Too, only, and whose: 도, 만, 의

도 takes over the particle’s place

저는 학생이에요 — I am a student. 저도 학생이에요 — I am a student too. 차를 마셔요 — I drink tea. 커피도 마셔요 — I drink coffee too.

Look at where 도 stands: exactly where 는 and 를 stood. The old particle has gone and 도 has taken its place. English puts “too” at the end of the sentence; Korean attaches it to the very word that is being added.

도 replaces 는, 가, 를 — but follows 에 and 에서

선물 is a present. 선물도 샀어요 — I bought a present too. Again 도 stands in for 을.

So 도, “too”, replaces 은 / 는, 이 / 가 and 을 / 를. They never appear together. With 에 and 에서 it is different, because those carry a meaning you cannot afford to lose. They stay, and 도 is added after them: 집에서도 공부해요 — I study at home too. 주말에도 일해요 — I work at weekends too.

만 means “only”

물만 마셔요 — I only drink water. 주말에만 쉬어요 — I only rest at weekends.

만 behaves just like 도: it takes the place of 을 / 를, and it comes after 에. And like 도 it sits on the word it limits, where English “only” tends to float in front of the verb.

혼자 is a separate word meaning “alone, by oneself”. It takes no particle: 저는 혼자 살아요 — I live alone.

의 links owner and thing, and is usually dropped

이거 친구의 가방이에요 — this is my friend’s bag. 의 works like ’s: owner first, then 의, then the thing owned. In this use it is pronounced [에].

In speech people normally leave it out and simply put the two nouns side by side: 이거 친구 가방이에요. With 저 it does not drop but fuses: 저 + 의 becomes 제. That is the 제 you have been using since 제 이름은 …: 이거 제 가방이에요.

Whose is it? 누구 거예요?

이거 누구 거예요? — whose is this? 제 거예요 — it’s mine. 민수 씨 거예요 — it’s Minsu’s.

거 is a noun meaning “thing”. Owner plus 거 gives “the owner’s one”: 제 거 is “my thing”, mine; 누구 거 is “who’s thing”, whose. Add 예요 and you get 거예요. English has special words like “mine” and “yours”; Korean simply says owner + 거.

This 거예요 is “is …’s thing”. It only looks like the 거예요 of 갈 거예요.

우리: “our”, and very often “my”

우리 means “we” or “our”. 우리 집에 고양이가 있어요 — there is a cat at our house. 우리 가족은 세 명이에요 — there are three of us in my family. 가족 is “family”.

Korean uses 우리 where English insists on “my”, for anything you share with other people: home, family, parents, school, company, country. 우리 어머니는 의사예요 means “my mother is a doctor”, and an only child says it the same way.