bukjjok haneure gureumi manha.

There are many clouds in the northern sky.

Breakdown of bukjjok haneure gureumi manha.

• ~이: subject particle
• ~에: location particle
• 많다: many
• 하늘: sky
• 북쪽: north
• 구름: cloud

Questions & Answers about bukjjok haneure gureumi manha.

Why is 북쪽 하늘 used instead of 하늘 북쪽?

In Korean, modifiers always come before the noun they describe. 북쪽 (“north”) modifies 하늘 (“sky”), so you say 북쪽 하늘 (“northern sky”).

Why is there an 에 after 하늘?

에 marks a static location (“in/at”). Since this sentence describes where the clouds are (they exist in the northern sky), we use 하늘에 (“in the sky”).

Can we use 에서 instead of 에 here?

No. 에서 marks the place where an action takes place. Here you’re stating the existence or quantity of clouds, not describing an action, so you must use 에.

Why is 구름이 marked with 이?

이/가 marks the subject in descriptive or existential sentences. Here, 구름이 많아 literally means “clouds are many,” so 구름 takes the subject particle 이.

Why do we say 구름이 많아 instead of 구름이 많이 있어?

Korean prefers the descriptive verb 많다 to express large quantity directly. 구름이 많아 (“there are many clouds”) is natural. Saying 구름이 많이 있어 would be awkward and is not the standard way to describe quantity.

Is 많아 an adjective or a verb?

In Korean grammar, 많다 is classified as a “descriptive verb” (형용사). It behaves like an adjective in meaning (“to be many”) but takes verb-like endings (e.g. -아/어).

Why isn’t 많아 conjugated with -요 or -습니다?

The form 많아 is plain informal (반말). For polite speech you’d say 많아요 (informal polite) or 많습니다 (formal polite).

What’s the difference if we say 북쪽 하늘에는 구름이 많아?

Using -에는 adds a topical/contrastive nuance: “As for the northern sky, there are many clouds,” implying “other skies (perhaps) don’t have as many.”