안녕하세요🤗? In the previous lesson, you learned how to say "N1 am/are/is N2" using the pattern "N1은/는 N2이에요/예요" In this lesson, you will learn about the opposite expression, N1 am/are/is not N2. By the end of this lesson, you will be able to say sentences like "I am not a doctor," or "I am not Korean".
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1. Subject marker: 이/가
이 [ee] or가 [ga] attaches to a noun and tells that the noun is the subject of that sentence. So, it is called a subject marker or subject particle. It has two forms depending on the final consonant of a noun that it will attach to. Always pay attention to the last syllable of the noun!
받침 final consonant | 이/가 subject marker | 예시 example |
O | 이 | 학생이 student |
X | 가 | 의사가 doctor |
학생 ends with the syllable "생". If you take a look at this syllable, you see three letters. They are ㅅ, ㅐ, and ㅇ. It has the final consonant "ㅇ(이응)". That is why we need to add 이 to this word.
의사 ends with 사. This syllable consists of ㅅ and ㅏ, one consonant and one vowel. We don't have any extra consonants after the vowel. So we attach 가 to this noun. It is not that difficult, right?
2. To be not: 아니다
"아니다" means "to not be". It is the opposite of "이다", which is the basic form of 이에요/예요. The present tense form of 아니다 is 아니에요. You can think of 아니에요 as "am/are/is not N." in English.
To say the expression, "am/are/is not N", we combine the subject marker with 아니에요. So it will be "N이/가 아니에요." I'll show you the details here. Let's see how the subject marker with 아니에요 combines!
받침 final consonant | 이/가 subject marker | 예시 example |
O | 이 아니에요. | 학생이 아니에요. not a student. |
X | 가 아니에요. | 의사가 아니에요. not a doctor. |
3. Expression
Then how can we say the expressions like "I am not a student." or "You are not a doctor." in Korean? We need the help of the topic marker!
N1 am/are/is not N2. = N1은/는 N2이/가 아니에요.
Those 은/는 and 이/가 will change depending on the final consonant of the noun to which they are attached! Take a look at this example.
저는 잭이 아니에요. (As for me,) I am not Jack.
This sentence is about me (저). So we start the sentence "저는" by saying I am the topic of this sentence. 잭 has the final consonant ㄱ, so we will you 이.
However, those grammar parts or markers can be omitted when things are obvious. When the both speaker and listener know who is this sentence about, 저는 can be omitted.
저는 잭이 아니에요.
=잭이 아니에요.
4. Examples
I'll show you examples using "이/가 아니에요" grammar. Read carefully and try to make sentences on your own!
1
저는 미국 사람이 아니에요. I'm not American.
The sentence is about "I" so we need 저. It doesn't have the final consonant, so let's add 는 between the topic marker, 은 or 는. 사람 means a person and it ends with 람 which has the final consonant ㅁ(m). That means we need 이 between the subject marker, 이 or 가.
2
A: 선생님이에요? Are you a teacher?
The person A is asking a question directly to the other person. So it is obvious who is the topic of what A saying. So we don't have to add any subject. That is a big difference between English and Korean. You have to use I or you whenever you say the sentence, but you can easily omit it in Korean!
3
A: 선생님이에요? Are you a teacher?
B: 아니요, 저는 선생님이 아니에요. No, I'm not a teacher.
Now, let's see how we can answer. If you are not a teacher, you can use the expression "N1은/는 N2이/가 아니에요." Of course, it'll be good to start a sentence with "아니요(No)."
4
A: 선생님이에요? Are you a teacher?
B: 아니요, 선생님이 아니에요. No, I'm not a teacher.
I'll show you different possible answers using the example 3. Imagine you are the person B. Person A asked directly to you, so it is obvious that the answer is about yourself. So, you can skip the part 'I 저는' when you answer in Korean!
5
A: 선생님이에요? Are you a teacher?
B: 아니요, 아니에요. No, I'm not.
Guess what? You can make the answer even shorter! If you think about it, mentioning both "I" and "teacher" is somewhat repetitive. Therefore, you can omit both and simply say "No, I am not." 아니요, 아니에요. Those omissions often happen in daily conversations!
6
가: 의사예요? Are you a doctor?
나: 아니요, (의사가) 아니에요. No, I'm not a doctor.
Let's review using the different job names. 의사 doesn't have the final consonant. We need to use "가" after it. Not only the topic in the answer but the subject can be erased too when it is implied in the context. Since 의사 is mentioned in the question, we can erase the '의사가' part when we answer! The full sentence is '아니요, 저는 의사가 아니에요.' but you can say '아니요, 의사가 아니에요,' or even shorter '아니요, 아니에요.'
5. Attention!
아니요 vs. 아니에요
I saw many students often confused by these two. They are both used to talking about "negative" but they are not the same. 아니요 is "no" in Korean. When someone asks you a "yes or no" question, you will say either "네(yes) or 아니요(no)." The similar-looking 아니에요 is "not". It is used for saying "am/are/is not". For example, 잭은 의사가 아니에요. Jack is not a doctor.
아니요. No.
아니에요. not
이에요 vs. 예요 vs. 아니에요
I also had many students who were confused with these three as a matter of spelling.
Make sure you use the exact vowels for each one. Because one little stick can make different words! I'll show you the parts you have to watch out. Compare them carefully.
공책이에요. [gong-chae-gee-eh-yo] It is a notebook.
의자예요. [ui-ja-ye-yo] It is a chair.
책이 아니에요. [chae-gee ah-ni-eh-yo] It's not a book.
Can you see why I highlighted these? They are so close, that so can be easily mixed up. Make sure to not use the wrong examples like below.
(X) 공책이예요. → It needs 에.
(X) 의자에요. → 예 should come.
(X) 책이 아니예요. →에 is the correct one!
6. Wrap-up & Worksheet: 아니에요 grammar
"N1은/는 N2이에요/예요" is a sentence to explain N1 am/are/is N2.
"N1은/는 N2이/가 아니에요" is an expression to say N1 am/are/is not N2.
Try to use these two expressions and talk about yourself. If you have any questions, please let me know in the comment section! Download the free printable PDF worksheet to practice this important grammar you learned today! Thanks for studying using"My Korean Lesson."