Lesson 3 있다 “To be at a location”

Lesson 3 있다 “To be at a location” in Korean

Lesson 3 있다 "To be at a location"

Korean Vocabulary

컴퓨터 computer
어디 where
at
있다 to be at a location
책상 desk
on top, on top of
핸드폰 cell phone
없다 to not be at a location
가방 bag, backpack
inside

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Table of Contents

있다 “To be at a location” in Korean (Present Tense)

Korean Location Words

없다 “To not be at a location” in Korean (Present Tense)

Where? with 있다

Where? with 이다

Lesson 3 있다 “To be at a location” Review

 

있다 “To be at a location” in Korean (Present Tense)

The verb 있다 has many uses in Korean. Here we will focus on one “To be at a location” in Korean.
있다 is “To exist at a location” or “To be at a location” in Korean.
So 있다 is used to say things like: “I am at home.” or “I am behind the school.”

 

에 is “At” in Korean

에 gets attached to the end of a location word.

 

Location

home at home
학교 school at school
 

 

있다 Dictionary Form Sentence Structure

 있다 has not been conjugated yet and is the form you would find in the dictionary.
If a Korean verb ends in the syllable 다 then it is in the dictionary form.
The dictionary form is usually not used while speaking.
Sentence Structure:

Topic은/는   Location   있다

있다
I home am.
I am at home. 
학교 있다
I는 school am.
I am at school.

 

 

Korean Location Words

on top, on top of
under, below
in front, in front of
behind
next to, beside, by
inside
outside
아레 bottom
근처 near, nearby
건너편 across
맞은편 right across, directly across
반대편 on the other side, opposite side
반대쪽 on the other side, opposite side

 

w/ Korean Location Words Sentence Structure

By adding Korean Location Words you can say sentences like: “I am in front of the home.” or “I am behind the school.”

Sentence structure in dictionary form:

Topic은/는   Noun   LocationWord   있다

집 앞 있다
I home in front of am.
I am in front of the home. 
학교 뒤 있다
I는 school behind am.
I am behind the school.

If the placement of an object is obvious then you don’t need to say the locations words.

Ex.

A: Where is the soap?

B: 비누 화장실 안 있다. = The soap is in the bathroom.

Changes to:

A: Where is the soap?

B: 비누 화장실 있다. = The soap is in the bathroom.

 

있다 with Korean Honorifics (Present Tense)

The 있다 forms below have been conjugated based on Korean Honorifics. If you don’t know about these you should learn about it in Lesson 1. Korean Honorifics are very important.

These sentences structures are examples of what you can use in everyday life when speaking to people.

 

Informal Level 있어

To conjugate 있다 to the informal level follow this formula:

있다 – 다 = 있

있 + 어 = 있어

♦ Topic은/는   Location   있어

Remember the pronunciation of 있어 is [이써]
있어
I home am.
I am at home. 
학교 있어
I는 school am.
I am at school.

♦ Topic은/는   Noun   LocationWord   있어

집 앞 있어
I home in front of am.
I am in front of the home. 
학교 뒤 있어
I는 school behind am.
I am behind the school.

 

Polite Level 있어요

To conjugate 있다 to the polite level follow this formula:

있다 – 다 = 있

있 + 어요 = 있어요

  Topic은/는   Location   있어요

Remember the pronunciation of 있어요 is [이써요]
있어요
I home am.
I am at home. 
학교 있어요
I는 school am.
I am at school.

♦ Topic은/는   Noun   LocationWord   있어요

집 앞 있어요
I home in front of am.
I am in front of the home. 
학교 뒤 있어요
I는 school behind am.
I am behind the school.

 

Honorific Level 있습니다

To conjugate 있다 to the honorific level follow this formula:

있다 – 다 = 있

있 + 습니다 = 있습니다

  Topic은/는   Location   있습니다

Remember the pronunciation of 있습니다 is [이씀니다]
있습니다
I home am.
I am at home. 
학교 있습니다
I는 school am.
I am at school.

♦ Topic은/는   Noun   LocationWord   있습니다

집 앞 있습니다
I home in front of am.
I am in front of the home. 
학교 뒤 있습니다
I는 school behind am.
I am behind the school.
Learn Korean Language Tips:

The topic particles 은/는 can be replaced by the subject particles 이/가 in the sentence structures above. So how is that different?

and are used for emphasis and comparison. and state facts. 

The differences and uses of 은/는, 이/가, and 을/를 were explained in How to Read Korean Hangul part 10 if you’d like a quick refresher.

Ex.

A: Where is the soap?

B: 비누 화장실 안 있다. = The soap is in the bathroom (in comparison to other things that are not in the bathroom).

Or:

A: Where is the soap?

B: 비누 화장실 있다. = The soap is in the bathroom. (fact)

 

없다 “To not be at a location” in Korean

(Present Tense)

없다 is the opposite of 있다.
없다 is “To not exist at a location” or “To not be at a location” in Korean.
없다 is the dictionary form.
In English we would just add the word “not” before “be.”
Ex. am not/is not/are not
Korean skips the word “not” in this situation and just uses one word, 없다.

 

없다 with Korean Honorifics (Present Tense)

The 없다 forms below have been conjugated based on Korean Honorifics. If you don’t know about these you should learn about them in Lesson 1. Korean Honorifics are very important.

These sentences structures are examples of what you can use in everyday life when talking to people.

 

Informal Level 없어

To conjugate 없다 to the honorific level follow this formula:

없다 – 다 = 없

없 + 어 = 없어

♦ Topic은/는   Location   없어

Remember the pronunciation of 없어 is [업서]
 없어
I home am not.
I am not at home. 
학교 없어
I는 school am not.
I am not at school.

♦ Topic은/는   Noun   LocationWord   없어

집 앞 없어
I home in front of am not.
I am not in front of the home. 
학교 뒤 없어
I는 school behind am not.
I am not behind the school.

 

Polite Level 없어요

To conjugate 없다 to the honorific level follow this formula:

없다 – 다 = 없

없 + 어요 = 없어요

 Topic은/는   Location   없어요

Remember the pronunciation of 없어요 is [업서요]
 없어요
I home am not.
I am not at home. 
학교 없어요
I는 school am not.
I am not at school.

♦ Topic은/는   Noun   LocationWord   없어요

집 앞 없어요
I home in front of am not.
I am not in front of the home. 
학교 뒤 없어요
I는 school behind am not.
I am not behind the school.

 

Honorific Level 없습니다

To conjugate 없다 to the honorific level follow this formula:

없다 – 다 = 없

없 + 습니다 = 없습니다

  Topic은/는   Location   없습니다

Remember the pronunciation of 없습니다 is [업씀니다]
 없습니다
I home am not.
I am not at home. 
학교 없습니다
I는 school am not.
I am not at school.

♦ Topic은/는   Noun   LocationWord   없습니다

집 앞 없습니다
I home in front of am not.
I am not in front of the home. 
학교 뒤 없습니다
I는 school behind am not.
I am not behind the school.
Learn Korean Language Tips:

Remember the topic particles 은/는 can be replaced by the subject particles 이/가 in the sentence structures above. Do you remember how they are different?

and are used for emphasis and comparison. and state facts.

 

Where? with 있다 

어디 is “Where” in Korean.

어디 can be used to ask where an object is or where a person that you are not talking to is.

Subject이/가   어디   있다?

Informal Level Polite Level Honorific Level
우유 어디 있어? 우유 어디 있어요? 우유 어디 있습니다?
우유 냉장고 있어. 우유 냉장고 있어요. 우유 냉장고 있습니다.

우유 어디 있다? = Where is the milk?

우유 냉장고 있다. = The milk is in the refrigerator.

As long as the subject of the sentence is known then it doesn’t need to be said.

Ex.

A: 우유 어디 있어요? = Where is the milk?

B:우유 냉장고 있어요. = The milk is in the refrigerator.

Changes to:

A: 우유 어디 있어요? = Where is the milk?

B:냉장고 있어요. = In the refrigerator.

Where? with 이다

이다 is “To Be” in Korean which you learned in Lesson 1.

If you are talking directly to a person and:

  1. You can’t see them.
  2. You are text messaging them.
  3. You are on the phone with them.
  4. Or a similar situation.

Then 이다 can be used to ask that person where they are.

이다 gets attached directly to 어디.

Informal Level Polite Level English
어디야? 어디예요? Where are you? 

If you want to ask where a place is then 이다 is also used.

Subject이/가   이다?

Informal Level Polite Level English
어디야? 어디예요? Where is the home? 
학교 어디야? 학교 어디예요? Where is the school?

 

Lesson 3 있다 “To be at a location” Review

혜란:  토마스, 컴퓨터 어디 있어요?

Hyeran: Thomas, where is the computer?

 

토마스:  책상 위 있어요.

Thomas: On the desk.

 

혜란:  핸드폰 책상 위 있어요?

Hyeran: Is the cell phone on the desk?

 

토마스:  아니요, 없어요.

Thomas: No, it’s not.

 

혜란:  어디 있어요?

Hyeran: Where is it?

토마스:  가방 안 있어요.

Thomas: It’s in the bag.

 

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