Special markers 도 and 은/는 in Korean

 What’s the difference between 수지도 사과는 먹었다 and 수지는 사과도 먹었다? Basically both sentences mean “수지가 사과를 먹었다 (Suzy ate apples).” Here, 가 is a subject marker and 를 is an object marker. 

However, other special markers such as 도 and 는 can replace the case markers to add additional meaning to a sentence.

As I explained in the previous post, 는 (or 은) is a topic marker emphasizing the preceding noun. And particle 도 is attached to a noun and mean “also, too, as well as, etc.”

 

To sum up the contrast: 

• 수지가 사과를 먹었다. (Suzy ate apples.) This sentence can be an answer to “Who ate apples?”
• 수지는 사과를 먹었다. (Suzy ate apples.) This sentence can be an answer to “What did Suzy eat?”
• 수지도 사과를 먹었다. (Suzy also ate apples.) This sentence can be an answer to “Who else ate apples?”
• 수지는 사과도 먹었다. (Suzy ate apples as well.) This sentence can be an answer to “What else did Suzy eat?”
• 수지도 사과는 먹었다. (Even Suzy ate apples.) This sentence means that everybody ate apples including Suzy who didn’t eat any other fruit.
• 수지가 사과는 먹었다. This sentence means that Suzy didn’t eat anything but she did eat apples.

 

So, depending on where you put 도 and 는, you can change the meaning and emphasis of the sentence. That's why these special markers are very useful and important in Korean.