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Questions & Answers about jibi joyonghaeyo.
Why is the subject marker 이 used after 집 and not 가?
In Korean, 이/가 are subject markers. You use 이 after a noun ending in a consonant (집 ends in ㅂ), and 가 after a noun ending in a vowel. They simply mark “the house” as the grammatical subject of the sentence.
What is the dictionary form of 조용해요, and how do you get from that form to 조용해요?
The dictionary form is 조용하다 (“to be quiet”). To make the polite present tense you:
- Drop -다 from 조용하다, leaving the stem 조용하-.
- Add the polite ending -해요.
- Due to contraction rules, the 하 in -하다 becomes 해, giving 조용해요.
Why don’t we say 집이 조용이에요 (using -이에요) or use a copula like in English?
Because 조용하다 is a descriptive verb (often called an adjective in English), not a noun. Instead of linking it with the copula 이다/이에요, you conjugate it as a verb to 조용해요. Using 조용이에요 would treat 조용 as a noun, which is ungrammatical here.
What’s the difference between 집이 조용해요 and 집은 조용해요?