Reading
Place a sentence in a passage
Seemile Easy TOPIK I · reading · pp. 123–124
Understand the task
A sentence must fit both its preceding and following context. Finding one matching noun is not sufficient. The book’s piano example connects an earlier inability with a later ability through 그렇지만. Look for a missing link in the passage’s logic, then test the candidate sentence at that point.
Check both neighboring sentences. A reference such as 그 or 이 usually needs an earlier noun, and the next sentence should continue the same idea.
How to solve this question type
- Read the given sentence independently and identify its referents, time and grammatical relationship.
- Look for a noun that supports 그/이 or for a contrast that needs 처음에는 versus 지금은.
- Insert the sentence and read a three-sentence window. Check the reference before it and the logical continuation after it.
Grammar and expressions
V-(으)ㄴ 지 ... 되다
Express time elapsed since an action started or occurred.
피아노를 배운 지 삼 년이 되었습니다.
It has been three years since I started learning piano.
V-게 되다
Express a change or a situation reached.
노래를 잘 칠 수 있게 되었습니다.
I became able to play songs well.
V-(으)면서
Describe two actions performed at the same time by the same subject.
피아노를 치면서 노래를 부릅니다.
I sing while playing the piano.
Vocabulary for this type
- 처음에는
- at first
- 지금은
- now, in contrast
- 전혀 ... 못하다
- cannot at all
- 주머니
- 따로
- separately
- 열쇠
- key
A worked example
처음에는 피아노를 전혀 치지 못했습니다. 그렇지만 지금은 여러 노래를 잘 칠 수 있습니다.
At first I could not play the piano at all. However, now I can play several songs well.
- 처음에는 sets up an earlier state that contrasts with 지금은.
- 그렇지만 requires a genuine contrast, not two unrelated positive facts.
- The earlier inability belongs immediately before the sentence introducing the present ability.
Try it yourself
Practice 1
Insert: 그 가방에는 작은 주머니가 많습니다. [①] 어제 새 가방을 샀습니다. [②] 그래서 열쇠를 따로 넣을 수 있습니다. [③] 내일 처음으로 가방을 쓰려고 합니다. [④]
Insert: That bag has many small pockets. Yesterday I bought a new bag. So I can put my keys in separately. I plan to use the bag for the first time tomorrow.
Where does the sentence fit best?
- ①
- ②
- ③
- ④
Answer and explanation
2. ②
그 가방 refers to the new bag. Its pockets explain why the keys can go in separately.
- Before the first sentence, 그 가방 has no introduced bag to refer to.
- After the purchase, 그 가방 has an antecedent, and the pockets explain 그래서 열쇠를 따로 넣을 수 있습니다.
- After the sentence about keys, the explanation of its cause comes too late for the intended flow.
- After the final future plan, the pockets no longer connect naturally to the earlier 그래서 sentence.
Review your reasoning
- Option 1: Before the first sentence, 그 가방 has no introduced bag to refer to.
- Option 2: After the purchase, 그 가방 has an antecedent, and the pockets explain 그래서 열쇠를 따로 넣을 수 있습니다.
- Option 3: After the sentence about keys, the explanation of its cause comes too late for the intended flow.
- Option 4: After the final future plan, the pockets no longer connect naturally to the earlier 그래서 sentence.
Try the question again with the explanation closed. Identify the exact phrase that supports the answer, then explain which detail makes each other option unsuitable.