3 Sentence Summary of This Lesson:
- 있다 means "to have" or "to exist" and conjugates to 있어요 (present), 있었어요 (past), 있을 거예요 (future)
- 없다 is the opposite, meaning "to not have" or "to not exist," with forms 없어요, 없었어요, 없을 거예요
- A space is required between the noun and 있다/없다 verbs in sentences
The verb ‘to have’ and ‘to exist’ is ‘있다’ in Korean.
First extract the stem and let’s try to conjugate it.
The stem of ‘있다’ is ‘있’:
- Simple Present: 있어요 → 동생이 있어요. (I have a younger brother/sister.)
- Simple Past: 있었어요 → 거기에 책이 있었어요. (There was a book there.)
- Simple Future: 있을 거예요 → 거기에 그 사람이 있을 거예요. (That person will be there.)
The opposite of ‘있다’ is ‘없다’.
The stem of ‘없다’ is ‘없’:
- Simple Present: 없어요 → 동생이 없어요. (I don’t have a younger brother/sister.)
- Simple Past: 없었어요 → 거기에 책이 없었어요. (There wasn’t a book there.)
- Simple Future: 없을 거예요 → 거기에 그 사람이 없을 거예요. (That person will be not there.)
Note here there there is a whitespace between the noun and the ‘있다’ or ‘없다’ verb.
Try the following exercise.
Fill in the blanks with ‘있다’ and ‘없다’ to match the sentences in English.
- 사과가 _____. (There was an apple)
Answer
있었어요
- 컴퓨터가 _____. (There was no computer)
Answer
없었어요
- 오늘은 _____. (There won’t be any today)
Answer
없을 거예요
- 시간이 _____. (I don’t have time)
Answer
없어요
- 생각이 _____. (You don’t have any thoughts = You’re not thinking)
Answer
없어요
- 차이가 _____. (There will be a difference)
Answer
있을 거예요
- 아침에는 _____. (In the morning, there weren’t any)
Answer
없었어요
- 예의가 _____. (They have no manners)
Answer
없어요
- 절차가 _____. (There is a process)
Answer
있어요
- 기적_____. (It was a miracle)
Answer
있었어요
* For more practice exercises, visit the ‘Practice Hub’.
🚩 All contents on Modu Korean are subject to copyright. Do not share, distribute, or copy any of the contents.