★☆Daily Korean Grammar #8 = -에, -에 있습니다 ★☆ ■Noun-에 = the locative case marker meaning “in,” “at,” and “on.” When you attach 에 to a place noun (ex. Paris, Italy, a library, a train station, etc.), it can be translated into the English prepositions “at,” “in” and “on,” depending on the context. (I think this is why native Korean speakers often get confused with the usage of “at,” “in” and “on” in English. That being said, we do have specific words for “below,” “over,” “outside,” “inside,” “next to” and so on, though.) In Paris =파리*에 In the library =도서관*에 At the beach =바다*에 ■Noun-에 있습니다 = to be/exist at/in/on~ (a noun of location and place) Since we now know what the particle “에” means in Korean, we can add 있습니다 to say sentences like “I am in Paris,” “She is in the library,” “Mom is at the beach,” and so on. (있(다)+습니다 is a combination of the verb 있다 and the formal, polite ending 습니다. 있다 means “to be,” “to exist,” and “to have.” I will talk about how we can use 있다 to say “I have~” soon!) I’m in Paris. 저는 파리*에 있습니다. She is in the library. 그녀는 도서관*에 있습니다. Mom is at the beach. 엄마는 해변*에 있습니다. ■Noun-에 없습니다 = not to be/exist at/in/on~(a noun of location and place) In a similar vein, when you want to say “(the subject) isn’t at/in/on~& doesn’t exist at/in/on~,” you can simply replace 있습니다 with 없습니다. 없습니다 comes from the verb 없다, which means, “not to be” and “not to exist.” I’m not in Paris. 저는 파리*에 없습니다. She is not in the library. 그녀는 도서관*에 없습니다. Mom’s not at the beach. 엄마는 해변*에 없습니다. Hope that makes sense! Try to make sentences using N-에 있습니다 to be familiar with the structure :)! Next time, I will talk about the connective particle 하고!