Korean grammar - The verb ‘to be’ - 이에요/예요

The verb ‘to be’ - 이에요/예요

Pattern: Noun + 이에요 or Noun + 예요

The Korean verb 이다 means 'to be'. Its present tense forms are 이에요 & 예요.

To say A is B we attach one of the two present tense forms of the verb to the object noun B.

• We attach 이에요 when the object noun ends with a consonant.

• We attach 예요 when the object noun ends with a vowel.

In the examples below the subject noun (A) – who or what is doing the verb – is absent. This is common in Korean when it is obvious from the context.

Examples:
	학생이에요. (I) am a student. 학생 (ends with the consonant ㅇ) + 이에요 ⇒ 학생이에요 학생 means 'student'
	겨울이에요. (It) is winter. 겨울 (ends with the consonant ㄹ) + 이에요 ⇒ 겨울이에요 겨울 means 'winter'
	월요일이에요. (It) is Monday. 월요일 (ends with the consonant ㄹ) + 이에요 ⇒ 월요일이에요 월요일 means 'Monday'
	나무예요. (It) is a tree. 나무 (ends with the vowel ㅜ) + 예요 ⇒ 나무예요 나무 means 'tree'
	누나예요. (She) is (my) older sister. 누나 (ends with the vowel ㅏ) + 예요 ⇒ 누나예요 누나 means 'a male's older sister'
	강이에요. (It) is a river. 강 (ends with the consonant ㅇ) + 이에요 ⇒ 강이에요 강 means 'river'
	초콜릿이에요? Is (it) chocolate? 초콜릿 (ends with the consonant ㅅ) + 이에요 ⇒ 초콜릿이에요 초콜릿 means 'chocolate' Questions can be formulated in Korean by just using a pronounced upwards inflection.
	학생이에요? Is (he) a student? 학생 (ends with the consonant ㅇ) + 이에요 ⇒ 학생이에요 학생 means 'student'
	서준이에요. (He) is Seojun. 서준 (ends with the consonant ㄴ) + 이에요 ⇒ 서준이에요 서준 is a common male name.
	지아예요? Is (she) Jia? 지아 (ends with the vowel ㅏ) + 예요 ⇒ 지아예요 지아 is a common female name.