bangeseo gongbuhaeyo.

Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Korean grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Korean now

Questions & Answers about bangeseo gongbuhaeyo.

What do the components and -에서 individually mean?

means “room.”
The particle -에서 marks the location where an action takes place. So 방에서 literally means “in/at the room.”

Why is -에서 used instead of -에 here?

-에 usually indicates a static location (where something is or a destination).
-에서 indicates the location of an action. Since 공부해요 (“(I) study”) is an action, you need -에서.

What is the base verb for 공부해요, and what does it mean?

The base verb is 공부하다, which means “to study.”
공부해요 is simply the polite present-tense form of 공부하다.

How do you conjugate 공부하다 into 공부해요?
  1. Start with 공부하다.
  2. Drop -하다 and replace it with -해요.
    • 공부
      • 해요공부해요.
        This is a regular 하다-verb conjugation in the polite present tense.
Does 방에서 공부해요 imply a habitual action or something happening right now?

Without extra context, present-tense verbs in Korean can express either a habitual action (“I study in the room [as a rule]”) or a near-future/ongoing action (“I am studying in the room [right now]”).
To emphasize that it’s happening right now, you could say 방에서 공부하고 있어요 (“I am studying in the room”).

Can you add a subject to 방에서 공부해요, and if so, how?

Yes. Korean often omits the subject when it’s clear, but you can add one for clarity:
저는 방에서 공부해요.
Here 저는 (“I,” polite) makes it explicitly “I study in the room.”

How would you say the same sentence in a more formal or written style?

Use the formal-plain ending -습니다 instead of -해요:
방에서 공부합니다.

How can you specify what you’re studying in this sentence?

Add the object with -를/을 after the thing you study. For example:
방에서 한국어를 공부해요.
(“I study Korean in the room.”)

How would you express “I am studying in the room right now”?

Combine 지금 (“now”) with the progressive form:
지금 방에서 공부하고 있어요.