Participles

01

Present Tense: -는 (-nŭn)

This form is used with action verbs to describe an action that is currently happening or a general, habitual action.

The rule is to attach 는 (nŭnneunnŭnnun) to the verb stem, regardless of whether it ends in a vowel or a consonant.

Verb stem of 가다 (ga·daga·daga·daka·ta): 가 (gagagaka) → 가는 (ga·nŭnga·neunga·nŭnka·nun)

Verb stem of 먹다 (mŏk·dameok·damŏk·damek·ta): 먹 (mŏkmeokmŏkmek) → 먹는 (mŏng·nŭnmeong·neunmŏng·nŭnmeng·nun)

• 지금 음악을 듣는 사람이 제 친구예요.

  ji·gŭm ŭ·ma·gŭl dŭn·nŭn sa·ra·mi je chin·gu·ye·yo.ji·geum eu·ma·geul deun·neun sa·ra·mi je jin·gu·ye·yo.ji·gŭm ŭ·ma·gŭl dŭn·nŭn sa·ra·mi je chin·gu·ye·yo.ci·kum u·ma·kul tun·nun sa·la·mi cey cin·ku·yey·yo.

  The person who is listening to music now is my friend.

• 저는 책을 읽는 것을 좋아해요.

  jŏ·nŭn chae·gŭl ing·nŭn gŏ·sŭl jo·a·hae·yo.jeo·neun chae·geul ing·neun geo·seul jo·a·hae·yo.jŏ·nŭn chae·gŭl ing·nŭn gŏ·sŭl jo·a·hae·yo.ce·nun chae·kul ing·nun ke·sul co·a·hae·yo.

  I like reading books (lit. the act of reading books).

• 저기 가는 버스는 서울에 가요.

  jŏ·gi ga·nŭn bŏ·sŭ·nŭn sŏ·u·re ga·yo.jeo·gi ga·neun beo·seu·neun seo·u·re ga·yo.jŏ·gi ga·nŭn bŏ·sŭ·nŭn sŏ·u·re ga·yo.ce·ki ka·nun pe·su·nun se·u·ley ka·yo.

  That bus (that is) going over there goes to Seoul.

02

Past Tense: -(으)ㄴ (-(ŭ)n)

This form is used with action verbs to describe an action that has already been completed.

The ending depends on the final sound of the verb stem:

• If the stem ends in a vowel, add ㄴ (n).
• If the stem ends in a consonant, add 은 (ŭneunŭnun).

Verb stem of 보다 (bo·dabo·dabo·dapo·ta): 보 (bobobopo) → 본 (bonbonbonpon)

Verb stem of 읽다 (ik·daik·daik·daik·ta): 읽 (ik) → 읽은 (il·gŭnil·geunil·gŭnil·kun)

• 어제 본 영화가 재미있었어요.

  ŏ·je bon yŏng·hwa·ga jae·mi·i·ssŏ·ssŏ·yo.eo·je bon yeong·hwa·ga jae·mi·i·sseo·sseo·yo.ŏ·je bon yŏng·hwa·ga jae·mi·i·ssŏ·ssŏ·yo.e·cey pon yeng·hwa·ka jae·mi·i·sse·sse·yo.

  The movie that I saw yesterday was fun.

• 이것은 제가 읽은 책이에요.

  i·gŏ·sŭn je·ga il·gŭn chae·gi·e·yo.i·geo·seun je·ga il·geun chae·gi·e·yo.i·gŏ·sŭn je·ga il·gŭn chae·gi·e·yo.i·ke·sun cey·ka il·kun chae·ki·ey·yo.

  This is the book that I read.

• 친구가 만든 케이크는 맛있어요.

  chin·gu·ga man·dŭn ke·i·kŭ·nŭn ma·si·ssŏ·yo.jin·gu·ga man·deun ge·i·geu·neun ma·si·sseo·yo.chin·gu·ga man·dŭn ke·i·kŭ·nŭn ma·si·ssŏ·yo.cin·ku·ka man·tun key·i·ku·nun ma·si·sse·yo.

  The cake that my friend made is delicious.

03

Future Tense: -(으)ㄹ (-(ŭ)l)

This form is used with both action and descriptive verbs to describe a future action or a supposed state. It can mean "that will," "to be," or "that is likely."

The ending depends on the final sound of the verb stem:

• If the stem ends in a vowel, add ㄹ (l).
• If the stem ends in a consonant, add 을 (ŭleulŭlul).

Verb stem of 마시다 (ma·si·dama·si·dama·si·dama·si·ta): 마시 (ma·si) → 마실 (ma·sil)

Verb stem of 먹다 (mŏk·dameok·damŏk·damek·ta): 먹 (mŏkmeokmŏkmek) → 먹을 (mŏ·gŭlmeo·geulmŏ·gŭlme·kul)

• 내일 먹을 음식을 샀어요.

  nae·il mŏ·gŭl ŭm·si·gŭl sa·ssŏ·yo.nae·il meo·geul eum·si·geul sa·sseo·yo.nae·il mŏ·gŭl ŭm·si·gŭl sa·ssŏ·yo.nae·il me·kul um·si·kul sa·sse·yo.

  I bought food to eat tomorrow.

• 회의에서 할 말이 있어요.

  hoe·ŭi·e·sŏ hal ma·ri i·ssŏ·yo.hoe·ui·e·seo hal ma·ri i·sseo·yo.hoe·ŭi·e·sŏ hal ma·ri i·ssŏ·yo.hoe·uy·ey·se hal ma·li i·sse·yo.

  I have something to say at the meeting.

• 주말에 볼 영화를 찾고 있어요.

  ju·ma·re bol yŏng·hwa·rŭl chat·go i·ssŏ·yo.ju·ma·re bol yeong·hwa·reul jat·go i·sseo·yo.ju·ma·re bol yŏng·hwa·rŭl chat·go i·ssŏ·yo.cu·ma·ley pol yeng·hwa·lul cat·ko i·sse·yo.

  I am looking for a movie to watch on the weekend.

04

Descriptive Verbs (Adjectives)

Descriptive verbs (adjectives like 예쁘다 (ye·ppŭ·daye·bbeu·daye·ppŭ·dayey·ppu·ta) to be pretty or 크다 (kŭ·dageu·dakŭ·daku·ta) to be big) follow a different pattern to describe a noun's current state.

To describe a noun's current state, they use the same form as the past tense for action verbs: -(으)ㄴ (-(ŭ)n).

• If the stem ends in a vowel, add ㄴ (n). (크다 (kŭ·dageu·dakŭ·daku·ta) → 큰 (kŭngeunkŭnkun))
• If the stem ends in a consonant, add 은 (ŭneunŭnun). (작다 (jak·dajak·dajak·dacak·ta) → 작은 (ja·gŭnja·geunja·gŭnca·kun))

Note: Descriptive verbs do not use the 는 (nŭnneunnŭnnun) ending for the present tense.

• 저는 작은 집에 살아요.

  jŏ·nŭn ja·gŭn ji·be sa·ra·yo.jeo·neun ja·geun ji·be sa·ra·yo.jŏ·nŭn ja·gŭn ji·be sa·ra·yo.ce·nun ca·kun ci·pey sa·la·yo.

  I live in a small house.

• 예쁜 옷을 사고 싶어요.

  ye·ppŭn o·sŭl sa·go si·pŏ·yo.ye·bbeun o·seul sa·go si·beo·yo.ye·ppŭn o·sŭl sa·go si·pŏ·yo.yey·ppun o·sul sa·ko si·pe·yo.

  I want to buy pretty clothes.

• 이것은 좋은 생각이에요.

  i·gŏ·sŭn jo·ŭn saeng·ga·gi·e·yo.i·geo·seun jo·eun saeng·ga·gi·e·yo.i·gŏ·sŭn jo·ŭn saeng·ga·gi·e·yo.i·ke·sun co·un saeng·ka·ki·ey·yo.

  This is a good idea.

05

Irregular Verbs: Stems ending in ㄹ (l)

Verb stems that end in the consonant ㄹ (l), such as 살다 (sal·dasal·dasal·dasal·ta) (to live) or 만들다 (man·dŭl·daman·deul·daman·dŭl·daman·tul·ta) (to make), are irregular.

• For past -(으)ㄴ (-(ŭ)n) and present -는 (-nŭn-neun-nŭn-nun) forms, the ㄹ (l) is dropped from the stem before adding the ending.

- 살다 (sal·dasal·dasal·dasal·ta) + 는 (nŭnneunnŭnnun) → 사는 (sa·nŭnsa·neunsa·nŭnsa·nun) (living)

- 만들다 (man·dŭl·daman·deul·daman·dŭl·daman·tul·ta) + ㄴ (n) → 만든 (man·dŭnman·deunman·dŭnman·tun) (that was made)

• For the future -(으)ㄹ (-(ŭ)l) form, the ㄹ (l) is also dropped, and then the ㄹ (l) ending is added. The result looks like you just removed 다 (dadadata).

- 살다 (sal·dasal·dasal·dasal·ta) → 살 (sal) (to live / that will live)

• 한국에 사는 친구가 있어요.

  han·gu·ge sa·nŭn chin·gu·ga i·ssŏ·yo.han·gu·ge sa·neun jin·gu·ga i·sseo·yo.han·gu·ge sa·nŭn chin·gu·ga i·ssŏ·yo.han·ku·key sa·nun cin·ku·ka i·sse·yo.

  I have a friend who lives in Korea.

• 우리가 만들 음식은 비빔밥이에요.

  u·ri·ga man·dŭl ŭm·si·gŭn bi·bim·ba·bi·e·yo.u·ri·ga man·deul eum·si·geun bi·bim·ba·bi·e·yo.u·ri·ga man·dŭl ŭm·si·gŭn bi·bim·ba·bi·e·yo.u·li·ka man·tul um·si·kun pi·pim·pa·pi·ey·yo.

  The food we will make is bibimbap.

06

Creating Noun Clauses with 것 (gŏt)

You can combine these participle forms with the noun 것 (gŏtgeotgŏtket), which means "thing," "fact," or "act." This turns the entire preceding phrase into a single noun concept.

• Present: 운동하는 것 (un·dong·ha·nŭn gŏtun·dong·ha·neun geotun·dong·ha·nŭn gŏtun·tong·ha·nun ket) - the act of exercising; exercising
• Past: 어제 먹은 것 (ŏ·je mŏ·gŭn gŏteo·je meo·geun geotŏ·je mŏ·gŭn gŏte·cey me·kun ket) - the thing I ate yesterday
• Future: 내일 할 것 (nae·il hal gŏtnae·il hal geotnae·il hal gŏtnae·il hal ket) - the thing I will do tomorrow

This is very common for expressing preferences, talking about experiences, or making plans.

• 제가 제일 좋아하는 것은 영화를 보는 것이에요.

  je·ga je·il jo·a·ha·nŭn gŏ·sŭn yŏng·hwa·rŭl bo·nŭn gŏ·si·e·yo.je·ga je·il jo·a·ha·neun geo·seun yeong·hwa·reul bo·neun geo·si·e·yo.je·ga je·il jo·a·ha·nŭn gŏ·sŭn yŏng·hwa·rŭl bo·nŭn gŏ·si·e·yo.cey·ka cey·il co·a·ha·nun ke·sun yeng·hwa·lul po·nun ke·si·ey·yo.

  My favorite thing is watching movies.

• 어제 산 것이 뭐예요?

  ŏ·je san gŏ·si mwo·ye·yo?eo·je san geo·si mwo·ye·yo?ŏ·je san gŏ·si mwŏ·ye·yo?e·cey san ke·si mwe·yey·yo?

  What is the thing you bought yesterday?