What more is there about the particles 은/는/이/가?

In addition to marking topics, 은 [eun] / 는 [neun] has the nuance of "about" something, "as for" something, or even "unlike other things" or "different from other things."

In addition to marking subjects, 이 [i] / 가 [ga] has the nuance of "none other than" "nothing but" and also, when used inside a complex sentence, the role of marking the subject without emphasizing it too much.

Let's look at some examples of ().

이거 [i-geo] = this / 사과 [sa-gwa] = apple / 예요 [ye-yo] = to be / is

.

[i-geo sa-gwa-ye-yo] = This is an apple.

You can add / to this, and in this case the subject, 이거, ends in a vowel, so add -.

이거는 사과예요. [i-geo-NEUN sa-gwa-ye-yo]

= (The other things are not apples, but) THIS is an apple.

So you can imagine someone talking like this:

. [i-geo keo-pi-ye-yo] (= This is coffee)

. [i-geo-NEUN mul-i-e-yo] (= That was coffee, but THIS ONE, it's water.)

. [i-geo-NEUN o-ren-ji-ju-seu-ye-yo]

(= And THIS ONE, it's different again, it's orange juice.)

? [i-geo-NEUN mwo-ye-yo?]

(= And what about this one? What is it?)

As you can see from this example, 은/는 has the role of emphasizing the topic of the sentence by giving it the nuance of "that one is ... and/but THIS ONE is..."

So sometime it is unnatural to used 은/는 in every sentence you say.

So in Korean, although 은 and 는 are generally topic marking particles, people often save 은/는 for really emphasizing the topic in contrast to the other parts of the sentence.

For example, if you want to say "The weather's nice today." in Korean, you can say it in many ways. (Don't worry about the entire sentence here. Just focus on the use of 은/는.)

1) . [o-neul nal-ssi jot-ne-yo]

The weather's good today.

2) 오늘 날씨 좋네요. [o-neul- nal-ssi jot-ne-yo]

(The weather hasn't been so good lately, but TODAY, it's good.)

3) 오늘 날씨 좋네요. [o-neul nal-ssh-NEUN jot-ne-yo]

(Today, not necessarily everything else too, but at least the weather is good.)

So THAT's how powerful and useful the topic marking particles (은/는) can be in changing the nuance of your Korean sentences!

Let's look at some examples of ().

좋아요 [jo-a-yo] = it's good / 뭐 [mwo] = what / 이/가 [i/ga] = subject marking particles Imagine that one says "좋아요. [jo-a-yo]" and that means "It's good." or "I like it."

But if you are not quite sure WHAT is good, you can ask "WHAT is good?" or "What are you talking about?"