Example Sentences#

1. “세상이 날마다 더 좁아지고 있어.¹
   “The world is getting narrower every day.

   • 있다 means ‘to be’ or ‘to exist’.
   • -고 있다 is a grammar pattern used to indicate a continuous or ongoing action.
   • 어 is a casual ending used in informal speech.

2. “여기에는 어떤 사람들이 살고 있나요?”²
   “What kind of people live here?”

   • 있다 means ‘to exist’ or ‘to be’.
   • -고 있다 is a grammar pattern used to indicate a continuous or ongoing action.
   • 나요 is a polite ending used in questions, conveying curiosity or softening the tone to make the inquiry less direct.

3. 가슴이 뛰고 있잖아³
   My heart is racing

   • 있다 means ‘to exist’ or ‘to be’.
   • -고 있다 is a grammar pattern used to indicate a continuous or ongoing action.
   • -잖아 is a sentence-ending particle used when the speaker assumes the listener already knows or should know and agree with what is being said. It stems from the negative form -지 않아, adding a rhetorical tone like ‘isn’t it?’ and may carry a reminder or corrective nuance.

4. 우리는 끝없는 검은 바다 한가운데 있는 고요한 무지의 섬에 살고 있으며, 멀리 나가는 것은 우리에게 맞지 않았습니다.⁴
   We live on a quiet island of ignorance in the middle of an endless black sea, and it was not meant for us to venture far.

   • 있다 means ‘to be’ or ‘to exist’.
   • -고 있다 is a grammar pattern used to indicate a continuous or ongoing action.
   • -(으)며 is a connective ending indicating simultaneous actions.

5. 두 명의 스님, 한 명은 나이 든 스님이고 다른 한 명은 젊은 스님이 함께 여행하고 있었다.⁵
   Two monks, one old and one young, were traveling together.

   • 있다 means ‘to exist’ or ‘to be’.
   • -고 있다 is a grammar pattern used to indicate a continuous or ongoing action.
   • 었 is a past tense marker.
   • 다 is a plain narrative form used in writing to state facts or narrate events.

6. 고요한 마을에는 타로라는 성실한 돌을 다듬는 사람이 살고 있었습니다.⁶
   In a quiet village, there lived a diligent stone carver named Taro.

   • 있다 means ‘to exist’ or ‘to be’.
   • -고 있다 is a grammar pattern used to indicate a continuous or ongoing action.
   • 었 is a past tense marker.
   • 습니다 is a formal polite ending used in declarative sentences.

7. 체셔 고양이: “저쪽에는,” 고양이는 한쪽 발을 흔들며, “모자 장수가 살고 있어.²
   Cheshire Cat: “In that direction,” waving one paw, “lives a Hatter.

   • 있다 means ‘to exist’ or ‘to be’.
   • -고 있다 is a grammar pattern used to indicate a continuous or ongoing action.
   • 어 is a casual ending used in informal speech.

8. 과학은 각자 다른 방향으로 나아가고 있으며, 지금까지는 우리에게 큰 해를 끼치지 않았습니다.⁴
   Each science is progressing in different directions and has not caused us great harm until now.

   • 있다 means ‘to be’ or ‘to exist’.
   • -고 있다 is a grammar pattern used to indicate a continuous or ongoing action.
   • -(으)며 is a connective ending indicating simultaneous actions.

9. 어느 날 그들은 강 옆에 도착했는데, 그곳에는 젊고 아름다운 여자가 강을 건너려 하다가 어려움을 겪고 있었다.⁵
   One day, they arrived beside a river, where there was a young and beautiful woman having difficulty trying to cross the river.

   • 있다 means ‘to exist’ or ‘to be’.
   • -고 있다 is a grammar pattern used to indicate a continuous or ongoing action.
   • 었 is a past tense marker.
   • 다 is a plain narrative form used in writing to state facts or narrate events.

10. 어느 저녁, 그는 오래된 나무 아래에서 쉬고 있을 때, 나뭇잎 사이로 신비한 목소리가 들려왔습니다.⁶
    One evening, while he was resting under an old tree, he heard a mysterious voice through the leaves.

    • 있다 means ‘to exist’ or ‘to be’.
    • -고 있다 is a grammar pattern used to indicate a continuous or ongoing action.
    • 을 is a modifier that makes the preceding statement function as an adnominal phrase describing the following noun, conveying assumption, intention, or possibility, including potential future actions.

11. 그리고 저쪽에는,” 다른 쪽 발을 흔들며, “3월 토끼가 살고 있어.²
    And in that direction,” waving the other paw, “the March Hare lives.

    • 있다 means ‘to exist’ or ‘to be’.
    • -고 있다 is a grammar pattern used to indicate a continuous or ongoing action.
    • 어 is a casual ending used in informal speech.

12. 그런데 왜 아직도 그 여자를 마음속에 두고 있는가?”⁵
    Why are you still carrying her?”

    • 있다 means ‘to be’ or ‘to exist’.
    • -고 있다 is a grammar pattern used to indicate a continuous or ongoing action.
    • -는가 is a formal or literary written question ending used to ask questions indirectly, often conveying curiosity, speculation, or introspection. It implies a sense of wondering, musing, or posing a rhetorical question, rather than directly asking.

13. 한 돌을 다듬는 사람이 그의 큰 몸을 천천히 깎고 있었습니다.⁶
    A stone carver was slowly carving his large body.

    • 있다 means ‘to exist’ or ‘to be’.
    • -고 있다 is a grammar pattern used to indicate a continuous or ongoing action.
    • 었 is a past tense marker.
    • 습니다 is a formal polite ending used in declarative sentences.