Learn Hardcore Korean: sinaee gagega baekpalsip gae isseoyo.

시내 means “downtown” or “city center.” The particle -에 marks a location where something exists or happens, so 시내에 means “in downtown” or “in the city center.”

Why is 가게가 marked with -가 instead of -은/는?

In sentences with 있다 (“to exist”), the thing that exists takes the subject marker -이/가, because you’re presenting new information (there are shops). If you used -은/는, you’d be making a contrast or talking about a known topic.

What role does 있어요 play in this sentence?

있어요 is the polite present-tense form of 있다, meaning “to exist” or “to have.” Here it translates as “there are.”

Why is the number written as 백팔십 and not 하나백여섯십 or something else?

Korean uses Sino-Korean numbers for counting many objects. 백 is 100, 팔십 is 80, so 백팔십 is 180. Native Korean numbers (하나, 둘, 셋…) are used mostly for counting people, hours, or ages in informal speech.

What is the function of 개 after 백팔십?

개 is the general counter for discrete items (things you can count individually). Since shops are countable objects, you use 개.

Why is the order 가게가 백팔십 개 있어요 and not 백팔십 개 가게가 있어요?

The basic Korean sentence structure is Subject-Object-Verb, but with counters it goes Subject + (Number + Counter) + Verb. Here, 가게가 is the subject, 백팔십 개 is the quantity phrase, and 있어요 is the verb. Putting the number phrase after the subject is the normal order.

Can I write the number with Arabic numerals, like 가게가 180개 있어요?

Yes. In everyday writing, it’s common to use Arabic numerals: 가게가 180개 있어요. In formal or literary contexts, you might see it written out in Sino-Korean words.

Is 있습니다 also acceptable instead of 있어요?

Absolutely. 있습니다 is the formal-polite form, while 있어요 is the standard-polite form. Choose 있습니다 for formal situations and 있어요 for everyday conversation.

Could I use 가게는 instead of 가게가 for emphasis?

If you say 가게는 백팔십 개 있어요, you’re using -는 to set “shop(s)” as a topic, perhaps contrasting with something else (e.g., “As for shops, there are 180, but for restaurants…”). It changes the nuance from simple existence to contrast or topic emphasis.