Korean Place Marker -에 Grammar & Free Worksheets

안녕하세요? Today, I'll teach you easy grammar. It is about the Korean place marker 에. You must know about the informal present tense to proceed with this lesson! Are you ready? Let's start!

<Table of Contents>

0. 단어 Words

1. The place marker: -에

2. The expressions

3. The question forms

4. Examples

5. Wrap-up & Worksheets

0. 단어 Words

Please check out the words you will need in this lesson! Listen and repeat each word!

	where
	now
	school
	home, house
	company, work
	library
	restaurant

1. The place marker: -에

에 is called a place marker. It comes after a place noun like school, house, etc. 에 can be Romized as [ae] or [eh].

It only has one form; 에. It means the final consonant of a noun is not important. With or without the final consonant of a noun, you will simply add 에.

학교 school → 학교에 to school
집 house → 집에 to house

학교 ends with 교. It doesn't have the final consonant. 집 is a one-syllable word with the final consonant ㅂ. No matter what, there is only one form for this marker, 에. Now, I'll show you how to use this marker 에.

2. The expressions

1) N에 가다: go to N

가다 is the basic form of "go". The present tense form is 가요. It can combine with the place marker 에 to indicate the destination. To say someone is going to a place, use "N에 가요." 가요 can be translated into both the simple present tense or progressive present tense.

저는 도서관에 가요.

I go to the library. / I am going to the library.

수미가 도서관에 가요.

Sumi goes to the library. / Sumi is going to the library.

2) N에 오다

오다 is the basic form of "come". The present tense form is 와요. When you want to say someone is coming, you will use "N에 와요."

수미가 도서관에 와요.

Sumi comes to the library. / Sumi is coming to the library.

잭이 회사에 와요.

Jack comes to the office. / Jack is coming to the office.

3. The question forms

1) Where are you going?

To ask "Where are you going?" or "Where do you go?" we need to use "어디(where)". You add 에 to it and make 어디에, but in daily conversation, 에 can be omitted.

Where do you go? / Where are you going?

If you translate "어디에 가요?" literally, it would be "where go?". You don't see any "you." It is because it is implied in the sentence. When you directly ask this sentence to someone, he or she will understand you are asking them. Besides, there is not really a good word to use as a polite version of "you" in modern Korean.

Mina, where do you go? / Mina, where are you going?

Instead, you can put the listener's name in the sentence. 미나 is a female name and 씨 is a somewhat polite appellation. By saying "미나 씨," you are calling her like "Hey Mina" or "Mina".

Then, how we can ask about the third person? For example, I saw Sumi going somewhere. I wonder where she goes. So, I can ask my friend about Sumi like below.

Where does Sumi go? / Where is Sumi going?

You can ask about the third-person (not me, not you) going by using the expression "name이/가 어디에 가요?" 이/가 is the subject marker.

2) Are you going to N?

How can we ask "Are you doing to N?" or "Do you go to N?" We can put the place noun in the N position! So, to ask about a specific place with a yes or no question, you can say"N에 가요?"

Grammatically, you have to attach the place marker 에 to the noun. However, in daily conversation, it can be omitted. Look at the example below.

Do you go to school? / Are you going to school?

와요(come) will have the same structure. This time I'll add "지금(now)" to make the definite progressive present tense.

Are you coming home now?

4. Examples

Here are some examples for you. Once you read and understand, you can try to make your examples by using the nouns you know. If you want to know more place-related words, please click here.

1

I'm going to work now.

The example is the full sentence with the subject I(저는). It can be omitted if the speaker and the listener know who is this sentence about. 지금 means "now."

2

	Where are you going?
	I'm going to school.

"You" in the question and "I" in the answer are omitted because they are obvious. In daily conversation, those omissions happen often.

3

	Where are you going?
	I'm going to school.

These are the very same sentences with example number 2. But, the place marker "에" is omitted. In daily conversation, the place marker 에 can be disappeared. However, I recommend you study like example 2, the version with the markers for your accuracy!

4

	Roy, where are you going now?
	I'm going to the restaurant.

식당 is a restaurant. Can you guess what will be the full sentence of A? It will be 로이 씨, 지금 어디에 가요? Since they are talking, the place marker can be easily omitted.

5

	Are you going to school now?
	Yes, I'm going to school.

"네" is "yes" in Korean. It is a polite version.

6

	Are you going to school now?
	No, I'm going to the library.

"아니요" is a polite "No" in Korean. 도서관 is a library. If you say "아니요," it would be good to add some details.

5. Wrap-up & Worksheets: The Korean place marker

Here is important information for you! Try to memorize this summary!

에 is a place marker.
It is attached to a place-related noun.
"N에 가요." means "go to N."
"N에 와요." means "come to N."
"Where" is 어디.
"어디에 가요?" means "Where are you going?"

Now, please download the free worksheet and practice the grammar you learned today. In the quiz, you can see some countries' names as well. Well, they are places, too! If you want to know more country names, please click here.