TOPIK I Grammar · Ch.1 Sentence Basics 02

TOPIK I Grammar · Ch.1 Sentence Basics 02

'아니에요 / 있어요 / 없어요' - Saying "Isn't," "There Is," and "Don't Have"

You can already say what something is. Now you'll say what it isn't, and whether something exists.

Key point To say a noun is not something, use Noun + 이/가 아니에요 - 이 after a final consonant (batchim), 가 after a vowel. To say something exists or you have it, use 있어요; for the opposite, use 없어요.

How to use it

The negative of 이에요/예요 isn't made by adding a "not" word. It's a set phrase: the noun takes the particle 이 or 가, then 아니에요 follows. 학생 (student) becomes 학생이 아니에요 (= isn't a student); 의사 becomes 의사가 아니에요.

있어요 does the work of two English verbs at once. English separates "there is a book" from "I have a book," but Korean says both with 있어요: 책이 있어요 can mean either, depending on context. Notice the change in structure. In English, the owner is the subject: "I have a book." Korean instead says "a book exists," so the thing you have is the subject and it takes 이/가. Its negative is its own word, 없어요.

At a glance

Pattern	Meaning	Example
이 아니에요 (after batchim)	isn't	학생이 아니에요 (= isn't a student)
가 아니에요 (after vowel)	isn't	의사가 아니에요 (= isn't a doctor)
있어요	have	차가 있어요 (= have a car)
있어요	there is / is at	교실에 학생이 있어요 (= there's a student)
없어요	don't have	돈이 없어요 (= have no money)
없어요	there isn't	교실에 아무도 없어요 (= there's no one)

Examples

저는 학생이 아니에요. 선생님이에요. I'm not a student. I'm a teacher. - 학생 ends in a consonant, so 이 아니에요.

교실에 컴퓨터가 있어요. There's a computer in the classroom. - "There is" is one word, 있어요, and the thing that exists takes 이/가.

죄송해요, 지금 시간이 없어요. Sorry, I don't have time right now. - literally "time doesn't exist": Korean says the time is missing, so 시간이 is the subject.

Common mistakes

❌ 저는 가수가 아니예요. → ⭕ 저는 가수가 아니에요. The word is always 아니에요, never 아니예요. The batchim rule you learned for 이에요/예요 doesn't apply here - 아니에요 is one fixed word. This spelling error is extremely common, even among Koreans.

❌ 차가 안 있어요. → ⭕ 차가 없어요. For existence and possession, the opposite isn't 안 있어요 - it's a different word, 없어요. Learn them as a pair. (안 있어요 does appear in the "staying somewhere" sense: 오늘은 회사에 안 있어요.)

Quick check

Fill in each blank with 아니에요, 있어요, or 없어요. The second sentence gives the clue.
1. 저는 의사가 (      ). 간호사예요.
2. 가방 안에 책이 (      ). 두 권이에요.
3. 오늘은 수업이 (      ). 쉬는 날이에요.

Show answers

1. 아니에요 (I am a nurse, not a doctor)   2. 있어요 (two books are in the bag)   3. 없어요 (a day off = no class)

💡 Study tip - Practice the pairs, not the words. 이에요 ↔ 아니에요, 있어요 ↔ 없어요. Take five things around you right now and say both sides out loud: 책이 있어요, 시간이 없어요.