jeoneun oneul yaksogi isseoyo.

subject particle

Breakdown of jeoneun oneul yaksogi isseoyo.

• 저: I
• ~는: topic particle
• 오늘: today

Questions & Answers about jeoneun oneul yaksogi isseoyo.

Why is 저 followed by the topic marker -는 instead of the subject marker -가?

In Korean, -는/은 marks the topic (“as for …”), while -가/이 marks the grammatical subject. 저는 literally means “as for me,” framing the rest of the sentence as information about yourself. If you used 제가, it would be more emphatic (“it is I who …”) rather than neutral.

What does 있어요 mean here? Why doesn’t Korean have a separate verb for “to have”?

The verb 있다 literally means “to exist.” When a noun plus a subject marker precedes it (e.g. 약속이 있다), it expresses possession—“there is X” → “I have X.” So 약속이 있어요 is “An appointment exists (for me),” which we translate as “I have an appointment.” To say you don’t have something, use the opposite verb 없다 (e.g. 약속이 없어요 “I don’t have an appointment”).

Why is the subject marker -이 used on 약속 instead of -가?

Korean subject particles follow a simple rule: if a noun ends in a consonant, attach -이; if it ends in a vowel, attach -가. Because 약속 ends with the consonant ㄱ, it takes -이, becoming 약속이.

Why is there no particle after 오늘? Could I say 오늘에 instead?