chingudeuri hakgyoe gayo.

친구들이 학교에 가요.chingudeuri hakgyoe gayo.
Friends go to school.
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Questions & Answers about chingudeuri hakgyoe gayo.

What does 들 in 친구들 do?
들 is a plural marker in Korean. Attaching 들 to 친구 (friend) makes it “friends.” Without 들, 친구 could mean “friend” or “friends” depending on context, but 들 explicitly shows plurality.
Why is there an 이 after 친구들 (친구들이)?
The 이 is the subject particle. It marks 친구들 as the subject of the sentence. In Korean, you attach 이 after a noun ending in a consonant (and 가 after a vowel) to indicate “this noun is the subject.”
What role does 에 play in 학교에?

The particle 에 marks direction or destination when used with motion verbs like 가다 (to go). Hence 학교에 가요 means “go to school.”

(Used with stative verbs, 에 can also mark location in which something exists.)

Why do we say 가요 instead of 간다 or 갑니다?

Those are different speech levels:

  • 간다 is the plain (dictionary) style, often used in writing or among close friends.
  • 갑니다 is the formal polite style, common in announcements or to show respect in formal settings.
  • 가요 is the polite informal style (존댓말), used in everyday polite conversation with people who are not extremely close.
Is the sentence in present tense, future tense, or something else?
It’s present tense. In Korean, the present tense form -아/어요 can also express a near future (“will go”) in everyday speech, but grammatically it remains present tense.
Can you drop the subject particle 이 and just say 친구들 학교에 가요?

Yes, in casual spoken Korean you can omit particles if the meaning is clear from context:

  • 친구들 학교에 가요.
    However, in written or more formal contexts, leaving them in improves clarity.
What’s the difference between 에 and 에서, since both can refer to places?
  • 에 (to/towards) indicates direction or a static location. With 가다 (to go), use 에 to show destination.
  • 에서 (at/from) indicates the place where an action happens or the source from which something moves. For example, 학교에서 공부해요 (“study at school”) uses 에서 because studying happens there.
How is 친구들이 학교에 가요 pronounced smoothly in spoken Korean?

Korean is fairly phonetic, but in rapid speech:

  • 친구들이 → [친구들리] (the 이 merges slightly with the previous syllable)
  • 학교에 → [하꾜에] (ㄱ+ㄱ assimilation)
    So it might sound like “친구들리 하꾜에 가요.”