Breakdown of sigani eobseumyeon taeksireul tayo.
~이~i
subject particle
~를~reul
object particle
시간sigan
time
없다eobsda
to not have
Questions & Answers about sigani eobseumyeon taeksireul tayo.
Why does 시간 take 이 (시간이) instead of 을/를?
Because 시간이 없다 means there is no time / time is lacking, and 없다 is an adjective that describes a state. In this pattern, the thing that is missing typically takes the subject marker 이/가:
- 시간이 없어요 = time is lacking
So 시간이 is the subject of 없다, not the object of an action verb.
What does 없으면 mean grammatically, and how is it formed?
없으면 is the conditional form of 없다 using -(으)면:
- Stem: 없-
- Add -으면 (because it ends in a consonant) → 없으면 It means if (there) isn’t / if (you) don’t have in the sense of if time is lacking.
Can I drop 이 and just say 시간 없으면 택시 타요?
Yes. In everyday speech, particles are often omitted when the meaning is clear:
- 시간이 없으면 택시를 타요 (more complete/neutral)
- 시간 없으면 택시 타요 (more casual/natural in conversation)
Why is it 택시를 타요 with ? I thought means to ride.