Lesson 9 A Flashcards
What are 은 and 는?
은 and 는 are topic marking particles. The main role of topic marking particles is letting the other people know what you are talking about or going to talk about.
What is the difference between 은 and 는?
은 is used when a consonant is ending the previous word and 는 is used when there is no final consonant (only vowel).
고등학생
A high school student
학생
A student
저는 학생이에요.
I am a student.
저는 고등학생이 아니에요.
I am not a high school student.
Notice the subject marking particle after 고등학생
여자
A girl
저는 여자예요
I am a girl
그
He
친절하다
To be kind
연필
A pencil
이것은 연필이에요.
This is a pencil.
먹다
To eat
그는 친절해요.
He is kind.
그녀
She
영수는 먹어요.
Young-su eats.
공부하다
To study
그녀는 공부해요.
She studies.
사과
An apple
이거 사과예요.
This is an apple.
내일
Tomorrow
일하다
To work
내일은 저는 일해요.
Notice the particles!
As for tomorrow, I work.
Here, 내일 is a topic, but not the subject of the verb 일하다 because it is not “tomorrow” that works but “I” that work.
A student
학생
A high school student
고등학생
I am a student.
저는 학생이에요.
I am not a high school student.
Remember the particles!
저는 고등학생이 아니에요.
A girl
여자
Find the topic and say the sentence in Korean:
“I am a girl”
저는 여자예요.
저 (I / Me) is the topic and it is marked with the particle 는.
Find the topic and say the sentence in Korean:
“I am a student”
저는 학생이에요.
저 (I / Me) is the topic and it is marked with the particle 는.
Find the topic and say the sentence in Korean:
“I am not a high school student”
저는 고등학생이 아니에요.
저 (I / Me) is the topic and it is marked with the particle 는.
He
그
To study
공부하다
She
그녀
She studies.
그녀는 공부해요.
To eat
먹다
먹어요
This is a pencil.
이것은 연필이에요.
Young-su eats.
영수는 먹어요.
He is kind.
그는 친절해요.
A pencil
연필
To be kind
친절하다
This is an apple.
이거 사과예요.
How does the sentence 이거 사과예요 change when the particle 는 is added (이거는 사과예요)?
(The other things are not apples, but) THIS is an apple.
An apple
사과
이거 커피예요.
(= This is coffee)
이거는 물이에요.
(= That was coffee, but THIS ONE, it’s water.)
이거는 오렌지주스예요.
(= And THIS ONE, it’s different again, it’s orange juice.)
이거는 뭐예요?
(= And what about this one? What is it?)
는 emphasises the difference of the subject compared to something else.
When are 는 and 은 used?
In Korean, although 은 and 는 are generally topic marking particles, people often save 은/는 for really emphasizing the topic in contrast to the other parts of the sentence.
오늘 날씨 좋네요.
The weather’s good today.
The weather’s good today.
오늘 날씨 좋네요.
오늘은 날씨 좋네요.
(The weather hasn’t been so good lately, but) TODAY, The weather is good.
오늘 날씨는 좋네요.
Today (not necessarily everything else too, but) at least the weather is good.
