Particle help

[octoberteddy_226742]

Can someone help me understand what exactly a particle is?

I'm in the totally newbie lessons, Introduction #2 First Impressions.

I understand that neun is the topic marking particle. So that would identify the subject part of a sentence?

So particles generally come last?

Thanks!

[community.korean]

Hi there,

Grammar Point #1 - The Subject Marking Particle - i/ga - 이/가
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1.Generally speaking, the subject marking particle -이/가 (i/ga) is the standard particle used to
mark the subject of the sentence.
2.The subject marking particle is used when a subject is introduced for the first time.
3.There are certain verbs that are used with the subject marking particle as part of a set.
Here are some of the more commonly used verbs that use -이/가 (i/ga) as a set.
▷ 아니다 / 있다 / 없다 (anida/itda/eopta)
학생이 아닙니다. - haksaeng-i animnida. - (I) am not a student.
선미 씨가 있습니다. seonmi ssi-ga isseumnida. - Seon Mi is (here).
선생님이 없습니다. seonsaengnim-i eopseumnida. - The teacher is not (here).
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Grammar Point #2 - The Topic Marking Particle - eun/neun - 은/는
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1. When a conversation can go any way, the topic marking particle is used to bring attention
to what the speaker wishes to talk about. When nothing is being said by either party in a
conversation, and a speaker wishes to bring up a topic to talk about, the topic marking particle
is used to introduce a new topic to the conversation.
2. If a topic has already been introduced into the conversation, it is old information. If it is old
information, it is no longer necessary to mention the topic again (topics and subjects may be
dropped in sentences). But if the speaker wishes to clarify what is being spoken about, the
topic marking particle is used to clarify the topic of the sentence.
3. The topic marking particle may be used to contrast.
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♣ More Examples ♣
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1.저는 한국 사람입니다 - jeo-neun hanguk saram-imnida.
2.저는 일본 사람입니다 - jeo-neun ilbon saram-imnida.
Sentence 1 uses the topic marking particle because it is bringing a new topic of conversation
to attention. Sentence 2 uses the topic marking particle to make the contrast that the person is
not Korean, but rather Japanese.
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Grammar Point #3 - Double Subjects - eun/neun, i/ga - 은/는, 이/가
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Generally, Korean often contains "double subjects" one being marked by the topic marker,
and the other marked by the subject marker. This is a very comprehensive subject to tackle.
There are numerous books and linguistic research on this very specific topic. A simplified
explanation is:
저는 학생이 아닙니다. - jeo-neun haksaeng-i animnida. - I am not a student.
Literally, this is "I, student, not."
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Please check out KOREANCLASS101.COM BEGINNER #7 - PARTICLE MANIA!

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Claire
Team KoreanClass101.com