chinguga hakgyoeseo nawayo.

친구가 학교에서 나와요.chinguga hakgyoeseo nawayo.
A friend comes out of school.
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Questions & Answers about chinguga hakgyoeseo nawayo.

Why is 친구가 used instead of 친구는?
In Korean, -가/이 marks the new or specific subject, while -는/은 marks the topic or introduces contrast. Here you’re simply stating who is doing the action (“A friend is coming out”), so 친구가 is the neutral subject marker. If you used 친구는, it would imply contrast or that you’ve already been talking about the friend and now you’re adding new info about them.
What’s the difference between 학교에서 and 학교에?
  • 학교에서 uses -에서, which indicates the place where an action happens or the starting point of movement (“from school”).
  • 학교에 with -에 marks a static location or a destination (“at school” or “to school”).
    Since “coming out” is an action happening at/starting from the school, you need 학교에서.
Why is it 나와요 instead of 나오요?
This is due to Korean vowel harmony and irregular conjugation for verbs ending in -오다. You take the stem 나오- and add -아요 (polite present). Because the stem vowel is 오, 오 + 아요 contracts to 와요, giving you 나와요.
What’s the difference between 나오다 and 나가다?
  • 나오다 means “to come out” (toward the speaker or out into view).
  • 나가다 means “to go out” (away from the speaker or simply to exit).
    Use 나와요 when the viewpoint is from outside or when focusing on the emergence. If you were indoors talking about someone exiting the room (away from you), you might choose 나가요.
What does the -요 ending indicate?
The -요 ending makes the sentence politely phrased (존댓말) in the present tense. It’s the most common polite form in everyday conversation—respectful but not overly formal.
Is word order flexible here? Could I say 학교에서 친구가 나와요 or even 친구가 나와요 학교에서?

Yes, Korean word order is relatively flexible because particles clarify each word’s role.

  • 학교에서 친구가 나와요 (Location first) is perfectly natural and emphasizes the place.
  • 친구가 나와요 학교에서 is grammatically possible but unusual in spoken Korean—it puts heavy emphasis on 학교에서 by placing it at the end, almost like poetic or dramatic style. In everyday speech you’ll most often hear Subject–Location–Verb.
How would I say this sentence in the past or future tense?
  • Past polite: 친구가 학교에서 나왔어요. (na-wass-eo-yo)
  • Future polite: 친구가 학교에서 나올 거예요. (na-ol geo-ye-yo)