Example Sentences#

1. 특별한 계획 있어?¹
   Got any special plans?
   • 있다 means ‘to exist’.
   • 어 is a casual ending used in informal speech.
2. “세상이 날마다 더 좁아지고 있어.²
   “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.
3. 너에게 닿을 수 있을까?³
   Will it ever reach you?
   • 있다 means ‘to exist’.
   • -을 수 있다 forms a grammar pattern that expresses ability or possibility.
   • -을까 is a question ending indicating curiosity, wonder, or uncertainty, often reflecting deliberation or weighing options.
4. 체셔 고양이: “그건 네가 어디로 가고 싶은지에 달려 있어,” 고양이가 말했다.⁴
   Cheshire Cat: “That depends on where you want to go,” said the cat.
   • 있다 means ‘to exist’ or ‘to be’. In this context, it is part of the phrase 에 달려 있다, which emphasizes the ongoing state of dependency on the preceding clause.
   • 어 is a casual ending used in informal speech.
5. 옛날에 한 노인이 있었습니다.⁵
   Once upon a time, there was an old man.
   • 있다 means ‘to exist’ or ‘to be’.
   • 었 is a past tense marker.
   • 습니다 is a formal polite ending used in declarative sentences.
6. 가슴이 뛰고 있잖아⁶
   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.
7. 나연: 아, 이런 큰 공연 있을 때는 진짜 미리 계획 세우고 일찍 가야지.⁷
   Nayeon: Ah, for big concerts like this, you really have to plan ahead and go early.
   • 있다 means ‘to exist’ or ‘to be’.
   • -을 is a modifier that turns the preceding statement into a phrase describing the following noun, conveying assumption, intention, or possibility and including future, potential, or unrealized actions and states.
8. 지수: 그치, 그 두 사람 다 상처가 많았는데, 그냥 옆에 있어 주는 것만으로도 힘이 되는 게 보여서 좋았어.⁸
   Jisoo: Right, both of those people had many wounds, but it was good to see that just being by their side was enough to give them strength.
   • 있다 means ‘to be’ or ‘to exist’.
   • 어 is part of the pattern -어 주다, which indicates that the action is done for someone else.
9. 아마 실제로 십자가형을 당해야 하는 상황이 온다면, 저는 그것을 이겨낼 수 있을 것입니다.⁹
   Perhaps if a situation were to come where I had to actually be crucified, I would be able to overcome it.
   • 있다 means ‘to exist’ or ‘to have’.
   • ㄹ 수 있다 forms a grammar pattern that expresses ability or possibility.
   • -ㄹ is a modifier that turns the preceding statement into a phrase describing the following noun, conveying assumption, intention, or possibility and including future, potential, or unrealized actions and states.
10. 우리는 끝없는 검은 바다 한가운데 있는 고요한 무지의 섬에 살고 있으며, 멀리 나가는 것은 우리에게 맞지 않았습니다.¹⁰
    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’.
    • -는 is a present tense modifier that turns the preceding statement into a phrase describing the following noun.
11. 두 명의 스님, 한 명은 나이 든 스님이고 다른 한 명은 젊은 스님이 함께 여행하고 있었다.¹¹
    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 the plain declarative ending used to state facts or describe events in an impersonal, neutral tone without addressing a specific listener, found in objective narration (stories, articles, diaries), self-directed speech, announcements, and emphatic exclamations.
12. “사람은 자기가 길들인 것만 알 수 있어.” 여우가 말했다.¹²
    “One only knows the things one has tamed,” said the fox.
    • 있다 means ‘to exist’.
    • ㄹ 수 있다 forms a grammar pattern that expresses ability or possibility.
    • 어 is a casual ending used in informal speech.
13. 고요한 마을에는 타로라는 성실한 돌을 다듬는 사람이 살고 있었습니다.¹³
    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.
14. 옛날에 산 아래 작은 마을이 있었습니다.¹⁴
    Once upon a time, there was a small village at the foot of a mountain.
    • 있다 means ‘to exist’ or ‘to be’.
    • 었 is a past tense marker.
    • 습니다 is a formal polite ending used in declarative sentences.
15. 뭐 좋은 계획 있나?¹
    Any good ideas?
    • 있다 means ‘to exist’.
    • -나 is a casual interrogative ending that softens the question and makes it less direct, adding a sense of wonder or curiosity.
16. 하지만 이 긴 벽들이 너무 빨리 가까워져서 이제는 마지막 방에 있고, 저기 구석에 내가 달려가는 덫이 있어.”²
    But these long walls closed in so quickly that now I am in the last room, and over there in the corner is the trap I am running towards.”
    • 있다 means ‘to be’ or ‘to exist’.
    • -고 is a connective ending used to link two actions or states, meaning ‘and’, or to join the main verb to auxiliary verbs.
17. 길 위엔 뜻이 살아 있어³
    The road still holds its meaning
    • 있다 means ‘to exist’, and here functions as an auxiliary verb indicating that the state or result of the preceding statement continues over time.
    • 어 is a casual ending used in informal speech.
18. 체셔 고양이: “오, 넌 분명히 갈 곳이 있을 거야,” 고양이가 말했다, “오래 걷기만 하면 돼.”⁴
    Cheshire Cat: “Oh, you’re sure to find a place,’ said the cat, ‘as long as you walk long enough.”
    • 있다 means ‘to exist’.
    • -을 is a modifier that turns the preceding statement into a phrase describing the following noun, conveying assumption, intention, or possibility and including future, potential, or unrealized actions and states.
19. 그러나 노인은 단지 “좋을 수도 있고, 나쁠 수도 있습니다”라고 대답했습니다.⁵
    However, the old man just answered, “It could be good, or it could be bad.”
    • 있다 means ‘to exist’ or ‘to be’.
    • ㄹ 수 있다 forms a grammar pattern that expresses ability or possibility. Adding 도 implies this possibility exists alongside others, shifting the nuance from ‘can’ to ‘might’.
    • -고 is a connective ending used to link two actions or states, meaning ‘and’, or to join the main verb to auxiliary verbs.
20. 너도 이 마음 느낄 수 있잖아⁶
    You can feel this too, can’t you?
    • 있다 means ‘to exist’.
    • ㄹ 수 있다 forms a grammar pattern that expresses ability or possibility.
    • -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.