Place and Time Particles · 에, 에서
3. Examples
Example 1 — Going places
저는 학교에 가요.
jeo-neun hak-gyo-e ga-yo.
→ I go to school.
어디에 가요?
eo-di-e ga-yo?
→ Where are you going?
회사에 가요.
hoe-sa-e ga-yo.
→ I am going to the company.
친구가 우리 집에 와요.
chin-gu-ga u-ri ji-be wa-yo.
→ My friend is coming to my home.Each sentence has a movement verb, 가요 or 와요, so the place takes 에. The place is the goal of the movement.
The question 어디에 가요? is very common. You can answer it with just the place and the verb, such as 회사에 가요.
Example 2 — Where things are
고양이가 방에 있어요.
go-yang-i-ga bang-e i-sseo-yo.
→ The cat is in the room.
지금 집에 없어요.
ji-geum ji-be eop-seo-yo.
→ I am not at home now.
가방에 책이 있어요.
ga-bang-e chae-gi i-sseo-yo.
→ There is a book in the bag.
저는 서울에 살아요.
jeo-neun seo-u-re sa-ra-yo.
→ I live in Seoul.The verbs 있어요, 없어요 and 살아요 tell us where someone or something is. They do not describe an action, so the place takes 에.
Notice that 지금 has no 에, because 지금 is one of the time words that stands alone.
Example 3 — Time with 에
세 시에 만나요.
se si-e man-na-yo.
→ We meet at three o'clock.
월요일에 학교에 가요.
wo-ryo-i-re hak-gyo-e ga-yo.
→ I go to school on Monday.
아침에 커피를 마셔요.
a-chi-me keo-pi-reul ma-syeo-yo.
→ I drink coffee in the morning.
내일 친구를 만나요.
nae-il chin-gu-reul man-na-yo.
→ I meet a friend tomorrow.The first three time words, 세 시, 월요일 and 아침, take 에. The last one, 내일, stays bare.
In the second sentence 에 appears twice. The first one marks the time, and the second one marks the destination, so both are correct.
Example 4 — Actions and "from"
저는 도서관에서 공부해요.
jeo-neun do-seo-gwa-ne-seo gong-bu-hae-yo.
→ I study at the library.
은행에서 일해요.
eun-haeng-e-seo il-hae-yo.
→ I work at a bank.
공원에서 산책해요.
gong-wo-ne-seo san-chae-kae-yo.
→ I take a walk in the park.
저는 미국에서 왔어요.
jeo-neun mi-gu-ge-seo wa-sseo-yo.
→ I came from America.
학교는 집에서 멀어요.
hak-gyo-neun ji-be-seo meo-reo-yo.
→ School is far from home.The first three sentences have action verbs, so the place takes 에서. The last two use 에서 in the meaning "from".
You can combine both particles in one sentence. For example, 학교에서 친구를 만나요 means I meet a friend at school, where 에서 marks the place of the action.