Negating in Korean

In Korean there are a number of ways of using negatives, therefore for the sake of my sanity I will start with the simplest forms and proceed towards the more complex forms as my patience and sources allow.

이에요 / 예요 vs 아니에요

The copula is one possible translation of the verb "to be", however with a more specific meaning since it specifically refers to equivalence. In other words, it acts like "to be" only in the case of "NOUN is NOUN".

The formation of the the negative in the case requires the use of yet another grammar tool, subject particles! (Yay!!!) Explained here.

 So this is how it is formed:

NOUN-(이/가) 아니에요.

Examples
이거 녹차예요? - Is this green tea?
아니요, 그거 녹차가 아니에요. - No, that is not green tea.


이거 책입니까? - Is this a book? (Polite Formal)
아니요, 그거 녹차가 아니에요. - No, that is not a book.

있어요 vs 없오요

This is one another possible translation of the verb "to be", which in Korean gains more specific (and varied) forms. 있어요 and 없어요 if often translated as "there is/ are" and "there isn't/ aren't" respectively, but in practice the meaning is closer to "have/has" and "haven't/hasn't", or "exist/exists" and "doesn't exist".

This verb expresses that something exists or is available, as well as if something exists in a specific location or to demonstrate possession.

Examples

(hope they are correct)

물 있어요. - There is water. / Water exists. / I have water. / They have water.

물 없어요. - There isn't water. / Water does not exist. (let's be hypothetical here) / I don't have water. / They don't have water. 

학교에 있어요. - I am in school.

학교에 없어요. - I am not in school.

친구 있어요. - I have friends.

자전거 있어요. - I have a bicycle.

자전거 없어요. - I do not have a bicycle.

Another use of 있어요 and 없어요 is when referring to time.

시간 있어요? - Is there time? / Do you have time?

시간 없어요. - There isn't time. / I don't have time.

Additionally, 있어요 and 없어요 can also be attached to nouns to form a new word/adjective.

Examples

맛 - taste

맛있어요. - It's tasty. / It's delicious.

맛없어요. - It's not tasty. / It's not delicious. / It tastes bad.

안 + VERB

This is perhaps the easiest way to negate the verb. All that is required is to add 안 before the verb and voilà!

Example

가다

안 + 가 = 안 가요.

집에 가요? - Are you going home?
집에 안 가요. - I am not going going home. / I don't go home.

VST지 않다

Since this ending is attached to the verb stem to make it negative, it is necessary to pay attention to tense when conjugating the verb. Whereas 안 does not change regardless of tense, the same is not true for this negative form.

Example

가다

가 + 지 않다 = 가지 않아요.

집에 가지 않아요. - I am not going going home. / I don't go home.

* This post is largely based on Talk To Me In Korean, Level 1, Lessons 10, 12 and 21.