안녕하세요? This is My Korean Lesson🤗! Today, I'll teach you about the Korean subject marker. If you read my previous post "이/가 아니에요", you probably saw this already. In this post, I'll show you more details. 😉 After reading my lesson don't forget to download the free worksheets to practice more!
<Table of Contents>
1. The subject marker: 이/가
In English, you can tell the "subject" of a sentence by putting a noun in the first part of the sentence. In Korean, you attach the subject marker to make that noun into the subject! There are two subject markers 이 and 가.
Depending on the last syllable of the noun, you have to choose one form between 이 and 가. If the last syllable has the final consonant(받침), use 이. If not, please use 가. These markers must be attached to a noun, without a space between the word and the marker!
받침 O + 이: 책상이
The last syllable of 책상 is 상. If you look at 상, it is consist of ㅅ, ㅏ, ㅇ. The last consonant ㅇ is what we call the final consonant. Since it exists, we attach the subject marker form "이."
받침 X + 가: 의자가
The last syllable of 의자 is 자. It has ㅈ and ㅏ, one consonant, and one vowel. There is no extra consonant after the vowel. So we attach the subject marker 가 to the noun without a space.
2. The forms with "I" and "you"
A. I and you in Korean
There are two ways to say "I" and "you" in Korean. It depends on the politeness. Take a look.
I | You | |
Not Polite | ||
Polite |
당신 is politer than 너. Well, traditionally it was. However, it is considered not that polite anymore and people don't usually use the word "you" in a sentence. That part is usually omitted and implied in context. I still added the word 당신 for now, but just to know you won't use this word much.
B. Pronoun+Subject marker
When 이/가 combines with the first and second-person pronouns, the forms change. The words with subject markers will be used like the red ones below.
나 (not polite) I → 나+가 → 내가 [nae-ga]
너 (not polite) you → 너+가 → 네가 [ne-ga]
Can you see how the forms changed? So, watch out! When you say "I" with the subject marker, you have to say 내가, not 나가. To say the not polite second person pronoun, you have to say 네가, not 너가.
Here is one pronunciation tip for 네가. The pronunciation of ㅐ [ae] and ㅔ[e] were supposed to be different a long time ago. However, these days, people don't distinguish those two pronunciations. According to this trend, 내가 [nae-ga] and 네가 [ne-ga] sounds the same!
It is so confusing without context, so people also pronounce 네가 as [니가 ni-ga] to say "you". It may sound inappropriate in English, but that is how Koreans pronounce it. If you watch a Korean drama or listen to K-pop songs, you will hear or listen to this word quite often. You know what it means in Korean now!
저 (polite) I → 저+가 → 제가 [jae-ga]
당신 (somewhat polite) you → This one doesn't change. → 당신이 [dang-si-nee]
The polite version word, "저" also not be used as 저가, but it should become 제가. 당신 is the only one here that doesn't change its form with a subject marker. Yes, of course, the one that you won't use much in daily life. 😂
I | You | |
Not Polite | ||
Polite |
3. The forms with "this/that".
Here are some more pronouns for you. You have to use different pronouns when you point to a thing or things. It depends on how close that object is to a speaker or a listener.
이것 this thing: It's a pronoun pointing to an object close to the speaker.
그것 that thing: It's a pronoun pointing to an object close to the listener.
저것 that thing over there: It's a pronoun to point to an object that is far from both speaker and listener.
When 이/가 is attached to those demonstrative pronouns, the forms will be changed! When you write, you can use the full words like 이것이, 저것이, 그것이. However, shortened forms like the ones below are more commonly used in daily conversations.
Original forms | Shortened forms | |
this thing | ||
that thing | ||
that thing over there |
4. Examples
Here are some examples! I'll show you the sentences using the subject marker and the be verb 이에요 and 예요.
이것이 공책이에요. This is the notebook.
그것이 책상이에요. That is the desk.
저것이 컴퓨터예요. That is the computer.
이게 책이에요. This is the book.
그게 공책이에요. That is the notebook.
저게 의자예요. That is a chair.
5. Wrap-up & Worksheets: The subject marker
As a matter of fact, the subject marker itself is pretty simple. Let's review the Korean subject marker!
You attach 이 or 가 to a noun to show the subject of the sentence.
It depends on their last syllable.
If the last syllable has the final consonant, attach 이.
If the last syllable doesn't have the final consonant, attach 가.
Some pronouns change their forms with the subject marker.
I prepared the free printable PDF worksheets for you. Please download and utilize them to practice your Korean!
Writing Practice
Quiz
If you learned the topic marker before with me, you may wonder by now, how this topic marker and subject marker are different. They seem the same if you translate Korean sentences into English. And if you are wondering, it is a good question! However, the differences between the two markers are quite big matters!
If you just started to learn Korean, don't worry too much about distinguishing them! You will get used to them as you go through the lesson. Simply, you can think the subject marker reveals the subject of the sentence while the topic marker shows who or what is this sentence about.
If you would like to know more details or if you are familiar with Korean markers, please check out the post, "The subject marker vs. the topic marker."
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