Grammar Snap: 때문에 and -기 때문에

In Korean, there are too many versions of "because" for me to count today.  However, 때문에 is the best generic one to choose when you aren't sure.  Here are the important things to know about it:

1. It can be used like, "때문에" like English speakers might say, "Just because".  It's equally informal and potentially impolite.

2. It is often used to end a sentence even though it's not supposed to.  "학교 때문에요". Just randomly add "요" to make it sound more polite.

3. Korean sentence logic goes like this:

 First: The cause           학교에 나는 늦게 오기 때문에 
 Second: The effect       선생님이 화가 나요.

 학교에 나는 늦게 오기 때문에 선생님이 화가 나요.

4. It can be used with past tense ㅆ like 왔기 때문에.

Grammar Snap: Verb + 은/는 Topic Marker

This is a very simple grammar point which becomes very stressful when it is poorly explained.  Here is the simple explanation I wish I had heard first.

V+은/는 marks the topic of conversation.  If you aren't changing the topic of conversation, don't use it.

If I say:

"이번 주에서는 나가..." then we are talking about what happened this week.

If I say:

"이번 주 나는..." then we are talking about me and what I did that took place this week.

It is important to note that 은/느 marks the TOPIC of conversation while 이/가 marks the SUBJECT of the sentence. This becomes confusing when the TOPIC of conversation and the SUBJECT of the sentence are these same thing.  To fully understand this concept you MUST read books as much as possible.