Korean nouns, as you know, are not specific with respect to number. The following sentence conveys information which might correspond to several English sentences:
- 책하고 공책하고 연필이 있어요.
I’ve got a book, a notebook, and a pencil.
I’ve got some books, a notebook, and a pencil.
I’ve got some books, a notebook, and some pencils.
I’ve got some books, some notebooks, and a pencil.
And so on, until the mathematical possibilities are exhausted. But if it is really necessary, Korean can make nouns specifically plural. (Without using numerals, it cannot make them specifically singular.) Korean does this by placing 들, a word meaning something like group, after them:
- 선생 teacher or teachers
- 선생들 teachers
As you might expect, Korean also allows you to put 들 on pronouns, including even those which are already plural:
- 우리, 우리들 we
- 저희, 저희들 we [Humble]
- 너희, 너희들 you all [Intimate]
- 그사람, 그사람들 he, she; they
Particles to be used with the plural phrase come after the 들.
The word 들 is uniquely versatile; it may pop up just about anywhere in a Korean sentence except on the verb at the very end. Furthermore, 들 need not always refer to the words near it–it is used to make explicit that the speaker is talking about (or to) more than one thing (or person). Here are some examples:
- 어서들 오세요!
Welcome! (said to more than person to be explicit that all are welcome) - 천천히들 가세요!
Go slow! (said to two or more people going too fast) - A. 학생들이 어디에 있어요?
Where are the students?
B. 교실에들 있어요.
They’re in the classroom.