Breakdown of 12woreneun keuriseumaseuga isseoseo gibuni johayo.
~에~e
destination particle
~이~i
subject particle
~는~neun
topic particle
~가~ga
subject particle
Questions & Answers about 12woreneun keuriseumaseuga isseoseo gibuni johayo.
Why is 12월에는 used here instead of just 12월에? What does -에는 add?
The ending -에는 combines the time/location particle -에 with the topic particle -는.
• -에 marks “in December” as a time.
• -는 then highlights December as the topic (“as for December…”), implying a contrast or special remark about that month.
Why is December written and pronounced 십이월 (12월) rather than 열두월?
Months in Korean always use Sino-Korean numerals, not native Korean numbers.
• “12” in Sino-Korean is 십이 (sip-i).
• Native Korean “twelve” is 열두, but you never say 열두월; instead you always say 십이월.
Why does 크리스마스가 take the subject marker -가 here, instead of the topic marker -는?
When you use the verb 있다 (“to exist” or “to have something”), you typically mark the thing that exists with -가 (subject marker).
• 크리스마스가 있어서 literally “because Christmas exists/occurs…”
• If you used -는, you’d be making Christmas the topic rather than the grammatical subject of 있다.
How does 있어서 function in 크리스마스가 있어서? Is it just “have” + “and”?