• suyeongjange sugeoni isseoyo.

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

Start learning Korean now

Questions & Answers about • suyeongjange sugeoni isseoyo.

What does the particle -에 indicate in the sentence 수영장에 수건이 있어요?
-에 marks the location where something exists (or where an action takes place). In 수영장에, it means “at the swimming pool.”
Why is 수건 followed by instead of ?
is the subject marker for nouns ending in a consonant. Here, 수건 (towel) is the subject of the verb 있다 (to exist). is the object marker, but existential verbs like 있다 don’t take a direct object—so we use 이/가 to mark the thing that exists.
What does 수영장에 수건이 있어요 mean literally, and how is its word order different from English?

Literally it’s [At the swimming pool] [towel-subject] exists.”
Korean typically uses the pattern [location] + [subject] + [verb], whereas English says “There is a towel at the swimming pool.”

What’s the difference between using 수건이 and 수건은 in this sentence?
  • 수건이 있어요: A neutral statement, simply introducing the existence of a towel.
  • 수건은 있어요: Uses the topic marker to put emphasis or contrast—“As for the towel, there is one (but maybe something else is missing).”
Could I swap the word order to 수건이 수영장에 있어요? Is that natural?
While Korean word order is relatively flexible, existential sentences most naturally follow [location] + [subject] + [verb]. 수건이 수영장에 있어요 is understandable but less idiomatic.
How do I make this sentence a question?

Just raise your intonation or add a question mark:
수영장에 수건이 있어요?
= “Is there a towel at the swimming pool?”

What’s the difference between 있어요 and 있습니다?

Both are polite forms of 있다, but:

  • 있어요 is polite informal (everyday speech).
  • 있습니다 is polite formal (used in announcements, news, formal presentations).
If I want to say “I have a towel,” is it the same sentence?

You could say 저는 수건이 있어요 (“As for me, there is a towel”), but that simply states existence relative to you. To express possession more clearly, use 가지고 있다:
수건을 가지고 있어요.
This unambiguously means “I have a towel.”