eommaga jigeum byeongwone isseoyo.

Mom is at the hospital now.

Breakdown of eommaga jigeum byeongwone isseoyo.

• 있다: to be
• 병원: hospital
• 지금: now
• 엄마: mom; mother

Questions & Answers about eommaga jigeum byeongwone isseoyo.

Why is it 엄마가 and not 엄마는?

가 is the subject marker, while 는 is the topic marker.

In 엄마가 지금 병원에 있어요, 엄마가 sounds like Mom is the one who is at the hospital now or simply introduces Mom as the subject.

If you said 엄마는 지금 병원에 있어요, it would sound more like:

• As for Mom, she is at the hospital now
• or it could create a contrast, like Mom is at the hospital, but Dad isn’t

Both are possible, but 가 is very natural when you are simply stating the fact.

Why do we use 에 in 병원에?

에 marks the location of existence or destination.

Here, the verb is 있어요 from 있다, which means to be / to exist / to stay.
So 병원에 있어요 means is at the hospital.

A very common comparison is:

• 병원에 있어요 = is at the hospital
• 병원에서 일해요 = works at the hospital

Use 에 with 있다/없다 for location.
Use 에서 when an action happens somewhere.

Why isn’t it 병원에서 있어요?