Pointing and Belonging | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 이건 뭐예요?

   What is this?

   이건

   this (as the topic)

   뭐예요?

   what is it?

   More detail

   이건 is the topic expression “as for this.” It is a contracted spoken form of 이것은: 이것 means “this thing,” and 은 marks the topic. The form 이 identifies something near the speaker; the contrasting context example 저건 uses 저 for something farther from both speaker and listener. The topic marker does not itself identify exactly what object is being indicated. 뭐예요? asks “what is it?” or “what is this?” Here 뭐 is the question word “what,” and 예요 is the polite present form of the copula, used to ask about an identity or category. 뭐예요 is written as one unit in this expression; the question mark marks the utterance as a question. The copula has related polite forms 이에요 and 예요: 이에요 follows a noun ending in a consonant, while 예요 follows a noun ending in a vowel. For example, 이것은 책이에요. means “This is a book.” Together, 이건 sets “this” as the topic and 뭐예요? asks for its identity or category, producing “What is this?” This is a polite, reusable way to ask what a nearby thing is.

2. 저건 뭐예요?

   What is that?

   저건

   that (over there)

   뭐예요?

   what is it?

   More detail

   저건 is the contracted form of 저것은: 저것 means “that thing” at a distance from the speaker, and 은 marks it as the topic. In the supplied sentence, the intended meaning is specifically “that,” as confirmed by the translation. The related forms 이것 “this thing” and 그것 “that thing near the listener / previously mentioned” can become 이건 and 그건 before 은 is contracted. Example: 이건 책이에요. — “This is a book.” 뭐예요? asks what something is. 뭐 is the everyday shortened form of 무엇 “what.” 예요 is the polite present form of the copula used after a vowel-ending noun; after a consonant-ending noun, the corresponding form is 이에요. Example: 이름이 뭐예요? — “What is your name?” Together, 저건 identifies the topic as a thing located over there, and 뭐예요? asks for its identity. Thus the whole utterance means “What is that?” in a polite everyday style. The contrasting sentence 이건 뭐예요? uses 이건 for “this,” showing the same reusable question pattern with a different demonstrative.

3. 저 사람은 누구예요?

   Who is that?

   저

   that (person over there)

   사람

   person

   누구예요?

   who is it?

   More detail

   저 points to a person or thing away from both the speaker and the listener. In this sentence it modifies 사람, giving “that person over there.” Korean demonstratives commonly contrast 이 “this,” 그 “that” associated with the listener or shared context, and 저 “that over there”; the choice depends on location or discourse context, not simply on the noun’s meaning. 사람 means “person” and is a noun. It can combine with demonstratives or other modifiers: 이 사람 means “this person,” while 저 사람 means “that person over there.” 누구예요? asks for a person’s identity: “Who is [that person]?” 누구 is the question word “who.” 예요 is the polite present copula ending used after a vowel-final form, and the question intonation turns the statement into a question. Compare 학생이에요? “Are they a student?” where the noun 학생 ends in a consonant and therefore takes 이에요 rather than 예요. The copula form agrees with the preceding sound pattern, not with the person’s gender or number. Together, 저 사람 means “that person over there,” and 누구예요? asks who that person is. The complete utterance therefore means “Who is that?” in a polite conversational style.

4. 어느 게 네 거예요?

   Which one is yours?

   어느

   which

   게

   one

   네 거예요

   is yours

   More detail

   어느 means “which” when selecting one item from a relevant set. It normally comes before the noun it specifies, as in 어느 책 (“which book”). Here the noun is omitted because it is understood, so 어느 contributes “which one.” 게 is the contracted form of 것이: 것 means “thing” or “one,” and 이 marks it as the subject. Thus 어느 게 means “which one.” This contraction is common in Korean. Example: 어느 게 좋아요? — “Which one is good?” 네 거예요 means “is yours.” 네 is the possessive form of 너 (“you”), from 너의; it does not itself determine the politeness level of the whole sentence. 거 is the conversational contraction of 것, and -예요 is the polite form of the copula. Together, 네 거예요 means “is yours.” Example: 이건 네 거예요. — “This one is yours.” The full reusable pattern is 어느 게 [possessor] 거예요?, meaning “Which one is [possessor]’s?” Here, 어느 게 asks the listener to identify one item, and 네 거예요 identifies that item as belonging to “you,” producing “Which one is yours?”

5. 이건 내 거예요.

   This one is mine.

   이건

   this one

   내 거

   mine

   More detail

   이건 means “this one” here. It is the shortened spoken form of 이거는: 이거 means “this thing/one,” and 는 marks it as the topic. The demonstrative 이- refers to something near the speaker; the exact object is not identified in the supplied sentence. For contrast, 저건 means “that one” when the object is farther from the speaker. Example: 이건 책이에요. — “This is a book.” 내 거 means “mine” in this sentence. 내 is the contracted possessive form of 나의, “my”; 거 is a colloquial form of 것, “thing” or “one.” Thus, 내 거 literally means “my thing/one,” a common way to express possession. Example: 이 가방은 내 거예요. — “This bag is mine.” 예요 is the polite-present form of the copula after a noun phrase ending in a vowel. Here it follows 거, so 내 거예요 means “is mine.” After a noun phrase ending in a consonant, the corresponding polite form is 이에요; for example, 그것은 책이에요. — “That is a book.” The sentence assembles as 이건 (“this one,” topic) + 내 거예요 (“is mine”), giving “This one is mine.”

6. 저건 네 거예요.

   That one is yours.

   저건

   that one

   네

   your

   거예요

   is (one)

   More detail

   저건 means “that one” here. It is the shortened form of 저것은: 저것 is a demonstrative noun for something relatively distant from the speaker and listener, and 은 marks the topic. In conversation, 저건 is commonly used to point out or contrast a distant item. The previous sentence uses 이건 (“this one”), creating a clear this/that contrast. 네 means “your” in this sentence. It is the possessive form of the second-person pronoun 너 (“you”): 너의 is often shortened to 네. It modifies the following nominal expression, so 네 거 means “your one” or, more naturally in English, “yours.” 거예요 is the conversational form of 것이에요. 것 is a general noun meaning “thing” or “one,” and 이에요 is the polite present form used after a noun in a nominal predicate. In this sentence, 것 is understood as the item being discussed, so the expression does not need to repeat a specific noun. The contraction is 것이에요 → 거예요; the observed form is not a separate adjective or verb. Together, 저건 sets up “that one” as the topic, and 네 거예요 says that it is yours. The complete utterance therefore means “That one is yours.”