subject markers and object markers - 이/가 and 을/를

Subject marker - 이 / 가

In Korean, subject is often omitted and word reordering is not too uncommon. When a subject is not omitted, it brings a marker to show that it is a subject. There are two subject markers; 이 and 가. What to use is decided by the ending consonant of the preceding word.

• ~가

엄마(mom)가 왔어요(came): Mom came.

엄마, the subject and the preceding word, does not have 받침(the ending consonant). In that case 가 is added to the word "엄마" to mark that the word "엄마" is the subject of the sentence.

• ~이

 책(book)이 좋아요(good): The book is good.

책, on the other hand, has 받침. In that case, "이" is added to the word "책" to mark that "책" is the subject of the sentence.

• ~이가

There is an exception in choosing between 이/가. In colloquial sentences, when the subject is name of a person and has a 받침, we use "이가" instead of "이".


제프가 왔어요.
준하가 왔어요.
효정이가 왔어요. (instead of 효정이 왔어요.)
민정이가 왔어요.
민용이가 왔어요.

This exception only applies when the subject is a person's name.

선생님(teacher)이 왔어요 (O)
선생님이가 왔어요 (X)

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