안녕하세요, future Korean language maestros! Grab your 한글 hats, fasten your metaphorical seat belts, and prepare your most enthusiastic “네, 알겠습니다!” because we’re diving into the electric, ever-changing whirlwind of the Korean present tense!
Now, I know what you’re thinking. “Oh great, present tense… Sounds as exciting as watching 라면 boil.” But believe me when I tell you, understanding the present tense in Korean is like finding the ultimate cheat code to your favourite video game. It’s the key that unlocks all doors, the magical 떡볶이 that powers your language journey.
The present tense is the moment where you live, where you express your love for kimchi, your hatred for early mornings, or your deep philosophical thoughts like “why do chickens in Korean cartoons look way cuter than real ones?” It’s where you tell your friend “I eat” instead of “I eaten” or “I will eating”. Simple, but crucial!
So, gather your notebooks, pens, tablets, or ancient stone tablets and chisels, whatever you prefer, because we’re about to embark on an epic adventure into the present… tense, that is. Brace yourself for the thrill of grammar, the exhilaration of sentence structures, and the sheer joy of saying “I am learning” in Korean and actually meaning it!
So what are we waiting for? Let’s jump right in. As the Korean saying goes, 시작이 반이다 – “Starting is half the task.” Let’s conquer this other half together!
Present tense in Korean
In Korean, we conjugate the verbs to convey different meanings. Each verb base form will end in 다 i.e 하다 – to do. Similar to English, we will need to change the verb to convey different meanings like I want to go, I will be going, he goes etc.
The Korean language has two main types of verbs: action verbs and descriptive verbs (which function like adjectives in English). When conjugating these verbs, we mainly look at the verb stem, which is the verb without the ‘다’ ending that you’ll usually find in the dictionary.
What are Korean Action Verbs
Action verbs represent actions (like eating, reading, running), much like in English. In their dictionary form, they usually end with ‘다’. To conjugate them to the present tense, you will need to remove this ‘다’ and modify the stem based on the ending vowel or consonant, following the basic rules outlined down below.
- 읽다 (to read) becomes 읽어요.
- 먹다 (to eat) becomes 먹어요.
- 가다 (to go) becomes 가요.
What are Korean Descriptive Verbs (Adjectives)?
Unlike English, where adjectives are a separate part of speech, Korean treats adjectives more like verbs. These are called descriptive verbs and they also end in ‘다’ in their dictionary form. When used in a sentence, they need to be conjugated, much like action verbs.
Descriptive verbs describe a state or condition, like being big, small, pretty, or ugly. In present tense, they follow similar conjugation rules as action verbs. Here are some examples:
- 크다 (to be big) becomes 커요.
- 작다 (to be small) becomes 작아요.
- 예쁘다 (to be pretty) becomes 예뻐요.
We will look at how the descriptive verbs are conjugated in another lesson, this lesson will focus on the action verbs.
Conjugating Korean Action Verbs
So let’s start with the basic present tense.
Every single verb ends with 다. To conjugate them to a present tense i.e. 가다 (To go);
- Remove “다” i.e. 가다 –> 가
- Determine which of the below rules to use. In this case, the last vowel is ㅏ so we add 아요 (가 + 아요 –> 가아요), which to make it sound more natural becomes just 가요. You will notice below but when the last consonant is a vowel, we either get rid of one (if they are the same) or we combine them together.
The endings for present tense are as per below
-아요
-어요
-여요
To know which of the above you need to use, follow the rules below;
- If the last vowel is ㅏ or ㅗ, add 아요
- If the last vowel is not one of the above, add 어요
- Only 하 is followed by 여요 and becomes 해요 (always the case)
The below list summarises the rules on present tense conjugation.
- ㅏ+ㅏ= ㅏ (i.e. 자다. 자다 –> 자 + 아요 –> 자아요 –> 자요)
- ㅓ+ㅓ=ㅓ (i.e. 서다. 서다 –> 서 + 어요 –> 서어요 –> 서요)
- ㅗ+ㅏ =ㅘ (i.e. 오다. 오다 –> 오 + 아요 –> 오아요 –>와요)
- ㅜ+ㅓ=ㅝ (i.e. 주다. 주다 –> 주 + 어요 –> 주어요 –> 줘요)
- ㅕ+ㅓ=ㅕ (i.e. 켜다. 켜다–> 켜 + 어요 –> 켜어요 –> 켜요)
- ㅣ+ㅓ=ㅕ (i.e. 가지다. 가지다 –>가지 + 어요 –> 가지어요 –>가져요)
- ㅐ+ㅓ=ㅐ (i.e. 내다. 내다 –> 내 + 어요 –> 내어요 –> 내요)
- ㅔ+ㅓ=ㅔ (i.e. 세다. 세다 –> 세 + 어요 –> 세어요 –> 세요)
Examples
- 먹다 –> 먹 (last vowel is not ㅏ or ㅗ so we add 어요) and it becomes 먹 + 어요 –> 먹어요 (eat)
- 오다 –> 오 (last vowel is ㅗ so we add 아요) and it becomes 오+아요 –>오아요 –> 와요 (come)
- 보다 –> 보 (last vowel is ㅗ so we add 아요) and it becomes 보+아요 –> 보아요 –> 봐요 (look)
- 같다 –> 같 (last vowel is ㅏ so we add 아요) and it becomes 같 + 아요 –> 같아요 (same)
- 보이다 –> 보이 (last vowel is not ㅏ or ㅗ so we add 어요) and it becomes 보이 + 어요 –> 보이어요 –> 보여요 (to see)
- 있다 –> 있 (last vowel is not ㅏ or ㅗ so we add 어요) and it becomes 있 + 어요 –> 있어요 (to be/ to exist)
- 놀다 –> 놀 (last vowel is ㅏ so we add 아요) and it becomes 놀 + 아요 –> 놀아요 (play)
- 도와주다 –> 도와주 (last vowel is not ㅏ or ㅗ) and it becomes 도와주 + 어요 –> 도와주어요 –> 도와줘요 (help)
- 하다 –> 하 (this will always be followed by 여요) and it becomes 하 + 여요 –> 하여요 –> 해요 (do)
- *Note – 하다 will ALWAYS be followed by 여요 and ALWAYS becomes 해요. Only 하다 verb is followed by 여요.
Sample sentences
- 저는 커피를 마셔요. – I drink coffee.
- 준호는 매일 운동해요. – Jun-ho exercises every day.
- 우리는 한국어를 배워요. – We learn Korean.
- 선생님이 책을 읽어요. – The teacher reads a book.
- 선아는 요리를 잘해요. – Seon-a cooks well.
- 친구들이 영화를 봐요. – Friends watch a movie.
- 우리 아빠는 운전을 잘해요. – Our dad drives well.
Activity 1
Conjugate the below verbs to present tense.
- 자다 – to sleep
- 오다 – to come
- 살다 – to live
- 가르치다 – to teach
- 사다 – to buy
- 만들다 – to make
- 만나다 – to meet
- 끓이다 – to boil
- 열다 – to open
- 그만두다 – to stop
- 찾다 – to find
- 생각하다 – to think
- 마시다 – to drink
Activity 2
Fill the blanks with the correctly conjugated word.
- 저녁 ______________ (저녁 – dinner) I eat dinner.
- 친구 ______________ (친구 – friend) I am meeting friend.
- 문 ________________ (문 – door) I open the door.
- 컴퓨터 ______________ (컴퓨터 – computer) I am buying computer.
- 그 병 __________________( 그 – that, 병 – bottle) Give me that bottle.
- 여기 _______________ (여기 – here) I am here.
- 영화 _______________ (영화 – movie) I am watching movie.
- 도서관에 책 _______________________________ (도서관 – library, 책 – book) I read a book in the library.
- 집 _________________ (집 – house) I am going home.
- 저는 매일 일기를 __________________________ (저 – me, 매일 – everyday, 읽이 – diary) I write in my diary everyday.
Choose from the following – 사다, 주다, 가다, 만나다, 쓰다, 보다, 먹다, 열다, 있다, 읽다
Activity 1 Answers
- 자다 –> 자 –> 자 –> 아요 –> 자아요 –> 자요
- 오다 –> 오 –> 오 + 아요 –> 오아요 –> 와요
- 살다 –> 살 –> 살 + 아요 –> 살아요
- 가르치다 –> 가르치 –> 가르치 + 어요 –> 가르치어요 –> 가르쳐요
- 사다 –> 사 –> 사 + 아요 –> 사아요 –> 사요
- 만들다 –> 만들 –> 만들 + 어요 –> 만들어요
- 만나다 –> 만나 –> 만나 + 아요 –> 만나아요 –> 만나요
- 끓이다 –> 끓이 –> 끓이 + 어요 –> 끓이어요 –> 끓여요
- 열다 –> 열 –> 열 + 어요 –> 열어요
- 그만두다 –> 그만두 –> 그만두 +어요 –> 그만두어요 –> 그만둬요
- 찾다 –> 찾 –> 찾 + 아요 –> 찾아요
- 생각하다 –> 생각하 –> 생각하 + 여요 –> 생각해요
- 마시다 –> 마시 –> 마시 +어요 –> 마시어요 –> 마셔요
Activity 2 Answers
- 저녁 먹어요. I eat dinner.
- 친구 만나요. – I meet friends.
- 문 열어요. – I open the door.
- 컴퓨터 사요. – I am buying computer.
- 그 명 줘요. – Give me that bottle.
- 여기 있어요. – I am here.
- 영화 봐요. – I am watching a movie.
- 도서관에 책 읽어요. – I am reading a book in the library.
- 집 가요. – I am going home.
- 저는 매일 읽이를 써요. – I write in my diary everyday.
Wrap up
And there you have it, folks! You’ve officially taken your first steps into the vibrant world of the Korean present tense. Let’s give a big round of applause to ourselves for our hard work today. Or, should I say, 박수를 치자!
Now you’re ready to say all sorts of things in Korean, like “I eat kimchi” (저는 김치를 먹어요).
Remember, mastering a language is like cooking a perfect 떡볶이. It requires patience, practice, and a pinch of perseverance. But trust me, the end result will be as satisfying as that sweet and spicy Korean rice cake!
So, get out there, brave language learners! Go forth and proudly declare your love for coffee in Korean to your barista, tell your friends about your new K-pop obsession, or discuss the merits of fluffy dogs versus scaly lizards. The world—or at least, the world of Korean present tense—is now your oyster!
But wait, don’t rush off just yet! We would love to see how you’re doing. So drop a comment below with a sentence you’ve made using the Korean present tense. Feel free to get creative with it! How about “I laugh at funny Korean dramas” or “I ride a bike in Seoul”? We can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Keep up the good work, and remember, language learning is a journey. You’re not alone, and every sentence you create is another step forward. So, 화이팅! And see you in our next lesson!
