TOPIK I · LEVEL 1
N이/가 있다/없다
있다 means 'there is, to be (somewhere)' and also 'to have'; 없다 is its opposite, 'there is no, not to have'. The thing that exists takes 이/가, and the place takes 에.
조사ParticlesHan: 있다 and 없다 describe where something is, not an action, so the place takes 에, not 에서.
Examples
이 선생님은 지금 사무실에 계세요.Ms. Lee is in the office now.
아지즈 씨, 지금 시간 있어요?Aziz, do you have time now?
냉장고에 우유가 없어요.There's no milk in the fridge.
기숙사 1층에 편의점이 있어요.There is a convenience store on the first floor of the dorm.
Don’t mix up
N이/가 있다/없다vs-이에요/예요이다 says what something is; 있다 says that it exists or where it is: 이건 책이에요 'This is a book' vs 가방에 책이 있어요 'There is a book in the bag.'N이/가 있다/없다vs에서있다/없다 take 에 for the place; 에서 is for places where an action happens: 도서관에 있어요 'I'm at the library' vs 도서관에서 공부해요 'I study at the library.'
How to build it
N이/가 있다/없다 · Place에 N이/가 있다 · N은/는 Place에 있다
책상 위에 책이 있어요. 지금 시간이 없어요. 화장실은 2층에 있어요.
- 이 after a consonant, 가 after a vowel: 가방이 있어요, 우유가 없어요. Polite speech: 있어요/없어요; formal: 있습니다/없습니다.
- To say what there is in a place (new information), use Place에 N이/가 있어요: 방에 침대가 있어요. To say where a known thing is, use N은/는 Place에 있어요: 편의점은 1층에 있어요.
- With a person as the topic, 있다 means 'to have': 저는 동생이 있어요 'I have a younger sibling'. The negative is always 없다, never 안 있다.
- For a person you respect, 'to be (somewhere)' is 계시다: 선생님은 교실에 계세요. But 'to have' becomes 있으시다: 시간 있으세요?
Classic mistake
Wrong: 교실에서 학생이 있어요.
Right: 교실에 학생이 있어요.
있다 and 없다 describe where something is, not an action, so the place takes 에, not 에서.
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All TOPIK grammar- -(으)로-(으)로 marks the direction you head toward, the means or tool you use, or what something is made of.
- -(이)나(이)나 links two nouns as alternatives ("A or B"), and after a number it shows an approximate amount in questions or a surprisingly large amount in statements.
- -도-도 attaches to a noun to say that this thing is 'also' included, adding it to something already mentioned.
- -만Attach 만 to a noun to say 'only this one and nothing else'.
- -에에 marks the place where something is, the place you go to, or the time when something happens.
- -의-의 links two nouns to show possession or belonging: A의 B = A's B.
- -은/는-은/는 marks what the sentence is about (the topic), often something already known, or something you are contrasting with another thing.
- -을/를을/를 sits right after a noun to show it is the thing the action is done to, the direct object.
- -이/가이/가 attaches to a noun to show it is the subject, the one who does something or is described, and often presents it as new or focused information.