있다 is one of the busiest verbs in Korean, and it does two jobs English keeps apart. It covers existence and location ("there is," "is at" — 책이 있어요, 집에 있어요) and possession ("have" — 저는 시간이 있어요). There is no separate verb "to have"; Korean says, literally, "as-for-me, time exists." This page lays out the full paradigm across the four speech levels and settles the one form learners get wrong most: the present attributive is 있는 (the verbal -는), never ×있은.
The stem and its harmony
The stem is 있-, ending in the double-strength batchim ㅆ. When you add the polite ending, vowel harmony decides between 아 and 어: the stem vowel ㅣ is neither ㅏ nor ㅗ, so it takes 어 — 있 + 어요 → 있어요 (pronounced [이써요], the ㅆ liaising onto the following vowel). Every polite-style form below flows from that one choice.
The full paradigm
Rows are tense/aspect; columns are the four speech levels. Each cell shows Hangul with its Revised-Romanization reading beneath.
| Tense / aspect | 해요체 (polite) | 합니다체 (formal) | 반말 (casual) | 한다체 (plain/written) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | 있어요 isseoyo | 있습니다 itseumnida | 있어 isseo | 있다 itda |
| Present question | 있어요? isseoyo | 있습니까? itseumnikka | 있어? isseo | 있냐? / 있니? innya / inni |
| Past | 있었어요 isseosseoyo | 있었습니다 isseotseumnida | 있었어 isseosseo | 있었다 isseotda |
| Future / conjecture | 있겠어요 itgesseoyo | 있겠습니다 itgetseumnida | 있겠어 itgesseo | 있겠다 itgetda |
| Probable future (-을 거예요) | 있을 거예요 isseul geoyeyo | 있을 겁니다 isseul geomnida | 있을 거야 isseul geoya | 있을 것이다 isseul geosida |
| Attributive (present) | 있는 — inneun (맛있는 음식, 재미있는 책) — the verbal -는, never ×있은 | |||
| Connectives | 있고 (itgo, "and") · 있어서 (isseoseo, "so / because") · 있으면 (isseumyeon, "if") · 있으니까 (isseunikka, "since") | |||
| Ability: -(으)ㄹ 수 있다 | 갈 수 있어요 (gal su isseoyo, "can go") · 할 수 있어요 (hal su isseoyo, "can do") | |||
Why the attributive is 있는, not 있은
Here is the fact that competitor sites bury. Korean modifiers split by word class: verbs take -는 in the present (먹는 밥, "rice that [someone] eats"), while adjectives (descriptive verbs) take -(으)ㄴ (좋은 사람, "a good person"). 있다 feels adjectival — "there is," "exists" — but it patterns as a verb for noun-modification. So its present attributive is 있는, and that is precisely why the compounds are 맛있는 (delicious), 재미있는 (fun/interesting), 멋있는 (cool) — never ×맛있은. Memorize the shape once and a whole family of adjectives falls into place.
이 근처에 맛있는 식당 있어요?
i geuncheoe masinneun sikdang isseoyo
Is there a good restaurant near here?
주말에 재미있는 일 있었어?
jumare jaemiinneun il isseosseo
Did anything fun happen over the weekend? (casual)
Existence, location, and possession
The same 있다 covers all three; only the particles change. Location marks the place with 에; existence and possession mark the thing that exists with 이/가.
지금 집에 있어요.
jigeum jibe isseoyo
I'm at home right now.
냉장고에 우유가 있어요.
naengjanggoe uyuga isseoyo
There's milk in the fridge.
저는 오늘 시간이 있어요.
jeoneun oneul sigani isseoyo
I have time today.
Notice that "I have time" is literally "as-for-me, time exists" — the possessed thing (시간) is the grammatical subject with 이/가, not an object. That case frame gets its own possession page.
Past, formal, and the -(으)ㄹ 수 있다 frame
어제는 약속이 있었습니다.
eojeneun yaksogi isseotseumnida
I had an appointment yesterday. (formal)
한국어로 이메일을 쓸 수 있어요.
hangugeoro imeireul sseul su isseoyo
I can write emails in Korean.
걱정 마, 다 잘될 거야. 아직 시간 있어.
geokjeong ma, da jaldoel geoya. ajik sigan isseo
Don't worry, it'll all work out. There's still time. (casual)
The -(으)ㄹ 수 있다 construction ("can, be able to") is built on this very verb — "there is a way to do X." It has its own ability page, but every form of it inherits the 있다 conjugation above (있어요 / 있습니다 / 있었어요 …).
Looking ahead: the honorific forms
When the subject is someone you honor, 있다 splits into two honorific verbs — and Koreans keep them apart carefully. A person who is present uses the suppletive 계시다 (할아버지께서 집에 계세요); an honored person who possesses something uses 있으시다 (질문 있으세요?). Which one to use is a classic intermediate hurdle, laid out on the 계시다 vs 있으시다 page.
Common Mistakes
1. Using ×있은 for the present modifier. 있다 takes the verbal -는.
❌ 재미있은 영화를 봤어요.
Wrong — 있다's present attributive is 있는: 재미있는 영화.
✅ 재미있는 영화를 봤어요.
jaemiinneun yeonghwareul bwasseoyo
I watched a fun movie.
2. Reaching for 이다 to mean "there is." 이다 equates ("A is B"); existence is 있다.
❌ 냉장고에 우유예요.
Wrong — that means 'is milk'; for 'there is milk' use 있어요.
✅ 냉장고에 우유가 있어요.
naengjanggoe uyuga isseoyo
There's milk in the fridge.
3. Marking the possessed thing with 을/를. With 있다, the thing you have is the subject (이/가).
❌ 저는 시간을 있어요.
Wrong — 있다 takes an 이/가 subject: 시간이 있어요.
✅ 저는 시간이 있어요.
jeoneun sigani isseoyo
I have time.
4. Over-honoring possession with 계시다. A thing you have doesn't 계시다; use 있으세요.
❌ 선생님, 질문 계세요?
Wrong — a question is possessed, not a person present: 질문 있으세요?
✅ 선생님, 질문 있으세요?
seonsaengnim, jilmun isseuseyo
Teacher, do you have a question?
Key Takeaways
- One verb 있다 covers "there is," "is at," and "I have." The particles change (에 for place, 이/가 for the thing that exists/is possessed), not the verb.
- Stem 있- takes 어 by harmony → 있어요; the formal is 있습니다 [읻씀니다].
- The present attributive is the verbal -는 → 있는 (맛있는, 재미있는), never ×있은.
- Ability rides on it as -(으)ㄹ 수 있다 (갈 수 있어요), and the honorific splits into 계시다 (person present) vs 있으시다 (honored possessor).
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- 없다 (to not exist / to not have): ParadigmTOPIK 1 — The full look-up paradigm of 없다, the suppletive negative of 있다 — Korean has no productive 'not-있다,' you switch to the separate word 없다 — across all four speech levels, with the verbal -는 attributive (없는, never ×없은) and the key warning that ×안 있어요 is not how you say 'there isn't.'
- 계시다 vs 있으시다: Honorific Existence TableTOPIK 3 — The two honorific counterparts of 있다 that English collapses into one 'be': 계시다 honors a PERSON who is present, while 있으시다 honors an OWNER whose possession exists — so a question or an amount of time can be 있으시다 but can never 계시다.
- Possession Patterns: 있다/없다 with 이/가TOPIK 1 — Korean has no verb 'to have' — it says '[owner]은/는 [thing]이/가 있다/없다,' literally 'as-for-me, the thing exists.' The possessed thing is the grammatical subject with 이/가, never an object with 을/를 — the case frame that surprises every English speaker.
- -있다/-없다 Adjectives Take -는: 재미있는, 맛없는TOPIK 2 — The systematic exception to the adjective rule: any adjective built on 있다 or 없다 (재미있다, 맛있다, 맛없다, 멋있다) takes the verb-style attributive -는 — 재미있는 영화, never ×재미있은 — because the 있다/없다 at its core patterns as a verb, and that morphology overrides the state meaning.
- -(으)ㄹ 수 있다 / 없다: Can / CannotTOPIK 2 — Korean's all-purpose 'can / cannot' — a bound noun 수 ('way, means') plus 있다/없다 — covering both learned ability and situational possibility, and how it differs from the confident inference 리가 없다.