하다 = to reject coldly

Only used to describe objects when they are cold. Not when describing the weather and usually not when describing one’s body temperature. It would only be used to describe a body temperature if somebody’s body is cold to the touch.

Example:
차가운 물을 주세요 = Please give me cold water

친절하다 = to be nice, to be kind

Common Usages:
친절한 사람 = a nice person
친절하게 대우하다 = to treat somebody nicely

Example:
한국 사람들은 아주 친절해요 = Korean people are very nice

Adverbs and Other Words:
= before/ago

Common Usages:
그 전에 = before that
식전 = before eating/after a meal
조금 전에 = just a bit before/earlier

Used to indicate that something was done before a certain time, for example:
저는 2주 에 남동생을 만났어요 = I met my brother 2 weeks ago
저는 그 에 한국어를 잘 못 했어요 = I couldn’t speak Korean well before that

Also used to indicate that something happens before an action:
한국에 오기 에 저는 한국어를 배웠어요 = I learned Korean before I came to Korea

직전 = just before

Example:
한국에 오기 직전에 저는 한국어를 배웠어요 = I learned Korean right before I came to Korea

= after/later

Common Usages:
그 후에 = after that
식후 = after eating/after a meal

Used to indicate that something was done after a certain time, for example:
수업은 2분 에 끝날 거예요 = Class will finish 2 minutes from now

Also used to indicate that something happens after an action:
밥을 먹은 에 친구를 만났어요 = After I ate, I met a friend

직후 = right after

Example:
우리가 먹은 직후에 잠에 들었어요 = We fell asleep right after eating

이래 = since

Notes: 후에 is used much more commonly than 이래(로).

Example:
한국에 온 에 한국어를 배우고 있어요 = After coming to Korea, I have been learning Korean
한국에 온 이래로 한국어를 배우고 있어요 = Since coming to Korea, I have been learning Korean

잠시 = a moment

Common Usages:
잠시 후에 = a short time after, a moment after
잠시만 = just a moment

Example:
우리는 잠시 후에 나갈 거예요 = We are going to go outside shortly

잠깐 = a short time

Common Usages:
잠깐만! = just a moment

Example:
잠깐만 기다려 주세요! = Wait just a moment, please!
저는 침대에 잠깐 눕고 싶어요 = I want to lie down for just a second
저는 신발을 신으러 잠깐 앉았어요 = I sat down for a minute in order to put on my shoe
그 문제를 해결하려고 우리는 잠깐 만났어요 = In order to solve that problem, we met for a little bit
죄송해요! 저는 잠깐 집에 들러야 돼요 = Sorry! I need to pop into the house for a second

이내 = within

Example:
저는 5년 이내에 외국어를 다섯 개 배우고 싶어요 = I want to learn five languages within 5 years

For help memorizing these words, try using our mobile app.

 

Introduction

In Lesson 11, you learned a wide variety of different “time” words that you can use in sentences. In that lesson, I said that there were two more words that were very important when talking about time (전 and 후). In that lesson, I said that I would teach you those two words sometime later. Well, this is now later.

In this lesson, you will learn how to use the words 전 and 후 as well as some other similar words. Let’s get started:
.

 

 

Before/Ago ()

The word ‘전’ translates to ‘before’ or ‘ago’ depending on where it is used. When placed after any indication of time (2 seconds, 5 minutes, 10 hours, 4 days, 3 weeks, 2 years, etc…) it has the meaning of “ago.” For example:

2 초 전에 = 2 seconds ago
5 분 전에 = 5 minutes ago
열 시간 전에 = 10 hours ago*
4 일 전에 = 4 days ago
3 주 전에 = 3 weeks ago
2 년 전에 = 2 years ago

*I typically write the word instead of the numeral when referring to an hour. To see why, check out Lesson 10 and 11.

Notice that ‘에’ gets added to ‘전’ because it is referring to a time.

You can now use those words in sentences very intuitively:

저는 2주 전에 남동생을 만났어요 = I met my brother 2 weeks ago
구름은 5분 전에 걷혔어요 = The clouds cleared up 5 minutes ago

When ‘전’ is placed after a verb, it translates to “before.” When you want to use 전 like this, you must add ~기 to the verb stem of the preceding verb:

제가 먹기 전에 = before I ate
제가 가기 전에 = before I go
제가 오기 전에 = before I come

A few very important things before I say anything else:

There is a reason why ~기 is added to the stem of a verb. Adding ~기  to the stem of a verb is a topic I cover in detail in Lesson 29.

Another thing. You can essentially add any sentence to the (verb-stem)~기 전에 grammatical form and it will have the meaning of “before (this happened).” You could say something like “the country of Canada becomes a sovereign state기 전에” and it would have the meaning of “before Canada became a sovereign state”… Of course, that is a terrible example because in English the verb doesn’t come at the end of the sentence.

You are now ready to create two-clause sentences. Up to this point we have dealt with sentences having only one clause, meaning one subject, one object, and one predicating verb or adjective. To illustrate, in the following sentences subjects are colored red, objects are blue, and predicating verbs or adjectives are green. (Adverbs and other parts of the sentences are not colored):

나는 너를 사랑해 = I love you
아버지는 언제 왔어요? = When did dad come?
저와 엄마는 밥을 같이 먹었어요 = Mom and I ate (rice)
그 여자들은 예뻐요 = Those girls are pretty
저는 똑똑한 여자들좋아해요 = I only like smart girls

However, there are grammatical principles (in English and Korean) that allow us to create more than one clause. Each clause is able to have a subject, object and also a verb/adjective. A sentence with more than one clause could therefore have more than one subject, object or verb/adjective. For example:

When I go home, my mom will be waiting for me
When my mother ate a hotdog, I ate a hamburger
Before I eat, I want to wash my hands
After I saw the movie, my friend called me
I don’t want to meet him because he isn’t nice

The grammatical rules of a Korean sentence with two (or more) clauses are similar those with only one clause. However, when a sentence has two (or more) clauses, the particle ~는/은 cannot be placed on the subject of both clauses. Instead, it can only be attached to the subject of the main clause of the sentence.

The main clause of a sentence is the clause that is expressing the main idea of the sentence. One way to find the non-main clause (referred to as the “sub-clause” for the remainder of this lesson) is by looking for the part of the sentence that tells us when/where/why/how the main idea is happening. For example:

When I go home, my mom will be waiting for me
– Main clause: My mom will be waiting for me
– When will this happen: When I go home

When my mother ate a hotdog, I ate a hamburger
– Main clause: I ate a hamburger
– When did this happen: When my mother ate a hotdog

Before I eat, I want to wash my hands
– Main clause: I want to wash my hands
– When did this happen: Before I eat

After I saw the movie, my friend called me
– Main clause: My friend called me
– When did happen: After I saw the movie

I don’t want to meet him because he isn’t nice
– Main clause: I don’t want to meet him
– Why does this happen: because he isn’t nice

Notice that if you eliminate the sub-clause, the main clause still makes sense. However, if you eliminate the main clause, you are left with an incomplete sentence.

Let’s go back to ~기 전에 and see how these rules apply. In the following sentence:
“Before my mom came, I ate rice”

Which clause is the main clause? Which clause is the sub-clause?
“I ate rice” is the main idea of the sentence. It is a perfect sentence by itself.

“Before my mom came” describes when the action in the main clause takes place. It is also an incomplete sentence by itself.

Therefore, this sentence in Korean can be written as:
엄마가 오기 전에 나는 밥을 먹었어 = Before my mom came, I ate (rice)

I am going to talk about how the particles ~는/은 and ~이/가 can be used in these sentences. I’m going to separate this discussion with a line before and after it in an attempt to organize it a little bit.

———————————————————————-

Notice that ~는/은 is attached to the subject of the main clause of the sentence. The reverse would be incorrect. For example:
엄마는 오기 전에 내가 밥을 먹었어 – incorrect

Placing ~는/은 on both subjects would also be incorrect:
엄마는 오기 전에 나는 밥을 먹었어 – incorrect

However, placing ~이/가 on both subjects is acceptable. That is, it is not necessary to place ~는/은 on the subject of the main clause of the sentence, just like how (as you learned in Lesson 2) it is not necessary to place ~은/는 on the subject of the following sentence:

고양이가 집 뒤에 있어요 = The cat is behind the house

Placing ~는/은 on the subject of the main clause of a multi-clause sentence has the same effect of adding ~는/은 to the subject of a sentence with one clause. That is, it could indicate that something is being compared with something else. It could also have the exact same meaning as a sentence with “~이/가” used as the subject particles. In both situations, the context is the only thing that can determine if there is a subtle difference in meaning. For example:

친구가 오기 전에 저는 은행에 갔어요 = Before my friend came, I went to the bank, or
친구가 오기 전에 제가 은행에 갔어요 = Before my friend came, I went to the bank

There could be a difference between these two sentences. If the context allowed for it, the feeling is that “I” is being compared to another noun. For example, “before your friend came, (maybe) your girlfriend stayed home but you (I) went to the bank.”

Sometimes, the use of “~는/은” as the subject particle creates a different translation in English, although the end result of the sentence is the same. Notice the difference between the following possible English translations:

친구가 오기 전에 저는 은행에 갔어요 = Before my friend came, I was the person who went to the bank (compared to my girlfriend who stayed home)
친구가 오기 전에 제가 은행에 갔어요 = Before my friend came, I went to the bank

If you are unsure of this distinction between ~은/는 and ~이/가 I encourage you to re-read the distinction made in Lesson 2 and Lesson 22.

Almost all of the time, when you are making the sub-clause to go before “~전에,” ~이/가 will be attached to the subject of that clause. The only time this isn’t the case is when the subject of both clauses is the same. In these cases, it is acceptable to place “~는/은” on the subject of the first clause, and eliminate it from the second clause. For example:

나는 오기 전에 밥을 먹었어 = Before I came, I ate
Instead of:
내가 오기 전에 나는 밥을 먹었어 = Before I came, I ate

Remember that Korean people love shortening their sentences. Every chance they get, they want to eliminate something from their sentences. So, instead of saying “내가… 나는…” you only need to say “I” once.

———————————————————————-

Also notice that (like a lot of things in Korean), no indication of tense is made before ~기 전에. Instead, the tense is determined by the conjugation of the main clause:

엄마가 오기 전에 나는 먹었어 = Before mom came, I ate
엄마가 오기 전에 나는 먹을 거야 = Before mom comes, I will eat

Many more examples of ~기 전에:
한국에 오기 전에 저는 한국어를 배웠어요 = I learned Korean before I came to Korea
수박을 먹기 전에 사과를 먹었어요 = Before I ate a watermelon I ate an apple
양복을 입기 전에 목욕을 했어요 = Before putting on the suit I took a bath
구름이 걷히기 전에 비가 왔어요 = Before the clouds cleared it rained
집에서 나가기 전에 방을 치웠어요 = Before leaving the house I cleaned my room
제가 아내와 결혼하기 전에 우리는 2년 동안 사귀었어요 = Before marrying my wife, we went out/dated for 2 years

 

 

After/Later ()

The word ‘후’ translates to ‘after’ or ‘later/from now’ depending on how it is used in Korean sentences. When placed after any indication of time (2 seconds, 5 minutes, 10 hours, 4 days, 3 weeks, 2 years, etc…) it has the meaning of “later/from now:” For example:

2 초 후에 = 2 seconds later/from now
5 분 후에 = 5 minutes later/from now
열 시간 후에 = 10 hours later/from now*
4 일 후에 = 4 days later/from now
3 주 후에 = 3 weeks later/from now
2 년 후에 = 2 years later/from now

*I typically write the word instead of the numeral when referring to an hour. To see why, check out Lesson 10 and 11.

You can use these sentences intuitively just like sentences with “전.” For example:

두 시간 후에 갈 거예요 = I will go 2 hours from now
수업은 2분 후에 끝날 거예요 = Class will finish 2 minutes from now

When ‘후’ is placed after a verb, it has the meaning of “after.” You learned earlier in this lesson that you must add ~기 to the stem of a verb to make “~기 전에.” When using “후” after a verb, you do not add ~기 to the stem of the word. Instead, you must add ~ㄴ/은 to the stem of the verb. ~은 gets added to a stem where the final syllable ends in a consonant. ~ㄴ gets added directly to stems ending in a vowel. For example:

내가 먹은 후에 = After I eat
내가 간 후에 = After I go

These can now go into sentences like “~기 전에”

숙제가 끝난 후에 나는 집에 갈 거예요 = After my homework is finished, I will go home
밥을 먹은 후에 친구를 만났어요 = After I ate I met a friend
과자를 많이 먹은 후에 배가 아팠어요 = After eating a lot of candy/snacks, my stomach was sore
구두를 신은 후에 의자에서 일어났어요 = After putting on my boots, I got up from the chair
방을 치운 후에 밖에 나갔어요 = After cleaning up my room, I went outside

It is also possible to substitute the word 다음 (which you learned about in Lesson 11) for 후 to create the same meaning. For example:

숙제가 끝난 다음에 나는 집에 갈 거예요 = After my homework is finished, I will go home
밥을 먹은 다음에 친구를 만났어요 = After I ate I met a friend
과자를 많이 먹은 다음에 배가 아팠어요 = After eating a lot of candy/snacks, my stomach was sore
구두를 신은 다음에 의자에서 일어났어요 = After putting on my boots, I got up from the chair
방을 치운 다음에 밖에 나갔어요 = After cleaning up my room, I went outside

You can see in the vocabulary list that there are also these words:

직전 = just before
직후 = right after

These two can be used just like 전 and 후 respectively – the difference being that the addition of “직” emphasizes that something was done immediately before or after the action or indication of time. For example:

아들이 저녁 먹기 직전에 과자를 먹었어요 = Right before having dinner, he (the son) ate candy/snacks
경찰관이 오기 직전에 그 사람이 갔어요 = That person left right before the police came

양복을 입은 직후에 밖에 나갔어요 = Right after I put on the suit, I went outside
전화번호를 받은 직후에 잃어버렸어요 = Right after I got his phone number, I lost it

One quick thing. In a lot of the example sentences above, I placed the ~기 전에 or ~ㄴ/은 후에 clauses before the main clause of the sentence. It is important to recognize something here – what we are essentially doing is creating a unit that gives us an indication of time. For example:

친구가 오기 전에 저는 은행에 갔어요 = Before my friend came, I went to the bank

“친구가 오기 전에” can just be seen as one unit that can be placed elsewhere in a sentence, just like other adverbs that give us an indication of time. For example:

저는 (at some time) 은행에 갔어요 =I went to the bank (at some time)
저는 (어제) 은행에 갔어요 = I went to the bank (yesterday)
저는 (친구가 오기 전에) 은행에 갔어요 = I went to the bank (before my friend came)

Therefore, although I often place this indication of time before the clause, it doesn’t always need to be there, and it is the discretion of the speaker that will decide exactly where to place it. Being able to create a single unit from a clause like this is a quick introduction to what you will begin learning in Lesson 26 – where you will be able to manipulate entire clauses to describe nouns in the middle of sentences.

 

Since: ~ㄴ/은 이래로

The word “since” in Korean (이래로) can be used in place of “후” in ~ㄴ/은 후에 to have the meaning of “since I…”:

한국에 온 이래로 한국어를 배우고 있어요 = Since coming to Korea, I have been learning Korean
열심히 공부한 이래로 실력은 빨리 늘었어요 = Since studying hard, my skills have been quickly increasing

Those two sentences are perfectly correct, but you should know that Korean people rarely use the word 이래로. You can use it, and everybody will understand what you mean (they will probably be impressed because 이래로 is a difficult word). Instead, it is more common for Korean people to use ~ㄴ/은 후에 to have the meaning of “since.” For example:

한국에 온 이래로 한국어를 배우고 있어요.. is better said like this:
한국에 온 후에 한국어를 배우고 있어요 = After coming to Korea, I have been learning Korean

열심히 공부한 이래로 실력은 빨리 늘었어요… is better said like this:
열심히 공부한 후에 실력은 빨리 늘었어요 = After studying hard, my skills have been quickly increasing

 

 Within/inside (/이내)

Two other words that you can use in similar situations as 전 and 후 are 안 and 이내. You already know the word “안” can be used in sentences to mean “inside:”

나는 집 안에 있다 = I am inside the house

If 안/이내 are placed after an indication of time, they have the meaning of “within” that time period. For example:

나는 5년 이내에 외국어 다섯 개를 배우고 싶어 = I want to learn five languages within 5 years
나는 5년 안에 외국어 다섯 개를 배우고 싶어 = I want to learn five languages within 5 years

우리는 1년 이내 결혼할 거예요 = We will get married within one year
우리는 1년 안에 결혼할 거예요 = We will get married within one year

This was a bit of an easy lesson as well! This lesson and the one before it were pretty easy – but don’t worry – you are almost at Unit 2, and the lessons in that unit will be really hard!

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Want to practice your listening skills?

This YouTube video will prompt you with Korean sentences to dictate using the concepts from this lesson.