Korean Grammar Bank

PLACE & TIME PARTICLES

As you probably already know, the Korean language uses particles to help identify the role of a word.

Today, we’ll learn about the particles 에 and 에서 used for place and time.

KOREAN PARTICLE -에

CASE 1 // PLACE

To identify a word in a sentence as a place, you simply needs to add -에 after the noun.

PATTERN

Noun +

naneun hakgyoe gayo

나는 학교 가요

I go to school
Tomeun miguge sarayo.

Tom은 미국 살아요.

Tom lives in the United States.
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그 자켓은 옷장있어요.geu jakeseun osjange isseoyo.The jacket is in the closet.
그는 어디갔나요?geuneun eodie gassnayo?Where did he go?

CASE 2 // TIME

To mark the time in the sentence, you need to add -에 after the given hour or noun.

PATTERN

Time / Noun +

Here are a few examples:

i yeonghwaneun 8sie sijakhaeyo.

이 영화는 8시 시작해요.

This movie starts at 8:00.
geuneun 1991nyeone taeeonasseoyo.

그는 1991년 태어났어요.

He was born in 1991.
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지난 주말무엇을 하셨나요?jinan jumare mueoseul hasyeossnayo?What did you do last weekend?
나는 일요일부모님을 만나요.naneun iryoire bumonimeul mannayo.I am going to see my parents on Sunday.

PARTICLES -에서 & -까지

‘-에서’ and ‘-까지’ are used in the same sentence in many cases.

It can be used in the form of ‘A에서 B까지’ which means ‘from A to B’.

PATTERN

Place/Time + 에서 + Place/Time + 까지

You can replace A and B with words that indicate places or times.

At the same time, both can be used separately from each other for other meanings, as well. 

  • ‘-에서’ : from, at, in
  • ‘-까지’ : to, until/till, by, up to

CASE 1 // PLACE

geuneun ohaioeseo wasseoyo.

그는 오하이오에서 왔어요.

He is from Ohio
reondeoneseo geu chukjega yeollyeosseoyo.

런던에서 그 축제가 열렸어요.

The festival was held in London.
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선생님은 학교에서일해요.seonsaengnimeun hakgyoeseo ilhaeyo.Teachers work at school.
부산에서서울까지 버스로 4시간 걸려요.busaneseo seoulkkaji beoseuro 4sigan geollyeoyo.It takes 4 hours by bus from Busan to Seoul.
슈퍼에서교회까지 얼마나 멀어요?syupeoeseo gyohoekkaji eolmana meoreoyo?How far is it from the supermarket to the church?

CASE 2 // TIME

naneun 9sieseo 6sikkaji ilhaeyo.

나는 9시에서 6시까지 일해요.

I work from nine to six.
miting sijak jeonkkaji iyagi haeyo.

미팅 시작 전까지 이야기 해요.

Let’s talk until the meeting begins.
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내일까지보고서를 제출해야 해요.naeilkkaji bogoseoreul jechulhaeya haeyo.I need to submit the report by tomorrow.
이 트럭은 8명까지탑승 가능해요.i teureogeun 8myeongkkaji tapseung ganeunghaeyo.This truck accommodates up to 8 people.

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FAQs

What is the difference between 에 and 에서?

The particle can be use for either time and place.

-에서 and -까지 are used in the same sentence in many cases.

It can be used in the form of ‘A에서 B까지’ which means ‘from A to B’.

You can replace A and B with words that indicate places or times. At the same time, both can be used separately from each other for other meanings, as well. 

‘-에서’ : from, at, in

‘-까지’ : to, until/till, by, up to

What are other Korean particles should I know?

The Korean language has several particles you should know about, especially in the first stages of your learning process.

Here are some:

Here are some:

Topic particles 은/는

Subject particles 이/가

Object particles 을/를

Direction particles -로/-으로

Place and Time particles 에 / 에서

Is Korean SVO or SOV?

Korean is a SOV language, meaning the basic language structure is:

Subject + Object + Verb

Japanese, Mongolian and Turkish are also SOV languages for example.

English is a SVO language: subject + verb + object

Learn more about Korean sentence structures here.

How to make negative sentences in Korean?

Expressing ‘not’. For verbs and adjectives. Add ‘안’ or ‘-지 않아요’ in front of them.

Example: 지수는 초콜릿을 좋아하지 않아요.

Expressing ‘cannot’. For verbs only. Add 못’or ‘-지 못해요’ in front of the verb.

Example: 저는 수영을 못 해요.

Expressing ‘do not know’. The word ‘to know’ in Korean is ‘알다’. However, we rarely apply the methods of case 1 and case 2 for this word. Instead, we use the word ‘몰라요’

Example: 나는 그녀의 연락처를 몰라요.

Expressing ‘not have’. When we make a sentence to talk about the absence of something, we would use ‘없어요’.

Example: 공원에 사람들이 거의 없어요.

Learn more about negative sentences in Korean here.

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