Verbs - Polite [Present, Past]
Polite FormThis lesson is about the polite form of verbs, in addition to the informal form which we learned in
the previous lesson. Let's go over again the differences between the informal and polite forms.
•Informal - Generally speaking, the informal form is used among people of the same age or
to people who are younger by older people. It is also used by people who are closely related
such as such family members and relatives. People who are close friends would use this
form depending on the familiarity and acceptability.
•Polite - The polite form is used when speaking to people who are older than you or of a
higher rank than you such as in the company, army and other institutions. However, people
generally use the polite form in many social settings regardless of one's age. Initially, it
would be best to stick to the polite form when learning Korean, as this would be the
predominant form of speaking to people in many social environments. However, if you
attend school or other similar institutions where you'd make friends and the environment is
more casual, it might be more appropriate to use the informal form.
Note: The words in bold indicate which of the two negatives are more commonly used in each case,
i.e. 먹지 않습니다 is more commonly used than 안 먹습니다 in the written form, and 안 먹어요 is
more commonly used than 먹지 않아요 in the spoken form.
Polite
Written
Form
Present Past
Positive 먹습니다 먹었습니다
Negative 먹지 않습니다
안 먹습니다
먹지 않았습니다
안 먹었습니다
Polite
Spoken
Form
Present Past
Positive 먹어요 먹었어요
Negative 먹지 않아요
안 먹어요
먹지 않았어요
안 먹었어요
Conjugation Rules
I) Informal Plain → Polite Present (Written)
First of all, take 다 off the plain form of verbs, and then:
1. For verbs whose final character has no final consonant, add ㅂ 니다.
E.g.
• → 하다 합니다 = do
• → 가다 갑니다 = go
• → 오다 옵니다 = come
• → 쓰다 씁니다 = write
• → 말하다 말합니다 = speak
•바라다 → 바랍니다 = hope
• → 자라다 자랍니다 = grow
2. For verbs whose final character has a final consonant, add 습니다.
E.g.
• → 먹다 먹습니다 = eat
• → 걷다 걷습니다 = walk
•듣다 → 듣습니다 = listen
• → 읽다 읽습니다 = read
• → 입다 입습니다 = wear
Note: The rule 3 overrides the rule 2.
3. For verbs whose last character has ㄹ as a final consonant, change it to ㅂ and add 니다.
E.g.
• → 살다 삽니다 = live
• → 놀다 놉니다 = play (have fun)
• → 알다 압니다 = know
• → 날다 납니다 = fly
• → 걸다 겁니다 = hang (up)
• → 말다 맙니다 = roll (up)
•밀다 → 밉니다 = push
II) Informal Past → Polite Past (Written)
Take 다 off the informal past form of verbs, and then add 습니다.
• → 했다 했습니다 = did
•갔다 → 갔습니다 = went
• → 왔다 왔습니다 = came
• → 봤다 봤습니다 = watched
• → 먹었다 먹었습니다 = ate
• → 달렸다 달렸습니다 = ran
• → 만났 만났습니다 = met
III) Informal → Polite (Spoken)
Just add 요 to the informal spoken forms.
• → 해 해요 = do
• → 가 가요 = go
• → 와 와요 = come
• → 안해 안해요 = not do
• → 안봐 안봐요 = not watch
• → 안사 안사요 = not buy
• → 안자 안자요 = not sleep
• → 먹었어 먹었어요 = ate
• → 걸었어 걸었어요 = walked
• → 만났어 만났어요 = met
• → 안했어 안했어요 = didn't do
• → 안갔어 안갔어요 = didn't go
• → 안먹었어 안먹었어요 = didn't eat
• → 안빌렸어 안빌렸어요 = didn't borrow
A brief revision of the differences between the written and spoken forms
•The written form is used in literature such as books, newspapers and any form of writing
that is not 'conversational.' The written form, in essence, is literary, factual and declarative. It
is rarely used in normal everyday conversations. However, the news on TV uses this written
form of Korean. It is also used in public speeches. The reason is probably due to the fact that
the news and public announcements or speeches are usually all declarative and/or factual.
•The spoken form is the usual way in which people speak and have a conversation. It is used
in all types of spoken Korean such as normal conversations, dramas, and movies, with the
possible exceptions of news, documentaries and other factual, formal types of programs on
TV and radio.
Verbs - Future [Will]
We're going to learn how to form a future tense of verbs in this lesson.
Please have a look at the table below.
Informal will do won't do
Written
Form
할 거다 하지 않을 거다
안 할 거다
Spoken
Form
할 거야 하지 않을 거야
안 할 거야
Note: The bold letters indicate which of the two alternatives in the negative form is more
commonly used in each of the written and spoken forms, i.e.:
• 하지 않을 거다 is more commonly used than 안 할 거다 in written Korean.
• 안 할 거야 is more commonly used than 하지 않을 거야 in spoken Korean.
Conjugation rules
First of all, take 다 off the plain form of verbs and then:
I) Will
1. For verbs whose final character has no final consonant, attach ㄹ 거다 to them.
E.g.
• → 하다 할 거다 = will do
• → 가다 갈 거다 = will go
• → 오다 올 거다 = will come
• → 만나다 만날거다 = will meet
• → 자라다 자랄거다 = will grow
2. For verbs whose final character has a final consonant, attach 을 거다 to them.
E.g.
• → 먹다 먹을 거다 = will eat
• → 앉다 앉을 거다 = will sit
• → 읽다 읽을 거다 = will read
• → 입다 입을 거다 = will wear
• → 잡다 잡을 거다 = will catch
Note: The rule 3 overrides the rule 2.
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3. For verbs whose final character has ㄹ as a final consonant, just attach 거다 to them.
E.g.
• → 밀다 밀거다 = will push
• → 날다 날거다 = will fly
• → 살다 살거다 = will live
Irregular form
• → 듣 들을 거다 = will listen
II) Won't
Simply attach 지 않을 거다 to verbs.
E.g.
• → 하다 하지 않을 거다 = won't do
• → 가다 가지 않을 거다 = won't go
• → 오다 오지 않을 거다 = won't come
• → 사다 사지 않을 거다 = won't buy
• → 먹다 먹지 않을 거다 = won't eat
• → 입다 입지 않을 거다 = won't wear
• → 앉다 앉지 않을 거다 = won't sit
• → 밀다 밀지 않을 거다 = won't push
Example sentences
• 집에 갈 거야? = Will you go home?
• 사라는 수영 할 거야 = Sarah will swim
• 윗은 골리앗 이길 거야 = David will beat Goliath
• 난 방에서 기타 칠 거야 = I will play the guitar in my room
• 존은 박물관에 들어갈 거야 = John will enter the museum
집 = home
존 = John
들어가다 = enter
기타 = guitar
치다 = play (the instrument)
사라 = Sarah
수영 = swim
윗 = David
골리앗 = Goliath
Question Form
Raise the tone of your voice at the last syllable to turn it into a question form.
• 축구 할 거야? = Will you do(play) soccer?
• 벌써 갈 거야? = Will you go(leave) already?
• 씻을 거야? = Will you wash? (Will you take a shower?/Will you take a bath?)
• 올림픽 볼 거야? = Will you watch the Olympics?
• 학교 안 갈 거야? = Won't you go to school?
• 점심 안 먹을 거야? = Won't you have lunch?
• 이 책 안 읽을 거야? = Won't you read this book?
Polite Form
Let's briefly go over the differences between the informal and polite forms again.
While the informal form in the examples above is used by people who are of the same age and/or
close, or when older people are talking to younger people in informal situations, the polite form is
commonly used by younger people addressing older people, and in any formal situations.
Polite
Written
Form
Will do Won't do
할 겁니다 하지 않을 겁니다
안 할 겁니다
Polite
Spoken
Form
Will do Won't do
할 거예요 하지 않을 거예요
안 할 거예요
Note: The bold letters indicate which of the two alternatives in the negative form is more
commonly used in each of the written and spoken forms, i.e.:
• 하지 않을 겁니다 is more commonly used than 안 할 겁니다 in written Korean.
• 안 할 거예요 is more commonly used than 하지 않을 거예요 in spoken Korean.
Conjugations rules
I) Informal → Polite (Written)
Simply change 거다 to 겁니다.
E.g.
• → 할 거다 할 겁니다 = will do
• → 갈 거다 갈 겁니다 = will go
• → 먹을 거다 먹을 겁니다 = will eat
• → 마시지 않을 거다 마시지 않을 겁니다 = won't drink
• → 달리지 않을 거다 달리지 않을 겁니다 = won't run
II) Informal → Polite (Spoken)
Simply change 야 to 예요.
E.g.
• → 할 거야 할 거예요 = will do
• → 올 거야 올 거예요 = will come
• → 들어갈 거야 들어갈 거예요 = will enter (go in)
• → 안 볼 거야 안 볼 거예요 = won't see/watch
• → 안 달릴 거야 안 달릴 거예요 = won't run
Example sentences
• 집에 갈 거예요? = Will you go home?
• 사라는 수영 할 거예요. = Sarah will swim.
• 윗은 골리앗 이길 거예요. = David will beat Goliath.
• 존은 박물관에 들어갈 거예요. = John will enter the museum.
• 저는 거실에서 기타 칠 거예요. = I will play the guitar in the living room.
• 씻을 거예요? = Will you wash? (Will you take a shower?/Will you take a bath?)
• 벌써 갈 거예요? = Will you go(leave) already?
• 축구 할 거예요? = Will you do(play) soccer?
• 월드컵 볼 거예요? = Will you watch the World Cup?
• 학교 안 갈 거예요? = Won't you go to school?
• 점심 안 먹을 거예요? = Won't you have lunch?
• 이 책 안 읽을 거예요? = Won't you read this book?
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