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TOPIK I · LEVEL 2

-아/어 있다

-아/어 있다 describes a state that continues after an action has finished, like a door that stays open after it was opened.

시제·상Tense & aspect

Han: To say you are in the state of being seated, use -아/어 있다; 앉고 있어요 sounds like you are in the middle of sitting down.

Examples

교실 창문이 아직 열려 있어요.The classroom window is still open.
냉장고에 메모가 붙어 있었어요.There was a note stuck on the fridge.
할머니께서 소파에 앉아 계세요.Grandma is sitting on the sofa.
밤늦게까지 사무실에 불이 켜져 있네요.The office lights are still on late at night.

Don’t mix up

-아/어 있다vs-고 있다-고 있다 shows an action in progress; -아/어 있다 shows the state after it ended: 문을 열고 있어요 (opening it now) vs 문이 열려 있어요 (it is open).
-아/어 있다vs-아/어 놓다-아/어 놓다 stresses that someone did it on purpose (transitive, with an object); -아/어 있다 just describes the state: 문을 열어 놓았어요 vs 문이 열려 있어요.

How to build it

V (intransitive / passive)+아/어 있다

열리다 → 열려 있다 → 문이 열려 있어요.

  1. Use it mainly with intransitive or passive verbs (앉다, 서다, 눕다, 열리다, 켜지다, 붙다). With a transitive verb and an object, use a passive verb instead: 문을 열어 있어요 ✗ → 문이 열려 있어요 ✓.
  2. Clothing verbs (입다, 신다, 쓰다, 끼다) are an exception: their resulting state is expressed with -고 있다 (안경을 쓰고 있어요), not -아/어 있다.
  3. When the subject is someone you respect, change 있다 to 계시다: 할머니께서 앉아 계세요.
  4. Tense goes on 있다, not on the main verb: 열려 있었어요 (was open), not 열렸어 있어요.

Classic mistake

Wrong: 저는 지금 의자에 앉고 있어요.

Right: 저는 지금 의자에 앉아 있어요.

To say you are in the state of being seated, use -아/어 있다; 앉고 있어요 sounds like you are in the middle of sitting down.

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