My Korean Lesson

Korean Place Marker 에서 Grammar With Free Worksheets

안녕하세요! 😊 Welcome back! Previously, you've learned the place marker "에." In this lesson, you will learn another place marker "에서".

<Table of Contents>

1. The Korean Place Marker: N에서

2. Comparisons 에서 vs. 에

3. Question Forms

4. Examples

5. Wrap-up & Worksheet

1. The Korean Place Marker: N에서

에서 attaches to a place noun. It shows the place where the activity (action) happens. In English, you can translate N에서 as "at N" or "in N".

저는 도서관에서 공부해요. I study at the library.

It only has one form. The final consonant doesn't matter.

도서관에서 공부해요. I study at the library.
학교에서 공부해요. I study at school.

도서관 ends with the final consonant ㄴ. The last syllable of 학교 is 교 and it doesn't have the final consonant. No matter what, you use 에서.

에서 has to be followed by a verb that involves an action such as "study, eat, play soccer". Those are the most of the verbs! However, it can't be used with 이다 (The Korean "be" verb like am/are/is.) or 있다 (have/there is/there are)."

(O) 진이 도서관에서 공부해요. Jin is studying at the library.
(X) 진이 도서관에서 이에요.
(X) 진이 도서관에서 있어요.

2. Comparisons 에서 vs. 에

1) The common

They are the Korean place markers. They are both used after a noun that is related to a place. Both can be combined with the word 살다 (live).

I live in Korea.	(You can say either one.)
	(에: Focus on more "exist" in Korea.)
	(에서: Focus on more "action" of "live".)

2) The differences

에서 indicates where an action is taking place. That means it can combine most of the verbs with the "action" involved. 에 indicates that a person or a thing exists or is located. So, it only works with certain verbs like 있다 have and 없다 not have.

Even though most verbs are attached with only 에서, "가다(to go)" and "오다(to come)" can also work with 에. However, the meanings are different. 에서 shows the departure place. 에 shows the destination.

N에서 가다: It indicates the departure place. (I) go from N.
N에 가다: It indicates the destination. (I) go to N.

N에서 오다: (I) come from N.
N에 오다: (I) come to N.

Here are some examples for you. See how 에서 and 에 make the differences in meanings!

	I go from home.
	I go to school.
	I go to school from house.

Can you tell how 에서 and 에 are different? Here is the chart to show things at glace! Click to enlarge it.

3. Question Forms

To ask "Where do you V (verb)?" we can use 어디 (where). Add a verb at the end.

어디에서 살아요? Where do you live? ← 살다 to live
어디에서 일해요? Where do you work? ← 일하다 to work
어디에서 점심을 먹어요? Where do you eat your lunch? ← 먹다 to work

Unlike 어디에 which was able to erase 에, you can't omit 에서.

Where are you going?
어디에 가요? = 어디 가요

Where do you study?
어디에서 공부해요?
(X) 어디 공부해요? -Wrong sentence!

4. Examples

Here are some examples for you. Once you read and understand, you can try making your examples using the nouns you know. If you want to know more words, please click the link below.

1

가: 어디에서 공부해요? Where do you study?

나: 도서관에서 공부해요. I study at the library.

Since 공부해요 (that came from 공부하다) is a verb with action, you have to use 에서, not 에!

2

Q: 어디에서 살아요? Where do you live?

A: 미국에서 살아요. I live in the U.S.A.

Q: 미국 어디에서 살아요? What part of the U.S.A.?

A: 뉴욕에서 살아요. I live in New York.

You can search different country/region names in a browser—for example, New York in Korean. Think about the country, state, or area name you are living in and try to Koreanize that word. Search Google, Safari, or any browser you use and see if your Korean word is correct! Also, 살아요 came from the word 살다 which means to live. 살다 can be used for both 에서 and 에. So, you can switch all 에서 in this example 2 to 에.

3

가: 유나 씨, 어디에서 밥을 먹어요? Where do you eat, Yuna?

나: 서울 식당에서 밥을 먹어요. I eat at the Seoul restuarant.

Again, 먹어요 is an action, eating. So, you must use 에서! If you use 에, that will be a wrong sentence!

4

가: 어디에서 친구를 만나요? Where do you meet your friends?

나: 시내에서 만나요. I meet my friends at the downtown.

만나요 came from 만나다(to meet). 시내 is downtown. 친구 means "a(the) friend/ friends."

Korean is not strict in the singular/plural matter and doesn't have an article(a/the). Without context, 친구 can be one friend or more than one.

There is a way to make sure you make that word plural though. You can simply add the word "들" like 친구들. Then you definitely can tell you are meeting "friends". But adding 들 is not necessary!