Lesson 4. How to say “I am~,” “My Name is~” (이다 verb & 의 possessive particle)

In this lesson, we’re going to learn how to use the “이다 (to be)” verb. 

“이다” means “to be” and it is always followed by a noun. 

Therefore, the pattern is like this :  Noun + 이다 (=to be noun) 

There is no particle required between the noun and 이다, so 이다 can come directly after the noun.

When you want to make a sentence that goes like : Subject is/are/was/were/will be noun, 이다 verb is used. Here, 이다 corresponds to “is, are, was, were, will be (“to be” variations.)

1) 존댓말 (polite form) :

Ends in a final consonant (받침) > 이에요

Doesn’t end in a final consonant (X 받침) > 예요

*예요 is often pronounced as 에요

e.g.
제 이름은 빅키예요. – My name is Vicky. 

저희 부모님은 한국인이에요. – My parents are Korean.

2) 반말 (casual form) :

Ends in a final consonant (받침) > 이야

Doesn’t end in a final consonant (X 받침) > 야

e.g.
저는 여자예요. (존댓말) / 나는 여자야. (반말) – I am a girl.

저는 학생이에요. (존댓말) / 나는 학생이야. (반말) – I am a student.

이건 제 가방이에요.(존댓말) / 이건 내 가방이야.(반말) – This is my bag.

이 연필은 제 거예요. (존댓말) / 이 연필은 내 거야. (반말) – This pencil is mine. 

2. 이다’s Past Tense Conjugation

1) 존댓말 (polite form) :

Noun ends in a final consonant (받침) > 이었어요

Doesn’t end in a final consonant (X 받침) > 였어요

2)반말 (casual form)

The same rule applies, but ~요 ending is removed.

e.g.
지수는 작년까지 학생이었어. – Jisoo was a student till last year. (반말)

은지는 알코올 중독자였어요. 지금은 좋은 엄마예요. – Eunji was an alcoholic. Now she is a good mother. (존댓말)

3. 이다’s Future Tense Conjugation

1) 존댓말 (polite form) :

이다 + ㄹ/을 거예요 > 일 거예요

그 사람은 지수의 남편일 거예요. – That person will be (= might be) Jisoo’s husband. 

그 사람은 지수의 남편이 될 거예요. – That person will become Josoo’s husband. 

In Korean, the future tense is used not only to indicate that somebody “will do/will be”, but also indicates a guess, possibility of something “might do/might be”.

2) 반말 (casual form)

이다 + ㄹ/을 거야 = 일 거야

4. When “이다” is conjugated to “여”

The conjugation of “이다” in the present tense is “예요” and “이에요”. Such conjugation can only be used at the end of a sentence.

There are cases that require “이다” to be conjugated to “여 (preceding noun doesn’t end in 받침) ” or “이어 (preceding noun ends in 받침) ” 

For example, when combining “이다” with the sentence connector “그래서 = so” you have to conjugate it like this:

이다 + 아/어서 > 여서

(This we’ll learn later when we get to sentence connectors!)

5. When not to use the “이다” verb

Jisoo is busy. =지수가 바빠요

In the sentence above, there is no need to use “이다” verb, as there’s no noun that the subject is equal to.  

There is a tree. =나무가 있어요.

When you want to indicate that “there is/isn’t something”, you have to use another pattern that looks like this:

Noun 이/가 있다 (for noun to be there, to have noun)
Noun 이/가 없다 (for noun to not be there, to have noun)

[Summary]