Korean 10 - There is / there are

여러분 안녕하세요 (Yeoreobun anyeong-haseyo) - Welcome everybody

We have learned how to say: It is a ... : Noun + i-eyo /yeyo - 이에요 / 예요

e.g.

라디오예요. (Radio-yeyo) - It is a radio.

신문이에요. (shinmun-i-e-yo.) - It is a newspaper.

We also have seen sentences like: This is... / these are... : - I-geos-eun + Noun + i-e-yo/yeyo. 이것은...이에요 / 예요.

e.g.

이것은 라디오예요. (I-geos-eun radio-yeyo.) - This is a radio.

이것은 신문이에요. (I-geos-eun shinmun-i-e-yo.) - This is a newspaper.

Now let's have a look at how to say:

There is a ...

Our noun needs to take a topic marker eun/neun - 은 / 는 and we need the verb 있다 - issda ( spoken: ita - I will explain this later) The conjugated form we actually need is 있어요 (isseoyo) So:

Noun (eun/neun) isseoyo. - ... (은 / 는) 있어요.

라디오는 있어요. (Radio-neun isseoyo.) - There is a radio.

신문은 있어요. (Shinmun-eun isseoyo.) - There is a newspaper.

Let me share a good news with you. If you want to say: There are radios, there are newspapers... it is exactly the same. Of course there exists a Korean plural form for nouns, but in most cases you are not obliged to use it, neither would Korean people...

Actually even 'I have a newspaper.' is pretty easy now:

You would literally say: As for for me, there is a newspaper.

저는 신문이 있어요.(Jeo-neun shinmun-i isseoyo.)

Our newspaper got the Subjectmarker i/ga, the Topicmarker is on 'I'. Topic is ME AND MY POSSESSIONS. But I am NOT the subject of the sentence. That is very unlike English. (in 'I have...' - I - is the subject.) In the Korean sentence the possession (here: the newspaper) is the subject. (For as much as I am concerned) the 'newspaper' is there. And to show how unimportant 'I' get in this sentence, 'jeoneun' can actually be left out completely. (Which doesn't change any of the word endings)

신문이 있어요. (Shinmun-i isseoyo.) I have a newspaper.

(저는) 라디오가 있어요. ((Jeo-neun) radio-ga isseoyo.) I have a radio.

With our new verb we can also ask now where things are, where people are, where we are...

어디에 있어요? eodi-e isseoyo?) Where is it ? Where are you ? Where am I ? ...

If you need to specify the thing/ person you are looking for you need to add it to the beginning of our sentence and give it a subject marker.

핸드폰이 어디에 있어요? (haendeupon-i eodi-e isseoyo?) Where is my cellphone?

Again I didn't add the word 'my' in Korean. The sentence could be: Where is your cell phone? Where is his cell phone...

민지 씨가 어디에 있어요? Minji shiga eodi-e isseoyo? Where is Minji? Where are you, Minji? (in the latter case I would leave of the '-ga'- it is frequently dropped in spoken language) (Minji is a female name)

어디에 있어요? Eodi-e isseoyo? Where are you?

지금 어디에 있어요? Ji-geum eodi-e isseoyo? Where are you now?

Let's try to answer those questions...

In order to go to a place we added -에 to the place. In order to be at a place, we do the same thing.

가게에 가요. (kage-e kayo.) I go to the shop.

가게에 있어요. (kage-e isseoyo.) I am at the shop.

유진 씨, 집에 있어요? (Yujin shi jibe isseoyo?) Are you home Yujin ? (female name)

네 맞아요. 집에 있어. (Ne majayo. Jibe isseoyo.) Yes, that is right. I am home.

책이 가방에 있어요? (tchaeg-i kabang-e isseoyo?) Is the book in the bag ?

아니요 상자에 있어요. (Aniyo. Sangja-e isseoyo.) No. It is in the box.

지금은 그걸로 충분해요 (Jigeum-eun keugeollo chungbun-haeyo) That is enough for now.

여러분 감사합니다 (Yeoreobun kamsa-hamnida) Thank you everybody !

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