LEARN KOREAN (한국어) [GRAMMAR] #1

이다 PRESENT TENSE

Conjugating 이다 to the present tense is relatively confusing compared to the past tense because new syllables are added with no real logic behind them. Whereas past conjugations are simply done by connecting the stem "이" to the typical past tense addition of "었다", present tense conjugations have additions that are not seen with any other verb or adjective. Let's talk about these first.

Informal Low Respect

Add ~이야 to a word ending in a consonant, or ~(이)야 to a word ending in a vowel:

나는 좋은 학생이야 - I am a good student
그것은 사과야 - That thing is an apple
야구는 좋은 스포츠야 - Baseball is a good sport

When conjugating "아니다" in this respect, you simply add "~야" to "아니다:"

나는 학생이 아니야 - I am not a student
그것은 책이 아니야 - That thing is not a book

Informal High Respect

Add ~이에요 to a word ending in a consonant, or ~예요 to a word ending in a vowel:

그것은 사진이에요 - That thing is a picture
저는 좋은 학생이에요 - I am a good student
이 사람은 저의 누나예요 - This (person) is my sister

When conjugating "아니다" in this respect, you simply add ~에요 to 아니다:

저는 학생이 아니에요 - I am not a student

Note that Korean people are often confused if they need to add "~예요" or "~에요" to 아니다. Therefore, it is not uncommon to see somebody use "아니예요."

Formal High Respect

Add 입니다 (~이 + ㅂ니다) to words ending in a vowel or consonant:

저는 의사입니다 - I am a doctor
그 사람은 저의 형입니다 - That person is my brother
저는 선생님입니다 - I am a teacher

With words ending in vowels, you can eliminate ~이 and attach ~ㅂ니다 directly to the word. This is more commonly done in conversation, and not usually written.

When conjugating "아니다" in this respect, you must add "~ㅂ니다" directly to "아니다." For example:

저는 의사가 아닙니다 - I am not a doctor
저는 학생이 아닙니다 - I am not a student
그것은 저의 직업이 아닙니다 - That (thing) is not my job