1 · The basic sentence
There is, I have: 있어요/없어요
existence and possession
One verb says “there is”, “is somewhere” and “I have”; its opposite is 없어요.
있어요 means “there is” or “is (somewhere)”, and 없어요 is its opposite, “there is not”. The thing that exists takes 이 or 가: 시간이 있어요, “there is time”; 물이 없어요, “there is no water”. 없어요 is a word of its own; 안 있어요 does not exist.
The same sentence is how Korean says “to have”. There is no verb “have”: 저는 차가 있어요 is, word for word, “as for me, a car exists” — “I have a car”. 동생이 있어요? asks “do you have a younger brother or sister?”, and 시간이 없어요 is “I have no time”. The owner is the topic (저는), the thing owned is the subject (차가).
For a location, the place takes 에: 화장실은 지하에 있어요, “the toilet is in the basement”; 지갑이 가방 안에 있어요, “the wallet is in the bag”. This is where English uses “is” and Korean does not use 이에요: being somewhere is 있어요. The formal forms are 있습니다 and 없습니다. For a person you respect, 계세요 replaces 있어요 in the sense of being somewhere: 선생님은 교실에 계세요.
A few compounds are worth learning as whole words: 재미있어요 (it is fun) and 재미없어요 (it is boring), 맛있어요 (it is tasty) and 멋있어요 (it looks great) — literally “there is fun”, “there is taste”. And a habit to unlearn: “there is a bed in the room” begins with the place in Korean, not with “there”: 방에 침대가 있어요, “room-in bed exists”.
The form
| there is | 시간이 있어요. |
| there is not | 시간이 없어요. |
| I have | 저는 차가 있어요. |
| location: the place takes a particle | 책이 가방 안에 있어요. |
| formal | 있습니다. 없습니다. |
| a respected person is somewhere | 선생님이 교실에 계세요. |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
The thing that exists takes 이 or 가, and the verb is 있어요 or 없어요.
냉장고에 우유가 있어요.There is milk in the fridge.
“Not to exist” is the separate verb 없어요, never 안 있어요.
오늘은 수업이 없어요.There are no classes today.
To say “I have”, the owner is the topic and the thing owned is the subject.
저는 언니가 두 명 있어요.I have two older sisters.
A place takes 에: “is in, at, on”.
지갑은 책상 위에 있어요.The wallet is on the desk.
For a person you respect, 계세요 replaces 있어요.
할머니는 지금 방에 계세요.Grandmother is in her room now.
A closer look
Being somewhere and being something
English uses “is” for both, so learners say “the book is on the desk” with the copula. In a short answer Koreans do sometimes put a place before 예요 — 어디 있어요? — 책상 위예요. — but the full sentence, and the one to learn first, is 책은 책상 위에 있어요.
있다 also means “to stay”: 집에 있어요 is “I am at home” or “I am staying in”, and 여기 있어요, said while handing something over, is “here you are”. In a shop the staff say the formal 여기 있습니다.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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you ask a respected person whether they have something
use 있으세요, not 계세요: 시간 있으세요?, “do you have time?”.
사장님, 잠깐 시간 있으세요?Do you have a moment, boss?
계세요 honours the person’s presence somewhere. When the person owns something, the honour goes on the ordinary verb with the polite ending -으세요.
How to spot it
- 있어요
- 없어요
- 에 있어요
- 계세요
- 있습니다
Example sentences
혹시 펜 있어요?Do you happen to have a pen?
저는 형제가 없어요.I have no brothers or sisters.
은행이 어디에 있어요?Where is the bank?
이 근처에 편의점이 있어요?Is there a convenience store near here?
미안해요, 지금 돈이 없어요.Sorry, I don’t have any money right now.
이 영화 정말 재미있어요.This film is really fun.
8 more example sentences
주말에 약속 있어요?Do you have plans for the weekend?
사무실에 아무도 없어요.There is nobody in the office.
제 방에는 창문이 두 개 있어요.My room has two windows.
지하철역은 저쪽에 있어요.The underground station is over there.
질문 있어요?Any questions?
사장님은 회의실에 계세요.The boss is in the meeting room.
이 근처에는 주차장이 없습니다.There is no car park near here.
그 사람은 정말 재미있어요.He is really funny.
Worth knowing (1)
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Someone to have
Family and friends are “had” in the same way as things: 남자 친구 있어요?, “do you have a boyfriend?”. With a number, the counter comes after the noun: 동생이 한 명 있어요, “I have one younger sibling”.
저는 동생이 한 명 있어요.I have one younger sibling.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
Most verbs are negated with 안, so learners build 안 있어요. But “there is not” and “I do not have” are a word of their own, 없어요, and the form with 안 is simply not Korean.
Isseoyo for there is and I have, eopseoyo for there is not — never an isseoyo.
Your turn
10 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.