Lesson 3 있다 “To be at a location”

Lesson 3 있다 “To be at a location” in Korean

Lesson 3 있다 "To be at a location"

Korean Vocabulary

컴퓨터 computer
어디 where
에 at
있다 to be at a location
책상 desk
위 on top, on top of
핸드폰 cell phone
없다 to not be at a location
가방 bag, backpack
안 inside

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Table of Contents

있다 “To be at a location” in Korean (Present Tense)

Korean Location Words

없다 “To not be at a location” in Korean (Present Tense)

Where? with 있다

Where? with 이다

Lesson 3 있다 “To be at a location” Review

 

있다 “To be at a location” in Korean (Present Tense)

The verb 있다 has many uses in Korean. Here we will focus on one “To be at a location” in Korean.
있다 is “To exist at a location” or “To be at a location” in Korean.
So 있다 is used to say things like: “I am at home.” or “I am behind the school.”

 

에 is “At” in Korean

에 gets attached to the end of a location word.

 

Location에

집에 home에 at home
학교에 school에 at school
 

 

있다 Dictionary Form Sentence Structure

 있다 has not been conjugated yet and is the form you would find in the dictionary.
If a Korean verb ends in the syllable 다 then it is in the dictionary form.
The dictionary form is usually not used while speaking.
Sentence Structure:

Topic은/는   Location에   있다

나는 집에 있다
I는 home에 am.
I am at home. 
나는 학교에 있다
I는 school에 am.
I am at school.

 

 

Korean Location Words

위 on top, on top of
밑 under, below
앞 in front, in front of
뒤 behind
옆 next to, beside, by
안 inside
밖 outside
아레 bottom
근처 near, nearby
건너편 across
맞은편 right across, directly across
반대편 on the other side, opposite side
반대쪽 on the other side, opposite side

 

w/ Korean Location Words Sentence Structure

By adding Korean Location Words you can say sentences like: “I am in front of the home.” or “I am behind the school.”

Sentence structure in dictionary form:

Topic은/는   Noun   LocationWord에   있다

나는 집 앞에 있다
I는 home in front of에 am.
I am in front of the home. 
나는 학교 뒤에 있다
I는 school behind에 am.
I am behind the school.

If the placement of an object is obvious then you don’t need to say the locations words.

Ex.

A: Where is the soap?

B: 비누는 화장실 안에 있다. = The soap is in the bathroom.

Changes to:

A: Where is the soap?

B: 비누는 화장실에 있다. = The soap is in the bathroom.

 

있다 with Korean Honorifics (Present Tense)

The 있다 forms below have been conjugated based on Korean Honorifics. If you don’t know about these you should learn about it in Lesson 1. Korean Honorifics are very important.

These sentences structures are examples of what you can use in everyday life when speaking to people.

 

Informal Level 있어

To conjugate 있다 to the informal level follow this formula:

있다 – 다 = 있

있 + 어 = 있어

♦ Topic은/는   Location에   있어

Remember the pronunciation of 있어 is [이써]
나는 집에 있어
I는 home에 am.
I am at home. 
나는 학교에 있어
I는 school에 am.
I am at school.

♦ Topic은/는   Noun   LocationWord에   있어

나는 집 앞에 있어
I는 home in front of에 am.
I am in front of the home. 
나는 학교 뒤에 있어
I는 school behind에 am.
I am behind the school.

 

Polite Level 있어요

To conjugate 있다 to the polite level follow this formula:

있다 – 다 = 있

있 + 어요 = 있어요

 ♦ Topic은/는   Location에   있어요

Remember the pronunciation of 있어요 is [이써요]
나는 집에 있어요
I는 home에 am.
I am at home. 
나는 학교에 있어요
I는 school에 am.
I am at school.

♦ Topic은/는   Noun   LocationWord에   있어요

나는 집 앞에 있어요
I는 home in front of에 am.
I am in front of the home. 
나는 학교 뒤에 있어요
I는 school behind에 am.
I am behind the school.

 

Honorific Level 있습니다

To conjugate 있다 to the honorific level follow this formula:

있다 – 다 = 있

있 + 습니다 = 있습니다

 ♦ Topic은/는   Location에   있습니다

Remember the pronunciation of 있습니다 is [이씀니다]
나는 집에 있습니다
I는 home에 am.
I am at home. 
나는 학교에 있습니다
I는 school에 am.
I am at school.

♦ Topic은/는   Noun   LocationWord에   있습니다

나는 집 앞에 있습니다
I는 home in front of에 am.
I am in front of the home. 
나는 학교 뒤에 있습니다
I는 school behind에 am.
I am behind the school.
Learn Korean Language Tips:

The topic particles 은/는 can be replaced by the subject particles 이/가 in the sentence structures above. So how is that different?

은 and 는 are used for emphasis and comparison. 이 and 가 state facts. 

The differences and uses of 은/는, 이/가, and 을/를 were explained in How to Read Korean Hangul part 10 if you’d like a quick refresher.

Ex.

A: Where is the soap?

B: 비누는 화장실 안에 있다. = The soap is in the bathroom (in comparison to other things that are not in the bathroom).

Or:

A: Where is the soap?

B: 비누가 화장실에 있다. = The soap is in the bathroom. (fact)

 

없다 “To not be at a location” in Korean

(Present Tense)

없다 is the opposite of 있다.
없다 is “To not exist at a location” or “To not be at a location” in Korean.
없다 is the dictionary form.
In English we would just add the word “not” before “be.”
Ex. am not/is not/are not
Korean skips the word “not” in this situation and just uses one word, 없다.

 

없다 with Korean Honorifics (Present Tense)

The 없다 forms below have been conjugated based on Korean Honorifics. If you don’t know about these you should learn about them in Lesson 1. Korean Honorifics are very important.

These sentences structures are examples of what you can use in everyday life when talking to people.

 

Informal Level 없어

To conjugate 없다 to the honorific level follow this formula:

없다 – 다 = 없

없 + 어 = 없어

♦ Topic은/는   Location에   없어

Remember the pronunciation of 없어 is [업서]
나는 집에 없어
I는 home에 am not.
I am not at home. 
나는 학교에 없어
I는 school에 am not.
I am not at school.

♦ Topic은/는   Noun   LocationWord에   없어

나는 집 앞에 없어
I는 home in front of에 am not.
I am not in front of the home. 
나는 학교 뒤에 없어
I는 school behind에 am not.
I am not behind the school.

 

Polite Level 없어요

To conjugate 없다 to the honorific level follow this formula:

없다 – 다 = 없

없 + 어요 = 없어요

♦ Topic은/는   Location에   없어요

Remember the pronunciation of 없어요 is [업서요]
나는 집에 없어요
I는 home에 am not.
I am not at home. 
나는 학교에 없어요
I는 school에 am not.
I am not at school.

♦ Topic은/는   Noun   LocationWord에   없어요

나는 집 앞에 없어요
I는 home in front of에 am not.
I am not in front of the home. 
나는 학교 뒤에 없어요
I는 school behind에 am not.
I am not behind the school.

 

Honorific Level 없습니다

To conjugate 없다 to the honorific level follow this formula:

없다 – 다 = 없

없 + 습니다 = 없습니다

 ♦ Topic은/는   Location에   없습니다

Remember the pronunciation of 없습니다 is [업씀니다]
나는 집에 없습니다
I는 home에 am not.
I am not at home. 
나는 학교에 없습니다
I는 school에 am not.
I am not at school.

♦ Topic은/는   Noun   LocationWord에   없습니다

나는 집 앞에 없습니다
I는 home in front of에 am not.
I am not in front of the home. 
나는 학교 뒤에 없습니다
I는 school behind에 am not.
I am not behind the school.
Learn Korean Language Tips:

Remember the topic particles 은/는 can be replaced by the subject particles 이/가 in the sentence structures above. Do you remember how they are different?

은 and 는 are used for emphasis and comparison. 이 and 가 state facts.

 

Where? with 있다 

어디 is “Where” in Korean.

어디 can be used to ask where an object is or where a person that you are not talking to is.

Subject이/가   어디에   있다?

Informal Level Polite Level Honorific Level
우유가 어디에 있어? 우유가 어디에 있어요? 우유가 어디에 있습니다?
우유가 냉장고에 있어. 우유가 냉장고에 있어요. 우유가 냉장고에 있습니다.

우유가 어디에 있다? = Where is the milk?

우유가 냉장고에 있다. = The milk is in the refrigerator.

As long as the subject of the sentence is known then it doesn’t need to be said.

Ex.

A: 우유가 어디에 있어요? = Where is the milk?

B:우유가 냉장고에 있어요. = The milk is in the refrigerator.

Changes to:

A: 우유가 어디에 있어요? = Where is the milk?

B:냉장고에 있어요. = In the refrigerator.

Where? with 이다

이다 is “To Be” in Korean which you learned in Lesson 1.

If you are talking directly to a person and:

  1. You can’t see them.
  2. You are text messaging them.
  3. You are on the phone with them.
  4. Or a similar situation.

Then 이다 can be used to ask that person where they are.

이다 gets attached directly to 어디.

Informal Level Polite Level English
어디야? 어디예요? Where are you? 

If you want to ask where a place is then 이다 is also used.

Subject이/가   이다?

Informal Level Polite Level English
집이 어디야? 집이 어디예요? Where is the home? 
학교가 어디야? 학교가 어디예요? Where is the school?

 

Lesson 3 있다 “To be at a location” Review

혜란:  토마스, 컴퓨터가 어디에 있어요?

Hyeran: Thomas, where is the computer?

 

토마스:  책상 위에 있어요.

Thomas: On the desk.

 

혜란:  핸드폰이 책상 위에 있어요?

Hyeran: Is the cell phone on the desk?

 

토마스:  아니요, 없어요.

Thomas: No, it’s not.

 

혜란:  어디에 있어요?

Hyeran: Where is it?

토마스:  가방 안에 있어요.

Thomas: It’s in the bag.

 

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