Special honorific verbs: 계시다 (exist/be)

In Korean, we have "subject honorifics." This means the verb changes to show respect to the person who is the subject of the sentence. 계시다 is specifically used when the subject—the person you are talking about—is someone older than you, higher in rank, or a stranger you want to be polite to. This is a "suppletive" verb, which is a fancy way of saying it’s a completely different word that replaces the original one. Instead of just adding a polite ending to 있다, we swap the whole thing out for 계시다. It’s like a grammar traffic light: when you see an elder, the light turns green for 계시다 and red for 있다. It covers two main meanings: "to be at a location" and "to stay." When you use this, you are acknowledging the person’s presence with a level of dignity that 있다 just can’t provide. It’s important to remember that this is only for people, not objects (we have a different rule for that!).

1. 1Learning how to conjugate 계시다 is quite simple because it follows the standard patterns once you have the stem. The stem is 계시.
2. 2Present Tense (Polite): Take the stem 계시 and add 어요. Because 이 + 어 blends in Korean, it becomes 계세요. This is the most common form you will use in daily life.
3. 3Present Tense (Formal): Add ㅂ니다 to the stem to get 계십니다. You’ll use this in job interviews, presentations, or when speaking to a high-ranking official.
4. 4Past Tense: Add 었 to the stem to get 계셨어요 (Polite) or 계셨습니다 (Formal). Use this when talking about where someone was yesterday.
5. 5Honorific Particle: When using 계시다, it’s best practice to also change the subject particle from 이/가 to the honorific 께서. So instead of 할머니가, you say 할머니께서. It’s like matching your tie to your suit!
6. 6Negation: If someone is NOT there, you use 안 계시다. For example, 안 계세요 (is not here) or 안 계십니다.

You should pull out 계시다 whenever the person performing the action (the subject) deserves high respect.

• Family: Use it for your grandparents, parents, aunts, and uncles.
• Work: Your boss, manager, or a client should always be addressed or spoken about with 계시다. Imagine you are in a meeting and someone asks where the CEO is; you’d say 사장님께서는 사무실에 계세요 (The CEO is in the office).
• School: Always use it for your teachers and professors.
• Strangers: If you are asking if someone’s father is home, use it to show respect to their family.
• Ordering Food: If you are asking a waiter if the owner is around, 계시다 is the way to go.
• Phone Calls: When you call a friend's house and want to ask if their mother is there, use 어머니 계세요? It sounds much more natural and polite than using the basic form.

This is where many people trip up! You must NEVER use 계시다 for yourself. No matter how much you love yourself, in Korean, you are always at the bottom of the respect ladder when talking about your own actions. If someone asks where you are, you say 저는 집에 있어요, not 저는 집에 계세요. Using it for yourself makes you sound incredibly arrogant, like you’re referring to yourself as royalty. Also, don't use it for people younger than you or your close friends. If you say 내 동생이 방에 계세요 (My little brother is in the room), your brother will probably laugh at you! Finally, do not use it for objects. You can't say "The book is in the room" using 계시다. Objects don't get the royal treatment, only people do.

• The Self-Respect Trap: As mentioned, saying 제가 여기 계세요 is a big no-no. It’s like saying "My Highness is here." Just use 있어요 for yourself.
• The Object Confusion: People often try to use 계시다 for things that belong to a respected person. For example, 선생님 차가 여기 계세요 (Teacher's car is here). This is wrong! Cars aren't people. For things that belong to people, we use 있으시다 (e.g., 차가 있으세요).
• Mixing Levels: Using 계시다 with informal endings like 계셔 is very awkward. It’s like wearing a tuxedo jacket with pajama pants. Stick to 계세요 or 계십니다.
• Forgetting the Particle: While people will understand you if you use 가 instead of 께서, using 께서 makes you sound much more fluent. 선생님이 계세요 is okay, but 선생님께서 계세요 is the gold standard.

It’s easy to confuse 계시다 with 있으시다. Let’s break it down simply.

• 계시다 is for the location or stay of a respected person. (Where is Grandma? She is in the garden.)
• 있으시다 is for possession or attributes of a respected person. (Does Grandma have a garden? Does the teacher have time?)

Think of it like this: 계시다 is for the person’s body, and 있으시다 is for what the person has or their parts. If you say 선생님이 계세요, you mean the teacher is physically present. If you say 시간이 있으세요?, you are asking if the teacher *has* time. Also, contrast this with the standard 있다. 있다 is your everyday verb for friends and younger people. 계시다 is the "VIP upgrade."