jigabe dongjeoni eobseodo gyotongkadeuga isseumyeon jihacheoreul tal su isseo.

Here, 지갑에 means in the wallet and marks the location where the coins would be. The particle 에 is often used for existence/location with 있다/없다.

So:

• 지갑에 동전이 있다 = There are coins in the wallet.
• 지갑에 동전이 없다 = There are no coins in the wallet.

동전이 uses 이/가 because 동전 is the thing that exists or does not exist.

If you said 지갑에서 동전을, that would sound like you are doing an action from the wallet to the coins, which does not fit 없다 here.

없어도 means even if there isn’t / even without.

It comes from:

• 없다 = to not exist / to not have
• 없어도 = even if there is not / even if you do not have

In this sentence:

• 지갑에 동전이 없어도 = Even if there are no coins in your wallet

This -아/어도 grammar means even if or although.

More examples:

• 비가 와도 가요. = Even if it rains, I go.
• 돈이 없어도 괜찮아요. = It’s okay even if you don’t have money.

Yes, both are conditional, but they have slightly different meanings:

• -아/어도 = even if / although
• -으면/면 = if / when

So the sentence is structured like this:

• 지갑에 동전이 없어도 = even if you don’t have coins in your wallet
• 교통카드가 있으면 = if you have a transportation card
• 지하철을 탈 수 있어 = you can ride the subway

The idea is:

Even if condition A is not true, if condition B is true, then result C is possible.

This combination is very natural in Korean.

Because 있다 does not take a direct object with 을/를.

With 있다 and 없다, the thing that exists is usually marked with 이/가:

• 교통카드가 있다 = There is a transportation card / I have a transportation card
• 교통카드가 없다 = There is no transportation card / I don’t have a transportation card

So:

• 교통카드가 있으면 = if you have a transportation card

Using 교통카드를 있다 would be ungrammatical.

-으면 is the conditional ending meaning if.

It attaches to verbs and adjectives:

• 있다 → 있으면 = if there is / if you have
• 좋다 → 좋으면 = if it is good
• 먹다 → 먹으면 = if you eat

So:

• 교통카드가 있으면 = if you have a transportation card

A quick note:

• after a consonant: -으면
• after a vowel: -면

Examples:

• 먹다 → 먹으면
• 가다 → 가면

탈 수 있어 means can ride.

It is made of:

• 타다 = to ride
• -(으)ㄹ 수 있다 = can / be able to

So:

• 타다 → 탈 수 있다 = can ride

Why 탈? Because 타다 changes to the future/modifying form 탈 before 수 있다.

So the full phrase:

• 지하철을 탈 수 있어 = can ride the subway

This pattern is extremely common:

• 먹을 수 있어 = can eat
• 할 수 있어 = can do
• 갈 수 있어 = can go

Because 지하철 is the object of 타다.

• 타다 = to ride
• What do you ride? 지하철 (the subway)

So:

• 지하철을 타다 = to ride the subway

When this becomes can ride, the object marking stays:

• 지하철을 탈 수 있다 = can ride the subway

This is the normal way to mark the thing being ridden:

• 버스를 타다 = ride the bus
• 택시를 타다 = ride a taxi
• 자전거를 타다 = ride a bicycle

있어 is the casual, non-polite ending.

So this sentence sounds like something you would say to:

• a friend
• someone younger
• someone you are close to
• casual conversation

Compare:

• 탈 수 있어. = casual
• 탈 수 있어요. = polite
• 탈 수 있다. = plain/dictionary-style/written/explanatory

All three can express basically the same idea, but the tone changes.

So the sentence could also be:

• 지갑에 동전이 없어도 교통카드가 있으면 지하철을 탈 수 있어요.

That would be more appropriate in polite conversation.

Yes. That is a very important point in Korean.

Korean often expresses have as there exists X at/with someone or somewhere.

For example:

• 돈이 있어요. = I have money.
  Literally: Money exists.
• 시간이 없어요. = I don’t have time.
  Literally: Time does not exist.

In your sentence:

• 지갑에 동전이 없다 = There are no coins in the wallet
• 교통카드가 있다 = There is a transportation card / you have a transportation card

So Korean does not always use a separate verb exactly like English have.

Korean usually puts background information and conditions first, and the main result at the end.

This sentence is built like this:

1. 지갑에 동전이 없어도 = even if there are no coins in your wallet
2. 교통카드가 있으면 = if you have a transportation card
3. 지하철을 탈 수 있어 = you can ride the subway

So Korean often goes:

condition / condition / result

This is very normal. The most important verb often comes at the end.

If you translate too literally word-for-word, it may feel reversed, but grammatically it is completely natural in Korean.

Yes, 돈 could be used, but 동전 is more specific.

• 돈 = money in general
• 동전 = coins

This sentence specifically talks about not having coins in your wallet, which makes sense for public transportation, since coins might be used for a fare.

So:

• 지갑에 돈이 없어도 = even if you don’t have money in your wallet
• 지갑에 동전이 없어도 = even if you don’t have coins in your wallet

Using 동전 makes the situation more concrete and natural for transportation fare.

Yes. Korean often leaves out subjects like I, you, or we when they are understood from context.

So this sentence can naturally mean:

• Even if you don’t have coins in your wallet, if you have a transportation card, you can ride the subway.
• Even if I don’t have coins in my wallet, if I have a transportation card, I can ride the subway.

The exact subject depends on context.

That is very common in Korean. The sentence does not need to say 너는 or 당신은 unless there is a special reason to emphasize the subject.

Yes. 교통카드 means a transportation/transit card, the kind used for buses and subways.

It is not the same as:

• 신용카드 = credit card
• 체크카드 = debit card

In Korea, 교통카드 often refers to a rechargeable transit card or a bank/phone card with transit functionality.

So the sentence specifically means that having a transit card lets you take the subway even without coins.

Normally, no. With 타다 meaning to ride, the vehicle is usually marked with 을/를.

So the natural form is:

• 지하철을 타다
• 버스를 타다
• 택시를 타다

Using 에 with 타다 is generally not correct for the vehicle itself in this pattern.

So:

• 지하철을 탈 수 있어 = correct
• 지하철에 탈 수 있어 = not natural/usually incorrect

A very natural way to understand the structure is:

Even if A, if B, you can C.

Applied here:

• Even if there are no coins in your wallet,
• if you have a transportation card,
• you can ride the subway.

This helps you see the grammar clearly:

• 없어도 = even if not
• 있으면 = if there is / if you have
• -ㄹ 수 있어 = can do

That pattern is useful far beyond this one sentence.