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LESSON 5

It is me, What is it?

LESSON S

-이에요/-예요

After studying with this lesson, you will be able to say things like "A is B (noun)" or "I am ABC (noun)" in polite/formal Korean.

-이에요/-예요

-0|01 & and -0|& have a similar role to that of the English verb "to be". The fundamental

[-ye-yo]

difference, however, is the sentence structure and order that they are used in.

English sentence structure: [be] + ABC. *ABC is a noun here.

Ex) It is ABC. / I am ABC.

Korean sentence structure: ABC + [be]. * ABC is a noun here.

Ex) ABCO|8. = It is ABC. / I am ABC.

(ABC-ye-yo.) In English, the verb "to be" is changed to "am", "are", or "is" depending on the subject of the sentence, but in Korean, you decide whether to use -O|Ol|& or -Oil& depending on whether the last letter of the previous word ends in a consonant or a vowel. -0|0||8 and -0|2 are very similar and also sound similar, so it is not a big problem if you mix up these two, but it is still better to know the correct forms.

When you want to say that "It is ABC" in Korean, and if the word for "ABC" has a final consonant in the last letter, you add -0|0|2. However, if it does not have a final consonant

and ends in a vowel, you add -0|&. This is just to make the pronunciation easier, so it will

(-ye-yo]

come naturally if you practice with some sample sentences.

Conjugation

Final consonant + -이에요

[-i-e-yo)

No final consonant (Only vowel) + -0|&

Sample Sentences

물이에요. = 물+ -이에요

(mul + -i-e-yo)

(It is) water.

가방이에요. = 가방 + -이에요

(ga-bang + -i-e-yo]

(It is) a bag.

사무실이에요. = 사무실 + 이에요

(sa-mu-sil + -i-e-yo]

(It is) an office. 학교예요.= 학교 +-예요

[hak-kkyo + -ye-yo)

(It is) a school.

저예요. = 저 +-예요

[eo + -ye-yo)|

(It is) me.

As you can see from the examples above, in Korean, you do not have to use articles like "a/an" or "the" as in English. When you look up a noun in your Korean dictionary, you can add

-0|01|2 or -01|& so that it will mean "It is ABC", "That is DEF", "I am XYZ".

You can also make this a question simply by raising the tone at the end of the sentence.

Sample Sentences

물이에요. = lts water.

(mu-ri-e-yo.

물이에요? = Is that water? Is this water?

(mu-ni-e-yoll

학생이에요.

= I am a student.

[hak-ssaeng-i-e-yo.]

학생이에요? = Are you a student?

[hak-ssaeng-i-e-yo?)

학교예요.

= It is a school.

[hak-kkyo-ye-yo)

학교예요? = Is it a school Are you at school now?

[hak-kkyo-ye-yo?)

뭐 = What

[mwo]

₩02? = What is it? What is that? (mwo-ye-yo?] A: 뭐예요?

[mwo-ye-yo?]

B: 장난감이에요.

[jang-nan-kka-mi-e-yo.]

A: 장난감이에요?

[jang-nan-kka-mi-e-yo?]

A: What is it?

B: It's a toy.

A: Is it a toy?