Cours de coréen ᚛ Level 1 - My First Steps in Korean (Lessons 1 to 30) ᚛ Leçon 21 - Differences between Topic Particle [은 / 는] and Subject Particle [이 / 가]
Differences between Topic Particle [은 / 는] and Subject Particle [이 / 가]
When learning Korean, one of the first difficulties you might come across is whether to use the topic particle 은 / 는 or the topic particle 이 / 가. This is a normal question because the "topic of the sentence" is a concept that does not exist in English. The correct use of these particles comes with a lot of experience in practicing the language. However, this chapter may help you choose the right particle in certain situations.
Most of the time, using the topic or subject particle is going to be grammatically correct. Choosing the right one depends on the context you are in; they actually have a slightly different meaning.
General or specific?
This is actually one of the main differences between these two particles.
The subject particle 이 / 가 acts to highlight something or someone who does an action or is described. This thing or person is usually specific and definite.
Situation 1
바나나는 비싸요.
→ Bananas are expensive.
This sentence will be used in a non-specific context, you are talking with someone about bananas in general. And you say they are all expensive, without exception. Generally speaking, bananas are expensive.
In this case, the topic particle 은 / 는 is used, with the topic of discussion being "bananas, as a rule".
Situation 2
바나나가 비싸요.
→ Bananas are expensive.
This sentence will be used in a specific context. For example, you are at the market with your friend, in front of a fruit stand. You look at the price of each fruit and in front of the bananas, you say "bananas are expensive!" ". Using 가 indicates that you are talking about those specific bananas in front of you. You describe these bananas, they are expensive.
Answering a who / what / which question
The question "who?", " what?” or "which?" is asking the person to indicate someone or something specific. It will therefore generally be the subject particle 이 / 가 that will be used.
- 누가 케이크를 먹었어?
→ Who ate the cake?
- 제가 먹었어요.
→ I ate it.
In the second sentence, we answer the question "who, specifically, ate the cake?", we therefore use the subject particle 이 / 가 in the answer.
Remember that the subject particle 이 / 가 only serves to indicate whether a person or a thing does an action or is something. It is used to describe an action or a state.
Note that when we use 저 with the particle 가, we do not say 저가 but 제가.
Expressing contrast
The topic particle 은 / 는 allows us to make a contrast with what has been said previously.
If we go back to the situation in the previous section. Two cases can be distinguished.
Situation 1
You are the only one to answer this question and you did not eat the cake.
제가 안 먹었어요.
→ I did not eat it.
As before, we indicate “me, specifically, I did not eat it”.
Situation 2
There are several of you in the room who can answer this question. You haven't eaten the cake and you want to clear yourself of this situation quickly.
저는 안 먹었어요.
→ I did not eat it.
By placing 는 here, you create a contrast between you who did not eat the cake, and the others who may have had something to do with it. You say “As far as I am concerned, only me, as opposed to others, I didn’t eat it.”
Express contrast implicitly
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Interaction between the two particles
Of course, the topic particle 은 / 는 and the topic particle 이 / 가 can be found in the same sentence.
As we know, if we want to say that "apples are red" in general, we use the topic particle 은 / 는.
사과는 빨개요.
→ The apples are red.
However, if when talking about apples, we want to specify that it is the skin that is red, then we will specifically mark the skin with the subject particle 이 / 가.
Indeed, we do not want to change the topic of the discussion, which always remains "apples", but we simply want to give specific information on the skin.
사과는 껍질이 빨개요.
→ Regarding apples, the skin is red.
Exercises
You want to say “I am American”, should you use the topic particle 은 / 는 or the topic particle 이 / 가?
- 저는 미국 사람이에요.
- 제가 미국 사람이에요.
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Conclusion
To conclude this chapter, which is not exhaustive and can never be exhaustive, the choice of the topic particle or the subject particle remains a difficult point of grammar. It usually depends on the context and situation.
Know that you will need a lot of experience in order to use them correctly. In the meantime, try to do your best by following the examples above and keep in mind that Koreans will generally understand you, even if your way of speaking may seem awkward if you make a mistake.
2000 mots coréens essentiels est un pack qui contient les deux produits suivants :
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