In short

에 marks a still point - where something is (with 있다/없다), where you are going, and when something happens. 에서 marks the place an action happens, and the place you came from. (으)로 marks the direction you head in, and the means or material you do something with.

The rule

Korean does not use prepositions. There is no word for at, to, in or by - the information is glued to the end of the noun as a particle, with no space. Which particle you pick depends on what the verb is doing, so read the verb first.

Step 1 - 에 = a point, not an activity

Noun + 에. 에 never changes shape - it attaches identically after a vowel or a 받침. It has three A1 jobs.

(a) Static location, with 있다 and 없다 (and 살다 - see Step 3).

• 집에 있어요. (Jibe isseoyo.) - I am at home.
• 화장실이 저기에 있어요. (Hwajangsiri jeogie isseoyo.) - The bathroom is over there.

(b) The goal of movement, with 가다, 오다, 도착하다 - and, with the same 에, the goal of a transfer: the thing, place or organisation something is sent, put, returned or ordered to.

• 학교에 가요. (Hakgyoe gayo.) - I go to school. 우체통에 편지를 넣어요. (Uchetonge pyeonjireul neoeoyo.) - I put the letter in the postbox. A person who receives something takes 에게/한테 instead - that pair is lesson 20.

(c) A point in time.

• 세 시에 만나요. (Se sie mannayo.) - Let’s meet at three.

The time use has one trap: 에 attaches to clock and calendar words - 세 시에 (se sie, at three), 월요일에 (woryoire, on Monday), 아침에 (achime, in the morning) - but never to 오늘 (oneul, today), 어제 (eoje, yesterday), 내일 (naeil, tomorrow), 지금 (jigeum, now) or 매일 (maeil, every day). Those stand bare: 오늘 만나요, not *오늘에 만나요.

Step 2 - 에서 = the stage the action plays on

Noun + 에서. If a real activity happens at the place - eating, studying, working, meeting, buying - the place takes 에서, not 에.

• 집에서 공부해요. (Jibeseo gongbuhaeyo.) - I study at home.

Same particle, second job: origin, the place something came from.

• 한국에서 왔어요. (Hangugeseo wasseoyo.) - I came from Korea.

Step 3 - The 에 vs 에서 decision, in one question

Ask: is a verb of activity happening at this place?

• Yes -> 에서. 도서관에서 공부해요.
• No - the sentence only says something exists there, or moves there -> 에. 도서관에 가요.

Two verbs break the pattern in a way worth memorising: 있다/없다 always take 에 (a state, not an activity), and 살다 (salda, to live) also normally takes 에: 서울에 살아요 (Seoure sarayo.) - I live in Seoul.

Step 4 - (으)로: pick the shape from the 받침

This one is an allomorph pair, and its rule has a famous exception: ㄹ behaves like a vowel.

• Noun ends in a vowel -> 로. 학교 -> 학교로 (hakgyoro).
• Noun ends in ㄹ -> 로 as well. 서울 -> 서울로 (Seoullo), 지하철 -> 지하철로 (jihacheollo).
• Noun ends in any other 받침 -> 으로. 집 -> 집으로 (jibeuro).

*서울으로 and *학교으로 are both wrong. ㄹ is the only 받침 that takes the short form.

Step 5 - What (으)로 means

Three uses, all of them “the route the action travels along”:

• Direction - which way you head: 오른쪽으로 가요 (Oreunjjogeuro gayo.) - Go to the right.
• Means or instrument - how you do it: 버스로 가요 (beoseuro), 연필로 써요 (yeonpillo), 한국어로 말해요 (Hangugeoro).
• Material - what it is made of: 나무로 만들어요 (namuro).

Step 6 - 에 vs (으)로 for a destination

Both can point at a place you are going, but they say different things. 에 names the endpoint you will arrive at; (으)로 names the direction you set off in.

• 학교에 가요. (Hakgyoe gayo.) - I am going to school. (school is where I end up)
• 학교로 가요. (Hakgyoro gayo.) - I am heading toward school. (that is the way I am going)

With plain 가다/오다 at A1, 에 is the safe default. Use (으)로 when the point really is the direction: 이쪽으로 (ijjogeuro, this way), 위로 (wiro, upward).

Step 7 - Stacking other particles on top

에, 에서 and (으)로 keep their place and let 도 (too), 만 (only) and 는 attach after them:

• 집에서도 공부해요. (Jibeseodo gongbuhaeyo.) - I study at home too.
• 집으로만 가요. (Jibeuroman gayo.) - I only go home.

The order is fixed: Noun + place particle + 도/만. *집도에서 is wrong.

Forms & patterns

에 vs 에서 - minimal pairs on the same noun:

The jobs of each particle:

(으)로 - the allomorph table:

What (으)로 is doing:

Examples

Common mistakes

• 집에서 있어요. (Jibeseo isseoyo.) -> 집에 있어요. (Jibe isseoyo.) - 있다 and 없다 describe a state, not an action, so their place always takes 에. This is the single most common 에/에서 error.
• 학교에 공부해요. (Hakgyoe gongbuhaeyo.) -> 학교에서 공부해요. (Hakgyoeseo gongbuhaeyo.) - An activity is happening at the school, so the place needs 에서. 학교에 가요 is right because 가다 is movement to a goal.
• 학교으로 가요. (Hakgyoeuro gayo.) -> 학교로 가요. (Hakgyoro gayo.) - 학교 ends in a vowel, so the short form 로 attaches. 으로 only follows a 받침.
• 서울으로 가요. (Seoureuro gayo.) -> 서울로 가요. (Seoullo gayo.) - ㄹ is the exception among 받침: it takes 로, exactly like a vowel. Same for 지하철로, 연필로.
• 오늘에 친구를 만나요. (Oneure chingureul mannayo.) -> 오늘 친구를 만나요. (Oneul chingureul mannayo.) - 오늘, 어제, 내일, 지금 and 매일 take no particle at all. Only clock and calendar words take 에.

Tips

• 에 is a dot, 에서 is a stage. If the sentence only pins something to a spot or sends it there, put a dot on the map with 에. If a scene is being acted out there, you need a stage: 에서. This one image settles almost every case at A1.
• Learn the core 에-verbs as a short list. 있다, 없다, 살다, 가다, 오다, 도착하다 take 에, and so do verbs that send or put something somewhere (주다, 보내다, 넣다); for the place where something is done, practically every other verb takes 에서. Memorising this short list is faster than reasoning it out mid-sentence.
• ㄹ is an honorary vowel for (으)로. 서울로, 지하철로, 연필로 - never *서울으로. This same ㄹ-behaves-like-a-vowel pattern comes back with verb endings in (으) (살면, not *살으면), so it is worth noticing now - but not with 은/는, where ㄹ is an ordinary 받침 (서울은).
• Do not translate English prepositions. English at is 에 in at home (집에 있어요) but 에서 in study at home (집에서 공부해요); English by and with and in (a language) are all one particle, (으)로. Choose from the Korean verb, never from the English word.