하다 verbs and the two places: 에서 and 에

The biggest family of verbs

Hundreds of Korean verbs are a noun plus 하다 to do: 공부하다 to study is 공부 study plus 하다, 일하다 is work plus do, 운동하다, 전화하다, 요리하다, 쇼핑하다, 숙제하다. They all conjugate the same way, because only 하다 changes, and 하다 has one irregular but universal polite form: 해요. So 공부해요, 일해요, 운동해요, 전화해요. Learn 해요 once and you own every verb in the family – and a new noun you meet can usually be turned into a verb by the same move.

에서 for doing, 에 for going

You know 에 as the place where something is. The place where something happens takes a different particle, 에서: 도서관에서 공부해요 I study at the library, 회사에서 일해요 I work at the office, 집에서 요리해요. With the motion verbs 가다, 오다 and 다니다 to attend, to go regularly, the destination keeps 에: 학교에 가요, 집에 와요, 회사에 다녀요. The test is the verb: an action verb wants 에서; being, going and coming want 에.

주말에 카페에서 숙제해요At the weekend I do homework at a cafe.

동생은 학교에 다녀요My younger sibling goes to school.