Checking a Room Before Use | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 방이 준비됐어요?

   Is the room ready?

   방

   room

   준비됐어요

   is ready

   More detail

   방 means “room.” It is a noun; for example, 방이 커요. means “The room is large.” 이 is the subject marker used after a noun ending in a consonant, so 방이 marks “the room” as the subject. After a vowel, Korean commonly uses 가 instead: 의자가 커요. means “The chair is large.” 준비됐어요 is the polite present-state form meaning “is ready” here. It comes from 준비되다, “to become/be prepared”; 되었어요 is commonly shortened to 됐어요. The form describes the resulting state, so 준비됐어요 can be reused for something that has been prepared: 회의실이 준비됐어요. means “The meeting room is ready.” Together, 방이 (“the room,” as subject) and 준비됐어요 (“is ready”) form the question 방이 준비됐어요? The question mark and rising question intonation turn the statement into “Is the room ready?”

2. 의자들이 제자리에 있어요.

   The chairs are in place.

   의자들이

   chairs

   제자리에

   in place

   있어요

   are / exist

   More detail

   의자들이 means “the chairs” here. The noun 의자 means “chair,” and 들 marks a plural group: 의자들 = “chairs.” The ending 이 is a subject marker; after a noun ending in a consonant, 이 is used rather than 가. Example: 학생들이 와요. = “The students come.” 제자리에 means “in place.” 제자리 is a noun meaning “one’s proper place” or “the right place,” and 에 marks the location. The form 제자리에 therefore expresses being located in the proper place, not movement toward it. Example: 책을 제자리에 놓아요. = “I put the book in its place.” 있어요 is the polite present form of 있다. In this sentence, 있다 describes the chairs’ location, so 있어요 corresponds to “are” in “are in place.” It can also describe existence or possession in other contexts, but here its location meaning is established by 제자리에. Example: 책이 책상 위에 있어요. = “The book is on the desk.” Together, the subject 의자들이 (“the chairs”) and the location expression 제자리에 (“in the proper place”) combine with 있어요 (“are located”) to produce: “The chairs are in place.”

3. 화면이 작동해요?

   Is the screen working?

   화면

   screen

   작동해요?

   is it working?

   More detail

   화면 means “screen” or “display.” It is a noun, and the final consonant ㄴ takes the subject marker 이 in 화면이. The subject marker identifies the screen as the thing whose condition is being asked about. Example: 화면이 선명해요. — “The screen is clear.” 작동해요? comes from 작동하다, “to operate” or “to function.” The form 작동해요 is the polite present form; in this question, rising intonation and the question mark turn it into “is it working?” The ending -해요 is also used in polite present statements, so context and intonation distinguish 작동해요. “It works.” from 작동해요? “Does it work?” Example: 기계가 작동해요? — “Is the machine working?” Together, 화면이 marks “the screen” as the subject, and 작동해요? asks whether it functions. Thus the complete utterance means “Is the screen working?”

4. 화면이 선명해 보여요.

   The picture looks clear.

   화면

   picture; image

   선명해

   clear; sharp

   보여요

   looks; appears

   More detail

   화면 means “picture” or “image” here, as fixed by the translation. It can also refer to a screen or display in other contexts. It is a noun; the subject marker 이 follows it because 화면 ends in a consonant. 선명해 comes from the descriptive verb 선명하다, “to be clear” or “to be sharp.” The form changes from 선명하다 to 선명해 with the connective -해, linking this description to the following expression. Before a noun, use 선명한, as in 선명한 화면 (“a clear image”). 보여요 comes from 보이다, meaning “to be seen” or “to look/appear” here. It is different from 보다, “to see” or “to watch.” The ending -어요 makes it a polite present-style form, suitable for describing a current appearance or impression. Together, 화면이 선명해 보여요 follows the pattern “subject + description + 보이다”: “The picture looks clear.” The sentence presents clarity as how the picture appears to the speaker.

5. 마커가 있어요?

   Do we have markers?

   마커

   marker(s)

   있어요?

   is/are there?

   More detail

   마커 is the noun “marker.” Korean commonly leaves number unmarked, so 마커 can mean “a marker” or “markers”; the surrounding context determines the intended number. The following context uses 마커들 to make plural marking explicit, but the fixed question itself does not require that ending. 있어요? comes from 있다, “to exist, be present, or be available.” 있어요 is its polite present form, and the question mark turns it into a question. Korean uses this form for both existence/location and possession or availability; the intended context here is whether markers are available. The omitted subject or possessor is understood from the situation, and the fixed translation supports the reading “we have.” Together, 마커 + 있어요? asks whether markers are available: “Do we have markers?” The wording is polite and reusable with another noun, for example 펜이 있어요? — “Do you have a pen?” or “Is there a pen?” depending on context.

6. 마커들이 테이블 위에 있어요.

   They're on the table.

   마커들이

   markers

   테이블

   table

   위에

   on top of

   있어요

   are; exist

   More detail

   마커들이 means “the markers” here. 마커 is the noun “marker,” and 들 marks a plural group; 이 is the subject particle attached after a consonant-ending noun. The form 마커들이 therefore presents the markers as the subject of the location statement. The nearby question 마커가 있어요? also uses the same noun, but its singular-looking 마커가 does not itself assert that there is only one marker; Korean can leave number unmarked. 테이블 is the noun “table.” It is a loanword and does not need to be changed for this use. Korean commonly places a location phrase before the verb. 위에 means “on top of” or “above.” 위 is the noun “top” or “upper part,” and 에 marks the location of something. The pattern 장소에 있다 means “be at/in a place,” while 장소 위에 있다 specifies that something is on top of that place or surface. Here, 테이블 위에 means “on the table.” 있어요 is the polite present form of 있다, used here for the location or existence of something. In this sentence it means “are,” not “have”: the markers are located on the table. A useful pattern is X이/가 Y에 있어요 — “X is/are at Y.” Together, 마커들이 identifies the markers, 테이블 위에 gives their location, and 있어요 states that they are there. The complete meaning is “They’re on the table,” with “they” referring to the markers identified by 마커들이.

7. 돌아다닐 공간이 있어요?

   Is there space to move around?

   돌아다닐

   to move around

   공간

   space; room

   있어요?

   is there? / exists?

   More detail

   돌아다닐 means “to move around” here. Its base form is 돌아다니다 (“to move around; go about”), and -ㄹ makes a modifier for an action that is possible or intended in the relevant situation. Thus 돌아다닐 공간 means “space in which one can move around.” The form 돌아다닐 itself does not identify who will move around; that is understood from the situation. 공간 is a noun meaning “space” or “room.” It commonly combines with a modifier to specify what the space is for, as in 쉴 공간 (“space to rest”) or 앉을 공간 (“space to sit”). 있어요? is the polite conversational question form of 있다, “to exist” or “to be present/available.” In this sentence it asks whether such space is available. The question form is made by using the polite ending -어요 with rising question intonation; 있어요 does not itself mean “space.” Together, 돌아다닐 공간이 있어요? asks whether there is room available for moving around: “Is there space to move around?”

8. 걸어 다닐 공간이 충분해요.

   There's enough room to walk around.

   걸어 다닐

   walk around

   공간

   space; room

   충분해요

   is enough

   More detail

   걸어 다닐 means “to walk around” here. It is built from 걷다 (“to walk”) and 다니다 (“to go around / move about”): 걷다 becomes 걸어 in the connective form, and 다니다 becomes 다닐 before a noun. Thus 걸어 다닐 공간 is “space for walking around.” Example: 공원에서 걸어 다녀요. — “I walk around in the park.” 공간 means “space” or “room,” referring here to an area available for movement. It can also refer more generally to a physical or abstract space. Example: 책상 옆에 공간이 있어요. — “There is space beside the desk.” 충분해요 means “is enough” or “is sufficient.” Its base form is the Korean descriptive verb 충분하다; 충분해요 is its polite 해요-style form. The subject is the preceding 공간, so the sentence says that the space is sufficient, not that a person is sufficient. Example: 시간이 충분해요. — “There is enough time.” Together, 걸어 다닐 공간 identifies the kind of space, and 충분해요 says that this space meets the needed amount: “There’s enough room to walk around.”