이 versus 이는
In the sentence, 아니요, 고양이는 사람이 아닙니다, (no, a cat is not a person), why do we say 이는 after 고양 but only 이 after 사람?

Question

Answer

Hello, I'm a native Korean speaker.

고양 is not a word, but 고양이 is a word and means a cat. When a subject word ends with a consonant, 은 is followed (see ex.1). If ends with a vowel, 는 is followed (see ex.2).

ex.1) 동물은 사람이 아닙니다.
ex.2) 고양이는 사람이 아닙니다.

Hope this helps. :)

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