Learn Hardcore Korean: hakgyo geonneopyeone yumyeonghan kapega isseoyo. - There is a famous café across from the school.

건너편 means “the opposite side” or “across (from).” It’s formed by adding -편 (side) to the verb stem 건너- (to cross). So 건너다 = “to cross”; 건너편 = “the side you cross to.”

Why is the particle 에 used after 학교 건너편?

The particle 에 marks the location where something exists or an action takes place. In this sentence, 학교 건너편에 means “at/across from the school.”

Why do we use 유명한 instead of 유명이에요 or just 유명?

유명한 is the attributive form of the adjective 유명하다 used to directly modify a noun. You need -한 to connect 유명 to 카페, giving you 유명한 카페 = “a famous café.”

What is the role of 있어요 in this sentence?

있어요 is the polite present form of 있다, which here means “to exist” rather than “to have.” So 카페가 있어요 means “there is a café.”

Why isn’t there a separate subject like “it” or “there” in the sentence?

Korean often omits subjects when they’re understood from context. The particle 가 on 카페 already marks it as the subject of 있어요, so you don’t need an extra pronoun.

Could we replace 에 with 에서 in 학교 건너편에?

No. 에서 indicates the starting point of an action or the location where an action occurs. Since 있다 expresses existence, 에 is the correct location marker. Using 에서 would imply “from across the school,” which changes the meaning.

Can we change the word order to 유명한 카페가 학교 건너편에 있어요? Would that be okay?

Yes. Korean has flexible word order. Starting with 유명한 카페가 emphasizes the café itself, but the meaning (“As for the famous café, it’s across from the school”) stays the same.

What’s the difference between 학교 앞 and 학교 건너편?

학교 앞 means “in front of the school” on the same side of the street. 학교 건너편 means “the opposite side of the street from the school,” i.e., across the street.

How do we make this sentence more formal instead of using 있어요?

Use 있습니다 for a formal statement:
학교 건너편에 유명한 카페가 있습니다.

If I wanted to say “There’s a bookstore across from the library” using this structure, how would I say it?

You’d replace 학교 with 도서관 and 카페 with 서점:
도서관 건너편에 서점이 있어요.