Noun + 이에요/예요, 입니다

What You Will Learn in This Unit

You will learn 이에요, 예요, and 입니다, which attach to nouns to express the meaning 'to be' (is/are). You choose between 이에요 and 예요 depending on whether the final syllable of the preceding noun has a batchim (final consonant), and in formal settings you use 입니다 regardless of batchim. Based on this, you will be able to make a short self-introduction that states your name, nationality, and occupation.

이에요 and 예요, Chosen by Batchim

A word that attaches to a noun to express the meaning '...is' is called a predicative copula (서술격 조사). The predicative copula takes 이에요 when the final syllable of the preceding noun has a batchim, and 예요 when it does not. 예요 is the form of 이에요 with '이' dropped, and it is used only after nouns without a batchim. Batchim is judged by the written letter, not by sound, and even for a noun of several syllables, only the last letter is checked.

In the table above, '이름' takes 이에요 because its final letter '름' has the batchim ㅁ. '가수' takes 예요 because its final letter '수' has no batchim. The pronunciation notes mark the places where the batchim joins the initial sound of the next syllable 이 and the sound changes.

Formal 입니다 and 입니까

입니다 is a formal form used after nouns regardless of batchim. Therefore, in sentences that use 입니다, you do not need to distinguish between 이에요 and 예요. It is mainly used in presentations, job interviews, and official documents, where the speaker needs to keep distance from the listener. For questions, change it to 입니까. The endings -ㅂ니다 and -습니다 themselves are covered in Unit 24.

The three forms in the table occupy the same position after a noun. In the polite 해요-style interrogative, you add a question mark when writing and raise the intonation at the end when speaking. In the formal-style interrogative, the sentence ends with 입니까.