Verbs - Present, Past

Verbs - Present, Past

동사 [Verbs]

Now, we come to learn, possibly, the most important subject of all Korean grammar, the 'verbs.'

I have drawn up tables below to display various conjugations of verbs. But first of all, we need to pay attention to a distinct feature in Korean verbs, namely, theplain form.

The plain form is the most basic form of verbs, from which all the other conjugations of verbs are derived and produced.

However, the plain form is almost never used in both written and spoken Korean. The only instance where the plain form is used is when verbs are listed in the dictionary. Therefore, it is necessary to know the plain form if you'd like to know the meaning of certain verbs and find them in the dictionary.

Examples of the plain form of verbs

• 하다 = do
• 먹다 = eat
• 가다 = go 
• 달리다 = run

Informal Written Form	Plain	Present	Past
Positive	먹다	먹는다	먹었다
Negative	먹지 않다	먹지 않는다 안 먹는다	먹지 않았다 안  먹었다

Informal Spoken Form	Plain	Present	Past
Positive	먹다	먹어	먹었어
Negative	먹지 않다	먹지 않아 안 먹어	먹지 않았어 안  먹었어

Note: The words in bold indicate which of the two negatives are more commonly used in each case, i.e. 먹지 않는다 is more commonly used than 안 먹는다 in the written form, and 안 먹어 is more commonly used than 먹지 않아 in the spoken form.


A Table of Commonly Used Verbs

		Written		Spoken
	Plain	Present	Past	Present	Past
Go	가다	간다	갔다	가	갔어
Come	오다	온다	왔다	와	왔어
Run	달리다	달린다	달렸다	달려	달렸어
Eat	먹다	먹는다	먹었다	먹어	먹었어
Stand	서다	선다	섰다	서	섰어
Sit	앉다	앉는다	앉았다	앉아	앉았어
Buy	사다	산다	샀다	사	샀어
Sell	팔다	판다	팔았다	팔아	팔았어
Grow	자라다	자란다	자랐다	자라	자랐어
Throw	던지다	던진다	던졌다	던져	던졌어
Borrow	빌리다	빌린다	빌렸다	빌려	빌렸어
Lend	빌려주다	빌려준다	빌려주었다	빌려줘	빌려주었어
Play	놀다	논다	놀았다	놀아	놀았어
Write	쓰다	쓴다	썼다	써	썼어
Read	읽다	읽는다	읽었다	읽어	읽었어
Listen	듣다	듣는다	들었다	들어	들었어
Live	살다	산다	살았다	살아	살았어
Die	죽다	죽는다	죽었다	죽어	죽었어

Conjugations Rules

I) Plain → Present (Written)

1. For verbs whose last character has a final consonant, replace 다 with 는다. 

E.g.

• 먹다 → 먹는다 = eat
• 사과를 먹는다 = eat an apple

• 걷다 → 걷는다 = walk
• 사람은 걷는다 = A human walks

• 믿다 → 믿는다 = believe
• 나는 예수님을 믿는다 = I believe Jesus

2. For verbs whose last character has no final consonant, replace 다 with ㄴ 다.

E.g.

• 잠자다 → 잠잔다 = sleep
• 지금 새들은 잠잔다 = Now birds sleep (= At the moment, the birds are sleeping)

• 가다 → 간다 = go
• 민아는 학교를 간다 = Mina goes to school

• 보다 → 본다 = watch/look/see
• 현주는 자주 밖을 본다 = Hyun-ju often looks outside

3. For verbs whose last character has ㄹ as a final consonant, replace it with ㄴ. 

E.g.

• 팔다 → 판다 = sell
• 이 가게는 과일을 판다 = This shop sells fruit

• 살다 → 산다 = live
• 지우는 여기에서 산다 = Ji-u lives here  

• 밀다 → 민다 = push
• 자동차를 민다 = push a car

II) Plain → Past (Written)

First of all, take 다 off a verb, and then:

1. For verbs whose last character has no final consonant, attach ㅆ as a final consonant. (exception: For the vowel, ㅜ, attach 었다.)

E.g. 

• 가다: 가 + ㅆ 다 = 갔다 = went
• 사다: 사 + ㅆ 다 = 샀다 = bought
• 서다: 서 + ㅆ 다 = 섰다 = stood
• 자다: 자 + ㅆ 다 = 잤다 = slept
• 자라다: 자라 + ㅆ 다 = 자랐다 = grew

Exception: 

• 두다: 두 + 었다 = 두었다 = put
• 주다: 주 + 었다 = 주었다 = give

• 하다 → 했다 = did  (NOT 핬다)

Note: The following rules override the rule 1. 


2. For verbs whose last character has a final consonant, add 었 or 았. 

• For vowels, ㅏ and ㅗ, add 았. 
• For vowels, ㅓ, ㅜ, ㅡ and ㅣ, add 었.

E.g. 

• 날다: 날 + 았다 = 날았다 = flew
• 살다: 살 + 았다 = 살았다 = lived
• 놀다: 놀 + 았다 = 놀았다 = played (had fun)
• 먹다: 먹 + 었다 = 먹었다 = ate
• 죽다: 죽 + 었다 = 죽었다 = died
• 들다: 들 + 었다 = 들었다 = lifted up
• 밀다: 밀 + 었다 = 밀었다 = pushed
  

3. For verbs whose last character has ㅣ as a vowel, and no final consonant, change ㅣ to ㅕ and attach ㅆ as the final consonant.

E.g. 

• 달리다: 달리 → 달렸 → 달렸다 = ran
• 빌리다: 빌리 → 빌렸 → 빌렸다 = borrowed
• 이기다: 이기 → 이겼 → 이겼다 = won
• 던지다: 던지 → 던졌 → 던졌다 = threw
• 다니다: 다니 → 다녔 → 다녔다 = attended

4. For verbs whose last character has ㅗ as a vowel and no consonant, change ㅗ to ㅘ and attach ㅆ as the final consonant.

E.g.

• 오다 → 왔다 = came
• 보다 → 봤다 = saw/looked/watched

5. For verbs whose last character has ㅡ as a vowel, replace it with ㅓ and then attach ㅆ as the final consonant.

E.g.

• 크다: 크 → 컸 → 컸다 = grew
• 쓰다: 쓰 → 썼 → 썼다 = wrote
• 트다: 트 → 텄 → 텄다 = sprouted 

Irregular form

E.g. 

• 하다 → 했다
• 듣다 → 들었다

III) Plain → Present (Spoken)

1. For verbs whose last character has a vowel, ㅏ or ㅓ and no final consonant, just drop 다 off. 

E.g.

• 가다 → 가 = go
• 서다 → 서 = stand
• 사다 → 사 = buy
• 자라다 → 자라 = grow

Exception: 하 changes to 해.

E.g.

• 하다 → 해 = do
• 원하다 → 원해 = want
• 구하다 → 구해 = save (a life)
  

2. For verbs whose last character has a vowel, ㅗ or ㅜ and no final consonant: 

• ㅗ changes to ㅘ
• ㅜ changes to ㅝ

E.g.

• 오다 → 와 = come
• 보다 → 봐 = see/watch/look
• 두다 → 둬 = place (something) on, leave (something as it is)
• 주다 → 줘 = give
• 빌려주다 → 빌려줘 = lend

3. For verbs whose last character is 르, drop it off and then attach a final consonant, ㄹ, to the character preceding 르, and then attach 라 or 러 to them.

• 라 for verbs whose character preceding 르 has a vowel, ㅏ or ㅗ. 
• 러 for verbs whose character preceding 르 has a vowel, ㅓ, ㅜ or ㅣ.

E.g.

• 가르다 → 갈라 = divide
• 자르다 → 잘라 = cut
• 오르다 → 올라 = climb

• 거르다 → 걸러 = filter, sift
• 서두르다 → 서둘러 = hurry
• 구르다 →  굴러 = roll
• 가로지르다 → 가로질러 = go cross

(Also, for verbs which have a last consonant of ㅡ, replace it with ㅓ.)

• 쓰다 → 써 = write
• 끄다 → 꺼 = extinguish (a fire)
• 뜨다 → 떠 = float

4. For verbs whose last character has ㅣ as a vowel and no final consonant, change ㅣ to ㅕ.

E.g.

• 지다 → 져 = lose
• 이기다 → 이겨 = win
• 던지다 → 던져 = throw

5. For verbs whose last character has a final consonant, attach: 

• 아 for characters whose vowel isㅏ or ㅗ 
• 어 for characters whose vowel is ㅓ, ㅜ, ㅡ or ㅣ.

E.g.

• 살다 → 살아 = live
• 팔다 → 팔아 = sell
• 앉다 → 앉아 = sit
• 놀다 → 놀아 = play (have fun)

• 먹다→ 먹어 = eat
• 물다 → 물어 = bite
• 늙다 → 늙어 = age 
• 읽다 → 읽어 = read

Irregular form

• 듣다 → 들어 = listen/hear

IV) Past (Written) → Past (Spoken)

Simply change 다 to 어. 

• 갔다 → 갔어 = went
• 왔다 → 왔어 = came
• 달렸다 → 달렸어 = ran
• 먹었다 → 먹었어 = ate
• 마셨다 → 마셨어 = drank 

Adjectives - Connective Form

Adjectives - Connective Form

This lesson is about the connective form of adjectives. This form is used to list several adjectives in a sequence, and to connect one sentence to another.

The conjugation rule for the connective form is easy.

• Take 다 off adjectives and then attach 고 to them.

Written Form	Present	Connective
High	높다	높고
Low	낮다	낮고
Big	크다	크고
Small (size)	작다	작고
Spacious	넓다	넓고
Cramped	좁다	좁고
Many	많다	많고
Small (quantity)	적다	적고
Kind	착하다	착하고
Fast	빠르다	빠르고
Slow	느리다	느리고
Outgoing	활달하다	활달하고
Quiet	조용하다	조용하고
Easy	쉽다	쉽고
Difficult	어렵다	어렵고
Interesting	재미있다	재미있고
Boring	지루하다	지루하고
Hot (tangible)	뜨겁다	뜨겁고
Cold (tangible)	차갑다	차갑고
Warm	따뜻하다	따뜻하고
Cool	시원하다	시원하고
Wonderful	굉장하다	굉장하고
Beautiful	아름답다	아름답고
Patient	인내심 있다	인내심 있고
Humorous	웃기다	웃기고
Calm	침착하다	침착하고
Humble	겸손하다	겸손하고
Lovely	사랑스럽다	사랑스럽고

The connective form of adjectives is used in two situations: 

• To list adjectives in a sequence 
• To connect one sentence to another

1. To list adjectives in a sequence

If I was to say 'kind, beautiful and humble' in Korean, the adjectives must be changed to their connective forms except the last adjective of a sentence which determines its tense.

E.g.

• 착하다 → 착하고 = kind
• 아름답다 → 아름답고 = beautiful
• 겸손하다 = humble

• 착하고 아름답고 겸손하다 → kind, beautiful and humble
• 착하고 아름답고 겸손했다 → was kind, beautiful and humble

Alternatively,

• 아름답고 겸손하고 착했다 → was beautiful, humble and kind
• 겸손하고 착하고 아름다웠다 → was humble, kind and beautiful

As you can see, the last adjective determines the tense of a sentence.


2. To connect one sentence to another.

The connective form of adjectives is also used to connect sentences.

• 유리는 착해요 = Yuri is kind
• 미나는 아름다워요 = Mina is beautiful
• 진수는 겸손해요 = Jinsu is humble

유리는 착하고, 미나는 아름답고, 진수는 겸손해요. 
= Yuri is kind, Mina is beautiful and Jinsu is humble.

• 앤디는 웃겨요 = Andy is humorous/funny
• 프랭클린은 조용해요 = Franklin is quiet
• 제시카는 활달해요 = Jessica is outgoing

앤디는 웃기고, 프랭클린은 조용하고, 제시카는 활달해요
= Andy is humorous/funny, Franklin is quiet, and Jessica is outgoing.

• 음료수는 시원하다 = A soft drink is cool
• 차는 뜨겁다 = Tea is hot
• 포도는 달다 = Grapes are sweet

음료수는 시원하고, 차는 뜨겁고, 포도는 달다.
= A soft drink is cool, tea is hot, and grapes are sweet.

Adjectives - Descriptive Form

Adjectives - Descriptive Form

In the previous posts, Adjectives - Present, Past and Adjectives - Polite [Present, Past], we learned that adjectives in Korean function like verbs in that they can be conjugated into present and past tenses, and various other forms.

However, when describing nouns using adjectives placed in front of them, for example, 'a beautiful bird', the adjectives must be conjugated to the descriptive form.

E.g. 

• 아름답다 → 아름다운 [A plain form → A descriptive form]
• 아름다운 새 = a beautiful bird

The Table of Common Adjectives and Their Descriptive Forms

Written Form	Plain Positive	Descriptive
High	높다	높은
Low	낮다	낮은
Big	크다	큰
Small (size)	작다	작은
Spacious	넓다	넓은
Cramped	좁다	좁은
Many	많다	많은
Small (quantity)	적다	적은
Kind	착하다	착한
Fast	빠르다	빠른
Slow	느리다	느린
Handsome	멋있다	멋있는
Ugly	못생기다	못생긴
Easy	쉽다	쉬운
Difficult	어렵다	어려운
Interesting	재미있다	재미있는
Boring	지루하다	지루한
Hot	뜨겁다	뜨거운
Cold	차갑다	차가운
Warm	따뜻하다	따뜻한
Cool	시원하다	시원한
Wonderful	굉장하다	굉장한
Beautiful	아름답다	아름다운
Pretty	예쁘다	예쁜
Humble	겸손하다	겸손한
Loving	사랑스럽다	사랑스러운
Red	빨갛다	빨간
Yellow	노랗다	노란

Conjugations rules

First of all, take 다 off adjectives and then:

1. Attach 은 to any adjectives of one character with a final consonant.
(Note: The next rules override this rule.)

E.g.

• 많다 → 많은 = many
• 많은 사람들 → many people

• 작다 → 작은 = small
• 작은 난쟁이 → a small dwarf

• 얇다 → 얇은 = thin
• 얇은 팔 → a thin arm

• 높다 → 높은 = high
• 높은 하늘 → a high sky

2. Attach 는 to any adjectives whose final character is 있 and 없.

E.g.

• 맛있다 → 맛있는 = delicious
• 맛있는 음식 → delicious food

• 멋있다 → 멋있는 = handsome/good-looking
• 멋있는 차 → a good-looking car

• 재미있다 → 재미있는 = interesting/fun
• 재미있는 영화 → a fun movie

• 재미없다 → 재미없는 = not interesting (boring)
• 재미없는 드라마 = a boring drama (soap opera)

Note: The meaning of 있다 is 'to exist', and its opposite is 없다 which means 'to not exist'. Therefore, the adjectives which have a stem of 있다 can also be used with 없다.

E.g.

• 맛있다 → 맛없다 [tasty/delicious → not tasty/delicious]
• 멋있다 → 멋없다 [handsome/good-looking → not handsome/good-looking (ugly)]
• 재미있다 → 재미없다 [interesting/fun → not interesting/fun (boring)]

3. For adjectives whose final character has a final consonant of either ㄹ or ㅎ, replace them with ㄴ.

E.g.

• 길다 → 긴 = long
• 긴 연필 → a long pencil

• 달다 → 단 = sweet (taste)
• 단 초콜렛 → sweet chocolate

• 빨갛다 → 빨간 = red
• 빨간 사과 → a red apple

• 노랗다 → 노란 = yellow
• 노란 우산 = a yellow umbrella

4. For adjectives who final character has a final consonant, ㅂ, take it off and attach 운 to them.

E.g.

• 쉽다 → 쉬운 = easy
• 쉬운 문제 → an easy problem/question

• 아름답다 → 아름다운 = beautiful
• 아름다운 꽃 → a beautiful flower

• 차갑다 → 차가운 = cold (tangible)
• 차가운 바닥 = a cold floor

• 뜨겁다 → 뜨거운 = hot (tangible)
• 뜨거운 커피 = hot coffee

*Exception: 

• 좁다 → 좁은 = narrow, small, cramped (space) (NOT 조은)
• 좁은 운동장 = a small/cramped playground

5. For adjectives whose last character does not have a final consonant, just attach ㄴ to it.

E.g.

• 멋지다 → 멋진 = nice/cool
• 멋진 모자→ a nice/cool hat

• 예쁘다 → 예쁜 = pretty
• 예쁜 구두 → pretty shoes

• 빠르다 → 빠른 = fast
• 빠른 자동차 → a fast car

• 느리다 → 느린 = slow
• 느린 속력 → a slow speed

Irregular

• 좋다 → 좋은 = good
• 좋은 사람 → a good man

Please note, however, that the descriptive form is usually used in writings, as in written Korean.

In spoken Korean, it is more natural to say 'beautiful flowers' as '꽃이 아름다워요' rather than '아름다운 꽃이에요.' (For more on the 'spoken form,' please read Adjectives - Present, Past)

E.g. 

• 꽃들이 아름다워요 = The flowers are beautiful.
• 자동차가 멋져요 = The car is good-looking.
• 문제가 쉬워요 = The question is easy.

Also, in spoken Korean, the particles are often omitted except for the 을/를 particle.

• 꽃들 아름다워요 = The flowers are beautiful.
• 자동차 멋져요 = The car is good-looking.
• 문제 쉬워요 = The question is easy.

Again, in casual conversations, these sentences would more naturally flow by using '네.'

• 꽃들 아름답네요
• 자동차 멋지네요
• 문제 쉽네요

The difference between '문제 쉬워요' and '문제 쉽네요' is that  '쉽네요' is less blunt than '쉬워요' which sounds more factual and generalised.

• 문제 쉽네요 = (I see that) The problem/question is easy.
• 문제 쉬워요 = The problem/question is easy.

• 방이 넓네요 = (I see that) The room is spacious/large.
• 방이 넓어요 = The room is spacious/large. (It can sound quite blunt and just factual.)