‘-아/어/여 있다’ means ‘~ing(status in progress) ‘ in English for verbs that cannot have objects like 앉다, 눕다, 서다, 비다, 남다 and most passive voice verbs. It is the same meaning as -고 있다, however ‘-고 있다’ is attached to verbs that have objects such as 먹다, 마시다, 보다, 사다, 하다.
For example,
고양이가 의자에 앉아 있어요. A cat is sitting on the chair.
개가 길에 누워 있어요. A dog is lying on the sidewalk.
문 앞에 오랫동안 서 있었어요. I was standing in front of the door for a long time.
나무 위에 눈이 많이 쌓여 있어요. A tree is covered with snow. (Snow is stacked on a tree)
제가 봤을 때 가방이 비어 있었어요. When I saw, the bag was empty.
수술을 한 지 오래 됐지만 상처가 아직 남아 있어요. I got the surgery for a long time ago, the scar is still there.
통장에 아직 100만원이 남아 있어요. There are still one million Won in the account.
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