gireseo sajineul jjigeoyo.

길에서 사진을 찍어요.gireseo sajineul jjigeoyo.
I take pictures on the street.
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Questions & Answers about gireseo sajineul jjigeoyo.

Why is 길에서 used? Why not 길에 사진을 찍어요?

In Korean, 에서 marks the location where an action takes place.

  • 길에서 사진을 찍어요 literally means “(I) take a photo on the street.”
  • By contrast, 에 is a static-location marker (“at, to”). If you said 길에 사진을 찍어요, it would sound like you’re placing a photo on the street, which isn’t what you mean.
Why is there 을 after 사진? What does 을/를 do?

을/를 is the object particle that marks the direct object of a transitive verb (one that acts on something).

  • 사진을 indicates that 사진 (“photo”) is what you’re taking.
  • Without 을/를, in casual speech you might hear 사진 찍어요, but including 사진을 찍어요 clarifies exactly what you’re photographing.
What tense is 찍어요? Does it mean “am taking” right now?

찍어요 is the present tense in polite speech (informal polite style). It can express:
1) A habitual or general action (“I take photos on the street [regularly]”).
2) A simple present (“I take a photo on the street [right now or generally]”).

It is not the progressive (“am taking”) by itself. For that, you need a progressive construction.

How can I express “I am taking a picture right now on the street”?

Use the progressive form with -고 있다:
길에서 사진을 찍고 있어요.

  • 찍고 있어요 = “am taking”
    This makes it clear the action is happening right now.
How do I say “I took a photo on the street”?

Change the verb to past tense by using -었/았-:
길에서 사진을 찍었어요.

  • 찍었어요 = “took (a photo)”
How do I say “I will take a photo on the street”?

You can use the future construction –(으)ㄹ 거예요:
길에서 사진을 찍을 거예요.

  • 찍을 거예요 = “will take (a photo)”
    You could also say 길에서 사진을 찍을게요, which is slightly more conversational.
How would I ask “Where do you take pictures?” in Korean?

Replace 길에서 with 어디에서 (“where” + action-location marker):
어디에서 사진을 찍어요?
This literally asks “Where do (you) take photos?”

There is no “I” or other subject in the sentence. Where is the subject?

Korean often omits the subject when it’s obvious or irrelevant.

  • Here, the subject could be 저 (“I”) or 우리가 (“we”), etc., but it’s understood from context.
  • If you want to include it, you can say 저는 길에서 사진을 찍어요 (“I take a photo on the street”).