Learn Hardcore Korean: hakgyo oenjjoge kapega isseoyo. - There’s a café on the left side of the school.

The particle -에 marks a location where something exists or an action takes place. In 왼쪽에, it turns 왼쪽 (left side) into “at/to the left,” indicating where the cafe is located.

Why do we use 있어요 in this sentence?

있어요 is the polite form of the verb 있다, meaning “to exist” or “to have.” Here it expresses existence: “There is a cafe.” It doesn’t show possession, but simply states that the cafe exists at that location.

Why is 카페 followed by the subject marker 가?

In Korean, the thing that exists (or performs an action) is marked with the subject particle 가 (or 이 after a consonant). 카페가 tells us that the cafe is the subject of 있어요, i.e. it’s what exists at 학교 왼쪽에.

Can we use the topic marker 는 instead of 가 with 카페?

Yes, you can say 카페는 있어요, but this shifts 카페 into the topic position and adds a contrastive or known-information nuance: “As for the cafe, it exists.” With 가, you’re simply stating existence without that nuance.

Why do we say 왼쪽에 instead of 왼쪽으로?

-로/으로 indicates direction or movement (“toward the left”), while -에 marks a static location (“at the left side”). Since the sentence describes where the cafe is (not movement), 왼쪽에 is correct.

Could we change the word order to 카페가 학교 왼쪽에 있어요?

Yes. Korean allows flexible word order as long as you keep the particles. 카페가 학교 왼쪽에 있어요 still means “The cafe is to the left of the school.”

What’s the difference between 왼쪽 and 옆 in these kinds of sentences?

왼쪽 means “left side” (a specific direction). 옆 means “side” or “beside” (next to).

학교 왼쪽에 = “at the school’s left side”
학교 옆에 = “beside/next to the school” (could be left or right, just adjacent)

Is 학교 왼쪽 one unit, or are they two separate nouns?

They’re two nouns where 학교 modifies 왼쪽, making “the left side of the school.” No extra particle is needed between them because 학교 directly describes whose left side it is.

Could we say 학교의 왼쪽에 카페가 있어요 instead?

Yes. Adding the genitive 의 makes it sound a bit more formal or literary: 학교의 왼쪽에 카페가 있어요 still means “There is a cafe on the left side of the school.”

How would we make this sentence even more formal?

Replace 있어요 with the formal ending 있습니다:
학교 왼쪽에 카페가 있습니다.
This level is often used in written announcements or very polite speech.