In this lesson, you will about the two important regular rules to conjugate! Check this list before proceeding with this lesson.
▢ Do you know the basic forms of a verb and an adjective?
▢ Do you know what the stem is?
If you don't know those, please click here to check out my post about before this lesson.
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0. Important conecpts
All Korean verbs and adjective have their basic forms. However, when you use these words in daily talking or writing, you must change their form depending on the tense, tone, politeness, etc. This process is called "conjugation."
Understanding conjugation is very important in Korean grammar. Take a brief look at the picture below. I'm not asking you to memorize all the rules or meanings, I just want you to understand how important conjugation is in Korean.
As you see, the one basic form turns into so many other sentences depending on what you add to it. You will learn each detailed rule throughout my lessons. In this post, you will see the key to these conjugations!
Mainly, two factors decide the regular conjugation process. Some rules require you to check the last vowel of the stem. The other rules require you to pay attention to the existence of the final consonant. Let's take a look at these rules with me one by one!
1. The last vowel: 아/어/여
When the last vowel of the stem matters, the rules will start with "아/어/여 [ah/eo/yeo]" Depending on a teacher, it can be described as "아/어" or just "어" as well.
The representative rules with this 아/어/여 are the present tense, past tense, and connective ending 'because'.
The present tesne: 아/어/여요 (The short form of 아요/어요/여요.)
The past tesne: 았/었/였어요 (Can you see 아/어/여 from 았/었/였?)
The connective ending-becuase: 아/어/여서
Let's see how we can use this "last vowel" to use 아, 어, or 여 with these example endings.
1. ㅏ or ㅗ: + 아~
When the last vowel is ㅏ or ㅗ, you will attach the ending that starts with "아" like 아요, 았어요, or 아서.
Adding these rules is easy when the stem ends with the final consonant. Take a look.
살다 to live → The stem is 살. The vowel of this syllable is ㅏ. → So, we need to add the ending with "아".
→ 살아요. I live. / 살았어요. I lived. / 살아서, because I live.
작다 to be small → 작 → The vowel is ㅏ so we need 아.
→ 작아요. / 작았어요. / 작아서
When the stem ends with a vowel, in other words, when it doesn't have the final consonant, you have to pay attention for one more step. This is because the vowels tend to combine.
가다 to go → The stem is 가 and the vowel is ㅏ. → 가 doesn't have the final consonant. When there is no final consonant the vowels combine. → When we add 가 and 아, they have the same vowels, so they stick to each other (one absorbs the other) because 가아요 is too long.
→ 가요. / 갔어요. / 가서
오다 to come → The stem is 오 and the vowel is ㅗ. You have to add 아. → 오 doesn't have the final consonant. That means the vowels like to combine. → When 오 and 아 meet, they become 와. (You can see both ㅗ and ㅏ in ㅘ, right?)
→ 와요. / 왔어요. / 와서
2. 하다 verbs: → 해~
하다 means "do". Some Korean nouns (with action involved) can combine with 하다 and become verbs. Traditionally, you were supposed to add "여" when the stem is "하" and becomes like "하여요, 하였어요, or 하여서." But these days people usually use "해" instead of "하여."
하다 to do → The stem is 하. → Add the ending that starts with 여. → 하여요, 하였어요, 하여서, ... → These days, they become 해요. I do. / 했어요. I did. / 해서, because I do.
Changing 하다 verbs are pretty easy. Since they all end with 하다, you can replace 하다 with the right ending.
공부하다 to study → 공부해요. / 공부했어요. / 공부해서
숙제하다 to do homework → 숙제해요. / 숙제했어요. / 숙제해서
말하다 to talk → 말해요. / 말했어요. / 말해서
Adjectives also can end with 하다, but in that case, this 00하다 is just a word, not a noun plus a verb meaning "do." Still, you use the same conjugation rule!
뚱뚱하다 to be fat → 뚱뚱해요. / 뚱뚱했어요. / 뚱뚱해서
날씬하다 to be slim → 날씬해요. / 날씬했어요. / 날씬해서
깨끗하다 to be clean → 깨끗해요. / 깨끗했어요. / 깨끗해서
3. Others: + 어~
When the vowel is not ㅏ or ㅗ or the stem is not 하, in other words, other than rules number one and two, you will use this regular rule number three. In this case, you will attach the ending that starts with 어.
먹다 to eat → The stem is 먹. → The vowel is ㅓ. It is not ㅏ or ㅗ or 하. So, you will add the ending with "어."
→ 먹어요. I eat. / 먹었어요. I ate. / 먹어서, because I eat.
읽다 to read → 읽 → The vowel is ㅣ. So, we need something with 어.
→ 읽어요. / 읽었어요. / 읽어서
멀다 to be far → 멀 → The vowel is ㅓ. Again, it is not ㅏ or ㅓ.
→ 멀어요. / 멀었어요. / 멀어서
Conjugating a stem with the final consonant is pretty easy. Now, vowels will like to combine if there is no final consonant!
서다 to stand → 서 → 서 and 어 have the same vowel. So, you can erase 어.
→ 서요. / 섰어요. / 서서
주다 to give → The stem is 주. → 주 doesn't have the final consonant. So, when it meets 어, the vowels (ㅜ and ㅓ) combine and become ㅝ.
→ 줘요. / 줬어요. / 줘서
One thing you have to be careful about is when the stem ends with ㅣ. When the vowelㅣ meets ㅓ, they become ㅕ.
마시다 to drink → 마시 → The last vowel is ㅣ. When 시 meets 어, it becomes 셔.
→ 마셔요. / 마셨어요. / 마셔서
그리다 to draw → 그리 → 리 and 어 become 려.
→ 그려요. / 그렸어요. / 그려서
2. The final consonant
When the final consonant is the key to conjugate, the grammar usually will start with parenthesis like (으)러, (으)ㄹ래요, (으)ㄹ 거예요. The reason why it has the parentheses is because it has two forms. (으)ㄹ래요 is a short way to write "을래요" and "ㄹ래요."
There are many endings, but I will show you the three forms as examples here.
The purpose of going: (으)러 ⇨ 으러 / 러
The intention ending: (으)ㄹ래요 ⇨ 을래요 / ㄹ 래요
The future tense: (으)ㄹ 거예요 ⇨ 을 거예요 / ㄹ 거예요
Depending on the teachers, they may just use 으러, 을래요 and 을 거예요. No matter what, when a different form of conjugation happens and the vowel is not the key, you will need to use the final consonant rules.
When the final consonant (받침) is matter, you will see three regular rules. Does the stem end with the final consonant or not? If it does have the final consonant, is it the letter ㄹ? I will put detailed conjugation rules in each grammar lesson, but for now, let's look at brief concepts with me.
1. Final consonant X
When there is no final consonant, you will add 러 from (으)러. You will attach ㄹ래요 from (으)ㄹ래요 and ㄹ 거예요 from (으)ㄹ 거예요. For the cases of "ㄹ래요" and "ㄹ 거예요", you will put the first consonant "ㄹ" as the final consonant of the stem.
보다 to see → The stem is 보. It doesn't have the final consonant. So you will need the no final consonant forms from each ending.
→ 보러 to see / 볼래요. I would like to see it. / 볼 거예요. I will see.
마시다 to drink → The stem is 마시. The last syllable is 시. It doesn't have the final consonant! Add a consonant and make the final consonant for this poor 시!
→ 마시러 to drink / 마실래요. I would like to drink / 마실 거예요. I will drink
2. Final consonant O
When the stem already has the final consonant, you will attach the full syllable versions like 을래요 and 을 거예요. You will attach 으러 from (으)러 form. So basically the longer version of each ending with parentheses.
먹다 to eat → The stem is 먹. It already has the final consonant.
→ 먹으러 to est / 먹을래요. I would like to drink. / 먹을 거예요. I will drink.
읽다 to read → The stem ends with the final consonants. Add the full syllable versions.
→ 읽으러 / 읽을래요. / 읽을 거예요.
3. The final consonant is ㄹ
Even if the stem has the final consonant, if that final consonant is ㄹ, you have to use this ㄹ rules. Since we already have ㄹ, you can simply add the part of the ending after ㄹ like 래요 from (으)ㄹ래요 and 거예요 from (으)ㄹ 거예요.
Here is one easy way to think. Imagine you erase the ㄹ from the stem first. Then there is no final consonant anymore. So now, use the no consonant version rule. So basically you are putting back the ㄹ again.
살다 to live → The stem 살 already has the final consonant ㄹ.
→ 살러 to live / 살래요. I would like to live. / 살 거예요. I will live.
놀다 to play → The stem is 놀. Add the part after the (으)ㄹ.
→ 놀러 / 놀래요. / 놀 거예요.
Do not add the second rule like 살으러, 살을래요, or 살을 거예요. They are wrong!
About this ㄹ rule... (If you are not familiar with it.)
Some teachers include the ㄹ part in the first rule and say there are only two rules. I usually show this ㄹ rule separately as if it were a third rule. The words that end with ㄹ always have their own rules and all ㄹ words always obey the same rule! So, it can be considered as one regular rule.
3. Wrap-up: Korean verb and adjective regular conjugations
You've learned the two types of regular conjugation rules for Korean verbs and adjectives.
Depending on the endings, sometimes you need to check the last vowel and sometimes you have to check the final consonant.
When the last vowel matters, the rules start with "아/어/여".
When the final consonant matters, the rules usually start with parentheses like (으).
In the next lesson, I'll show you the irregular conjugation rules! See you next time!
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