JKG: Postposition_prenominal (관형격 조사)

Definition

JKG is a prenominal postposition that attaches to nouns to indicate possession or modify the preceding words by specifying their attributes.

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Characteristics

• Elements with JKG function as modifiers in a sentence, specifying a particular noun phrase.
• ‘-의’ is the most commonly used JKG, similar to the English apostrophe-s (’s).
• Examples:
  • 선생님의 수업을 들은 적 있다.
  • 가족의 의견을 들어볼게요.

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Boundary cases and clarifications

Special cases

1. Possessive contractions in pronouns
   • ‘내’ and ‘제’ are contracted forms of ‘나’ and ‘저’ combined with ‘-의’. When parsing, they should be separated into their original components.
   • 내 생각을 말하자면: 나(NP) + 의(JKG)
   • 이것은 제 신발입니다: 저(NP) + 의(JKG)
2. Historical usage of ‘-ㅅ’ as a JKG
   • In historical Korean, ‘-ㅅ(사이 시옷)’ functioned as JKG. In modern Korean, it is no longer used independently but remains as a vestige in some compound nouns. Therefore, ‘-ㅅ’ should not be parsed separately as JKG.
   • Examples: 어젯밤(NNG), 나뭇잎(NNG)

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Examples

• 주말에 빌리의 집에 갔습니다.
• 우리가 좋아하는 가수의 앨범이 나왔어요.
• 너의 목소리가 들려!
• 이 친구를 만나면 내 기분이 좋아져요.
• 제 동생이 한국에 올 것입니다.