12
votes
Accepted
What are the differences between 는 / 은 and 가 / 이?
은/는 mark the "topic" of a sentence, while 이/가 mark a "subject". This alone doesn't really help all that much to know when exactly to use which. For me, it really clicked when I learned longer English ...
- 959
8
votes
Accepted
How to make passives with the 에게 form
I think there is a lexical sensitivity to the choice between 에게 and the more formal and universal 에 의하여 (for 'by').
That is to say, most any active form can go into the passive and take 에 의하여. Your ...
- 1,287
8
votes
Accepted
Are both 집에 있다 and 집에서 있다 correct? Is there a difference in meaning?
Both 에 and 에서 are both 조사(助詞 - Particle)1 used after a noun, used to describe a location.
에 is a 조사 that describes 상태(狀態 - state of being).1 에서 is a 조사 that describes 행동(行動 - state of action).1
For ...
8
votes
Accepted
Is there a special meaning of '이' when added on to names?
Here 이 is not a particle, but a suffix added to human's name whose last character has final consonant. (See here)
지현이
아영이
아름이
정복이
*철수이
*영희이
When someone call one's full name, ...
- 1,062
7
votes
What does it mean when we add 이/가 on to the object of the verb?
To answer the very question asked,
why would we not just use 는/은 for that (그 것은 알고 싶다 , 사과는 먹고 싶어요)?
that's because it would sound very strange.
I can assure you that no native speaker would say
...
- 1,287
6
votes
two subjects in 당신은 이름이 뭐예요?
This is how the sentence is explained in Korean school grammar:
당신은 (이름이 뭐예요)
이름이 뭐예요 forms a single predicate clause, and the subject of the predicate clause is taken by 당신은. That means there are ...
- 7,442
6
votes
The use of 는 after 에
The particle 은/는 is sometimes used as an emphasiser. Ultimately, you could argue that this is always what it is being used as.
Although Korean learners are taught (at least I was) that 은/는 is a ...
- 3,924
6
votes
Accepted
two subjects in 당신은 이름이 뭐예요?
There are different ways to analyse the grammar, but one common way employed is to say that this sentence has a Topic - Comment structure.
In a topic - comment sentence, the topic does not necessarily ...
- 5,994
5
votes
What are the different causal connectives and how do they differ in nuance?
From what I've read, Koreans use the word '접속사'(接續詞 - Conjunction) when discussing English conjunctions. To be really exact, the examples you gave have more complicated labels than just '접속사'. For the ...
5
votes
Accepted
When listing many objects, use one 과/나 or many?
(이)나 is pretty much the equivalent of 'or' (although, it's a more restrictive 'or' since 아니면 covers the part that (이)나 can't). However, in a list that doesn't outline options or selections to choose ...
- 1,009
5
votes
Accepted
Why 아무도, not 아무가 to express "nobody"?
Explaining 아무도 as "nobody" is a bit misleading.
아무 is translatable to "any" and "anyone".
아무 말이나 해 봐라. say anything.
아무나 할 수 있습니다. anybody can do it.
아무 때나 찾아와. come find me anytime.
And, of ...
- 7,442
5
votes
Accepted
Why use 가 in 의사가 되세요?
I'm learning about the usage on (으)세요, but my textbook explains that
you cannot use 이다 in (으세요) form. So the following sentence is invalid:
의사이세요
You can add the honorific particle (으)시 to 이다 ...
- 13.5k
5
votes
Accepted
Absence of subject marker?
비행기를 보는 사람이 많습니다. [pihaenggi-reul po-neun saram-i manh-seumni-da]
Presumably, 이 is the verb "to be"
Here, 이 is the subject marker. 많습니다 on its own conveys the full meaning of 'there are a ...
- 13.5k
4
votes
two subjects in 당신은 이름이 뭐예요?
I don't know how modern grammarians interpret similar sentences, but when I learned Korean grammar in middle school, they were called 서술절 ("verb clauses"). It is not found in English or (I ...
- 7,217
4
votes
The particle (이)야 and its exact meaning
이야 is just an emphasizing particle(put after nouns or adverbs), nothing else. In other words, you can drop it or replace it with 은/는 with no changes in meaning.
남이야 하나 마나 우린 꼭 합시다. = 남이 하나 마나 우린 꼭 ...
- 7,442
4
votes
What does the particle -이자 mean?
-이자 consists of two parts: 이다 and -자. 이다 is just the standard copula, and -자 is a verb ending, which indicates both states are simultaneously engaged.
So yes, it does mean "as well as" when it's ...
- 7,442
4
votes
A subject marker question
"저는 여기가 처음이에요" actually has a very interesting structure, called 서술절: it seems this term is translated into English as "predicative clause" or "predicate clause".
Basically, "여기가 처음이에요" (literally, "...
- 7,217
4
votes
How do I use 도 (also, too)?
You always attach 도 to a noun, so if you want to use it with a verb, you have to use a noun form of that verb.
Also, depending on which word you attach 도 to, you emphasize that the "also/too" refers ...
- 41
4
votes
Accepted
Does the suffix 다 identify verbs and adjectives?
First, the choice of -다 as "base dictionary form" is, in a sense, an arbitrary convention.
Unlike English, Korean verbs always require a suffix. You will never see someone just saying "...
- 7,217
3
votes
When should I use 이/가 as a 'copular complement particle'?
이/가 is used at the end of a noun to express that the noun it accompanies plays the role of the subject of the sentence.
That being said, 이/가 can be used with any verb or the verb-like form of any ...
- 141
3
votes
What are the differences between 는 / 은 and 가 / 이?
The 는 and 은 markers are "topic markers" and are used when introducing a new subject. The 가 and 이 markers are "subject markers" and are used when discussing a known topic. The difference can be subtle.
...
- 146
3
votes
Accepted
Is it true that Korean nouns and pronouns use different particles?
I would say it is false.
There are hundreds of Korean pronouns in the Standard Korean Language Dictionary (SKLD) and 47 pronouns have often been used in speaking or writing according to 한국어 학습용 어휘 목록....
- 3,238
3
votes
Accepted
Doubt about "Both X and Y"
You can say:
카페도 많고 식당도 많습니다.
카페와 식당이 많습니다. (These two are almost equivalent, I personally can't tell any difference.)
카페도 식당도 많습니다. (This also makes sense, but my personal impression is that this ...
- 694
3
votes
Accepted
What is wrong with: 저는 펜을 있어요
'을' is an object particle(목적격/대격 조사). In that case, '펜' should be an object, and we need a transitive verb. In the sentence '있다' seems to have the meaning 'to have', but lexically it just means 'to ...
- 46
2
votes
What are the differences between 는 / 은 and 가 / 이?
이 or 가 is used as the following:
A "subject" marker (I would call it a subjective "focus/topic" introducer.)
꽃이 예쁘다.
비가 내린다.
어떤 사람이 걷는다.
종이가 하얗다.
어린애가 생각이 많다. (어린애 is the ...
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