Tense+Politeness
Korean tenses are revealed at the end of the sentence. The ending also shows the different levels of politeness. So here, I organize each tense by the various speech levels. If you want to learn the details of the speech levels, please click here to read my lesson!
Informal Polite
An informal polite ending is called "해요체(hae-yo-chae); 해요 style" because it ends with "요". It is polite and friendly. So, it is the most commonly used one in daily conversations. Use the links below to learn the details!
<Simple>
Present : 아/어/여요
Past: 았/었/였어요
Future: (으)ㄹ 거예요.
Present progressive: 고 있어요.
Past progressive: 고 있었어요.
Future progressive: 고 있을 거예요.
With the present tense 아/어/여요, you can mean all four types of sentences; statement, question, command, and suggestion. However, you can add other endings to make it more specific meanings.
Statement: 아/어/여요.
Question: 아/어/여요?
Command: (으)세요.
Suggestion: (으)ㄹ까요?
Informal Casual
An informal casual is called "해체(hae-chae); 해 style." It's very friendly, casual, and not polite at all. You are allowed to use it with your friends or someone younger than you.
<Simple>
Present: 아/어/여.
Past: 았/었/였어.
Future: (으)ㄹ 거야.
<Progressive>
Present: 고 있어.
Past: 고 있었어.
Future: 고 있을 거야.
Just like 아/어/여요, the informal casual 아/어/여 also can show the four sentence types depending on context. However, there are other forms you can use as well.
Statement: 아/어/여.
Question: 아/어/여?, 니/냐?
Command: 아/어/여라.
Suggestion: 자.
Formal
A formal ending is called "하십시오체(ha-sip-ssi-oh-chae); 하십시오 style" or "합쇼체(hap-syo-chae); 합쇼 style." It is used in official and formal situations. So, it is considered very polite and strict, not friendly at all!
<Simple>
Present: ㅂ니다/습니다.
Past: 았/었/였습니다.
Future: (으)ㄹ 것입니다. 겠습니다.
<Progressive>
Present: 고 있습니다.
Past: 고 있었습니다.
Future: 고 있을 것입니다.
A formal polite ending has various expressions depending on the sentence types.
Statement: ㅂ니다./습니다.
Question: ㅂ니까?/습니까?
Command: (으)십시오.