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Seema
Where and how to use 는/은,을/를,이/가? Please explain with example.
Aug 15, 2017 2:22 PM
Answers · 4
3
은/는, 을/를, 이/가
을/를 is the object marker. They mark the object of a verb as in 나는 너를 사랑한다 (I love you).
은/는 is the topic marker and 이/가 the subject marker. Both can mark the subject of a sentence.
Their difference is not so easily explained and takes time to fully grasp, but here's a somewhat simplified introduction.
1. 은/는 is the primary narrative tool to talk about something as the main topic..
2. 이/가 plays a secondary role of bringing needed information to the context.
For example,
1. 트럼프는 미국 대통령이다 (Trump is the US president) - talks about Trump as the main topic.
2. 오바마가 미국 대통령인가? 아니, 트럼프가 미국 대통령이다 (Is Obama the US president? No, Trump is) - supplies(answers) the information requested.
#1 wants to say something about Trump, while #2 is supplying a fact to answer a question - this is the main distinction.
Another example:
1. 나는 서울에 산다 (I live in Seoul) - straightforward sentence about "I" as the topic.
2. 내가 사는 곳은 서울이다 (The place where I live is Seoul) - 가 in sub-clause, 은 in main.
#2 is a statement about "Where I live". "I" is only part of a sub-clause, not the main topic, so it's tagged with 가.
Deriving from this difference of main topic vs incidental information, there are these secondary characteristics.
1. 은/는 has the effect of setting the subject apart from the rest of the group.
2. 이/가 can identify a particular item or member of a group.
So, we see sentences like 나는 서울에 살고 친구는 인천에 산다 (I live in Seoul, where as my friend lives in Incheon).
For 이/가, we may see: 어떤 남자가 있었다. 이 남자는 돈이 많았다 (There was a man. The man was rich).
가 in the first sentences identifies a particular man out of the indeterminate group of men to set as the topic. After that 는 is used to talk more about the established topic.
August 16, 2017
감사합니다
August 15, 2017
Talk to me in Korean explains some of it.
http://talktomeinkorean.com/lessons/topic-subject-markers/
As for 를 that is an object marker.
예를 들어서: 영화를 봤어요. I watched the movie.
August 15, 2017
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Seema
Language Skills
English, Hindi, Korean, Punjabi
Learning Language
Korean
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