-이/가

Vocabulary in This Post

Noun + 이/가 When the subject marker '이/가' is attached after a noun, that noun becomes the subject of the sentence.

날씨가 어때요?

How’s the weather?

언니가 예뻐요.

My sister is pretty.

저는 기분이 좋아요.

My feeling is good. (I feel good)

• We don't say '저가/나가/너가'. Instead, we say '제가/내가/네가'.

저가 수지예요. X

→ 제가 수지예요.

'이것이/그것이/저것이' is often shortened to '이게/그게/저게'.

이것이 컵이에요.

→ 이게 컵이에요.

• 이/가 marker can be omitted.

날씨 어때요?

• 은/는 vs 이/가

Most beginners struggle with knowing when to use these two markers, 은/는(topic marker) and 이/가(subject marker). The grammar is complex because it conveys subtle nuances. Don't worry too much, simply read through it at your own pace, and revisit after exploring more pages. It will make more sense later :)

1. You can use both 은/는 and 이/가 in one sentence like this.

오늘은 날씨가 좋아요 (Today’s weather is good.) 저는 기분이 좋아요 (My feeling is good.)

→ A noun with 은/는 serves as the topic of the sentence, while a noun with 이/가 acts as the subject(directly performing the verb or having the adjective's quality).

2. They are still interchangeable!

날씨는 좋아요 (The weather is good.) 날씨가 좋아요 (The weather is good.)

→ Those two have a different nuance.⬇️

은/는	이/가
Focus on ‘What’ 수지는 노래해요. Suzy sings. → When using the topic marker, people pay more attention to what the topic is about. So the focus is on 'what' Suzy is doing.	Focus on ‘Who’ 수지가 노래해요. Suzy sings. → When using the subject marker, people pay more attention to the subject. The focus shifts to 'who' is performing the action of singing.
General facts 사과는 빨개요. Apples are red.	When you observe something 사과가 까매요. The apple is black. → Since the focus is on the subject, we use the subject marker when directly observing something, when referring to a specific object, or when emphasizing something previously mentioned.

• 저(polite ‘I’) + 가 → 제가O (저가X)
• 나(informal ‘I’) + 가 → 내가O (나가X)