Korean Grammar Notes TTMIK

Book 1: lesson 18

어디 = where, which place

어디 가고 싶어요

Q: Why use location marking particles?

A: Whereas it is POSSIBLE to make sentences without location marking particles (as in the example above: 어디 가고 싶어요?), by using the right location marking particles, you can make your message very clear. There are many location particles in Korean, but let us look at the two most basic principles -에 and -에서.

-에 = at, to, in

Conjugation

Noun + -에

-에서 = at, in, from

Conjugation

Noun + -에서

-에서 expresses:

1. a location where an action is taking place(ex. I studied at the library. / I met my friends in Seoul.)
2. the meaning of “from“ a place. (ex. I came from Seoul./ The package came from Spain.)

The difference between -에 and -에서

-에 expresses location where something “is“ or “exists“, or a direction that you are going toward.

-에서 expresses a location where an action is taking place.