Home > Korean Grammar / Beginner Level
안녕하세요, 여러분 🤗! (Hello, everyone!) Today, I'll teach you how to express your plan with the word '겠'. It is only a syllable word, but many things must be checked! Let's learn the detailed grammar of the Korean future tense word 겠 with me!
<Table of Contents>
1. What is 겠?
3-A. Subject
3-B. Idioms with 겠
3-C. Negative sentence
3-D. Comparions 겠 vs. (으)ㄹ 것이다
4. Examples
5. Wrap-up
1. What is 겠?
"겠" expresses the speaker's will or intention for what to do in the future. So, it is often called the future tense. Check this example below. I express my "will" to study hard in the future. So, we translate with the modal verb "will."
저는 열심히 공부를 하겠어요. I will study hard. (I decided to study hard.)
There are actually two 겠 in Korean. 겠 1 is to talk about the future, 겠 2 is to make a guess. You will learn about the assumption 겠 next time. Today, let's focus on the겠 1.
겠 1: Intention
저는 한국어 공부를 하겠어요. I will study Korean.
겠 2: Guess
오후에 비가 오겠어요. I think it will rain in the afternoon.
2. Conjugation Information
Since you use 겠 to talk about your intention for what to do, you can attach it only to a verb, not an adjective. If you see 겠 with an adjective, that is the 겠 2, the guessing one. As you see, the grammar is written as 겠. There are no parentheses or a slash. That means you don't have to worry about changing its form. No difficult conjugation happens! Good news, right?
However, this 겠 is a pre-final ending. That means you put it after the verb stem but before the ending. Here are some examples. Pay attention to where this 겠 is located!
먹다 → 먹겠어요. I will eat.
보다 → 보겠어요 I will see/watch/look.
마시다 → 마시겠어요. I will drink.
말하다 → 말하겠어요. I will say/talk/speak.
만들다 → 만들겠어요. I will make it.
듣다 → 듣겠어요. I will listen.
잇다 → 잇겠어요. I will connect.
돕다 → 돕겠어요. I will help.
겠 is inserted between the verb stem and the 어요. By the way, can you tell me why we attach 어요 among the three present tense endings 아요, 어요, or 여요? If you have been studying the grammar with me, you probably be able to tell now.
Yes, it is because this present-tense ending is attached to 겠. The vowel of this word is 'ㅔ'. It is not 'ㅏ' or 'ㅗ'. It is obviously not '하' either. So, we need to use the rule number three, adding 어요!
You may notice our usual irregular verbs didn't change! You don't have to conjugate the verb stems for this 겠! To make a long story short, you can attach 겠어요 to the verb stem to talk about your will, intention, and plan!
겠 with other endings
You will have a chance to look at more details in each lesson. For now, I'll briefly show you other endings than 겠어요. You can quickly take a look. Today, we'll focus on 겠어요.
V겠습니다.: It's a formal ending. It is good to use in a public, official situation. It sounds more strict. 제가 하겠습니다. I'll do it.
V겠어.: It's a casual ending. It is a very friendly, not polite ending. You have to use it for people of the same age or younger. 내가 하겠어. I'll do it.
3. Sentence Information
Let's learn more details about this 겠. I'll show you what kind of subject you can use and the idioms that came from it. You'll also see the comparison between 겠 and another future ending. I know. There is a lot of information. Well, try not to be overwhelmed. Always take your time and try to digest one piece of information at a time.
A. Subject
Since it is meant to express the speaker's will, only the first person (나 or 저) can be used as a subject in statements. 나 is the non-polite version and 저 is the polite version of "I" in Korean.
(O) 저는 내일 학교에 가겠어요. I will go to school tomorrow.
(X) 민수는 내일 학교에 가겠어요.
We can't state about other person's plan with this 겠 1. If you talk about someone else with the 겠, this one is the 겠 2 which means guess or assumption. So, let's not use someone else for now.
Well, you can use this 겠 in the question, of course. In that time, it will be used to ask the listener's intention or interest. Usually, it is used as a combination form of 시 and 겠 to add a polite tone. It can be a polite command as well.
밍밍 씨, 이것 좀 드시겠어요? Hey, Mingming, would you like to eat some of this?
젠 씨, 저 좀 도와주시겠어요? Hey, Jen, could you please help me? - It is in a question form, but it is more close to a polite command.
B. Idioms with 겠
This 겠 is well used as a euphemism in idiomatic expressions. I recommend you memorize these idioms as chunks! You probably saw the first one before.
Nice to meet you.: 처음 뵙겠습니다. / 처음 뵙겠어요.
I understand. (I got it.): 알겠습니다. / 알겠어요.
I don't know .: 잘 모르겠습니다. / 잘 모르겠어요.
Each expression has two versions. The first ones end with "습니다." Those are more polite, official, and strict versions. The second ones end with "어요". Those are polite and friendly. You can often use it in daily conversations!
C. Negative sentence
There are two ways to make a negative sentence. One is to use the negative adverb "안", and the second is to use the expression "지 않겠어요." I will show you both versions here. You can show your determination not to do this action.
게임을 하다 play a game
오늘부터 게임을 안 하겠어요.
오늘부터 게임을 하지 않겠어요.
I won't play games from today.
커피를 마시다 drink coffee
오늘부터 커피를 안 마시겠어요.
오늘부터 커피를 마시지 않겠어요.
I won't drink coffee from today.
D. Comparions 겠 vs. (으)ㄹ 것이다
You've learned another intention, future ending 을 것이다 (known as 을 거예요). They both show the will of the action in the future. Let's see how 겠 and 을 것이다 different.
겠 | 을 것이다 |
When it is used as a future tense, only the first person (나, 저) can be used in a statement. | Any person can be used. |
저는 김치를 먹겠어요. I will eat kimchi. (X) 민수 씨가 김치를 먹겠어요. | 저는 김치를 먹을 거예요. I will eat kimchi. 민수 씨가 김치를 먹을 거예요. Minsu will eat kimchi. |
It shows a stronger "will" about the plan. | It is closer to a simple plan. |
저는 올해 꼭 취업을 할 거예요. I will definitely get a job this year. | 저는 내일 친구를 만날 거예요. I will meet my friends tomorrow. |
4. Examples
1
On New Year's Day (새해에)
Q: 민지 씨, 새해 계획이 있어요? Hey Minji, do you have a New Year's Resolution?
A: 네, 저는 올해 살을 빼겠어요. Yes, I will lose weight this year.
You can talk about your resolution using '겠'. 살을 빼다 means 'lose weight.' What kinds of New Year's resolutions did you make? Can you express that in Korean?
2
오늘부터 매일 단어 백개를 외우겠어요. From today, I'll memorize 100 words each day!
매일 means every day. 단어 is a word. 외우겠어요 came from 외우다 which means memorize. What is your plan to study Korean? Can you say that using '겠'?
3
내일부터 고기를 안 먹겠어요. I won't eat meat from tomorrow.
You can also decide not to do something. In that case, you need to put 안 in front of the verb.
4
저는 내년에 꼭 한국에 가겠어요. I will surely go to Korea next year.
꼭 is an emphasizing word meaning 'surely', 'certainly,' and 'at any cost'. You can add this word since you are talking about your strong determination.
5. Wrap-up: Future Tense 겠 grammar
Here is the summary of your lesson today. Let's review the important parts! Don't forget to download the free PDF file to practice this 겠 grammar you learned today!
You've learned the pre-final ending 겠 that can add meaning to determination, will, and intention for the future.
You can only talk about your own will, not someone else.
It is similar to another future ending 을 것이다, but not quite the same.
How was your studying? If you have any questions, feel free to leave the comment! Please scroll down to the footer and subscribe to my blog to get updates! Thanks for reading!
![[Reading Material] Korean Currency Won: Korean Coins and Bills](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b68df0_bec7c0b8f2b64d5e9e13d6cd0948d54e~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_54,h_54,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/b68df0_bec7c0b8f2b64d5e9e13d6cd0948d54e~mv2.jpg)
