Part 9 - Location & Existence

Part 9.1 - 에 있다 / 에 없다 — To Be (Exist) or Not Be (Not Exist) in a Location

Basic Information

The expressions 에 있다 and 에 없다 are used to talk about the existence or presence of people, objects, or things in a specific location.

에 있다 means "to be located at / to exist in," while 에 없다 means "to not be located at / to not exist in."

Grammar Rule

Attach the particle 에 after the place or location noun, then add 있다 or 없다 to indicate presence or absence.

Structure:
Place + 에 + 있다 / 없다

Example Sentences

Korean	English
학교에 학생들이 있어요.	There are students at the school.
책이 책상 위에 있어요.	The book is on the desk.
식당에 사람이 없어요.	There is no person at the restaurant.
우체국에 편지가 있어요.	There is a letter at the post office.
가방이 방에 없어요.	The bag is not in the room.
교실에 의자가 있어요.	There are chairs in the classroom.

Important Notes

• 에 is the location particle and shows where something exists or does not exist.
• 있다 and 없다 can be used with both animate and inanimate subjects.
• When the subject is animate (like people), it usually means they are physically present at the location.
• When the subject is inanimate (like objects), it means the object is located there.

Usage in Questions

To ask if something or someone is at a location, you can use:

• ...에 있어요? — "Is (someone/something) at ...?"
• ...에 없어요? — "Is (someone/something) not at ...?"

Example:
선생님이 교실에 있어요?
(Is the teacher in the classroom?)

Summary

Use 에 있다 to say something exists or is located somewhere.
Use 에 없다 to say something does not exist or is not located somewhere.
Attach the location noun + 에 before these verbs.

Common TOPIK I Patterns

• Place + 에 + 있다 — To say something/someone is at a place.
• Place + 에 + 없다 — To say something/someone is not at a place.
• Using with subjects: 사람 (person), 물건 (thing), 학생 (student), 책 (book), etc.

End of Lesson

Now you can talk about where things or people exist or don’t exist using 에 있다 and 에 없다.
This is an essential part of describing locations and situations in Korean.
Try to practice by describing where your belongings or friends are!
화이팅! Keep practicing! ✨

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