aiga sopa-e anja isseoyo.

A child is sitting on the sofa.

Breakdown of aiga sopa-e anja isseoyo.

• ~에: destination particle
• 아이: child
• ~가: subject particle
• 있다: to be

Questions & Answers about aiga sopa-e anja isseoyo.

What does 아이가 mean, and why is -가 attached to 아이?

아이가 is 아이 (child) plus the subject marker -가.

• -가 marks the noun as the subject of the sentence (the one doing or being in the state).
• You use -가 after a vowel-ending noun like 아이; if the noun ended in a consonant, you’d use -이 instead.

Why is 소파 followed by -에?

The particle -에 marks a location.

• 소파에 literally means “at/on the sofa.”
• Whenever you want to say someone is doing something in or at a place, you stick -에 onto the place noun.

What does 앉아 있어요 literally mean?

앉아 있어요 is the present progressive/state expression “is sitting.”

• 앉아 comes from the verb 앉다 (to sit) in its connective form (stem + -아).
• 있어요 is from 있다 (to exist/be), giving the sense of “to be in the state of sitting.”

Why do we say 앉아 있어요 instead of simply 앉아요?