K-Grammar 1-30

If this is your first visit , please refer to the 'K-Grammar basics' first . After you finish studying, please take the quizzes at the bottom. But if they are not seen, please visit KPOP Exam time. Also, If you are interested in Korean tutoring by Skype, please contact my facebook for more information about my hour rate and available time

1. (을) ㄹ 수 있어요 / 없어요  '' can/ cannot"

When the verb stem ends in a consonant , add (을) 수 있어요/ 없어요 . When ending in a vowel or ㄹ, add ㄹ 수 있어요/ 없어요 . Its infinitive form is (을) 수 있다 / 없다. Without '요' at the end, it becomes casual talk

저: I (formal)  하다 : to do (to speak language)  한국어: Korean language    나: I (causal)

저는 한국어를 할 수 있어요. / 할 수 없어요. (formal)

나는 한국어를 할 수 있어. / 할 수  없어. (causal)

->I can / can't speak Korean.

1-1 못 -V  / V- 지 못하다 " can't (couldn't) V "

Place 못 before the verb or add verb stem to 지 못하다. Also, don't forget to conjugate the ending depending on the tense.

저는 한국어를 못 해요.= 저는 한국어를 하지 못해요. ( formal) -> I can't speak Korean.  

저는 한국어를 못 했어요.= 저는 한국어를 하지 못했어요. (formal) -> I couldn't  speak Korean.

But in case of N 하다 verbs (N+ to do),  place 못 in between.

수영 하다: to swim  

나는 수영 못 해. = 나는 수영하지 못 해. (casual) -> I can't swim.

2. - 지 마 (세요) " stop ~, don’t~"  

Add verb stem to - 지 마(세요). Its infinitive form is  -지 말다 (" to stop")

하다 : to do

하지 마!  / 하지 마세요!  -> Stop doing it.

(casual ) /   (formal)

2-1) - (으)세요 “ formal command ending”

When the Verb stem ends in a vowel, add 세요. When ending in a consonant, add 으세요.

빨리: quickly  가다: to go

빨리 가세요.-> Please go quickly.

3. - 고  " V/A -and "

Add verb/adjective stem to 고.

저: I (formal ) 아침: breakfast , morning  먹다 : to eat  학교: school   ~에:  to~

가요: go (가다: to go )

저는 아침을 먹고 가요.( formal)  

-> I eat breakfast and go to school.

4. - 고 싶어요 " -want to - "

Add verb stem to - 고 싶어요. Without '요' at the end, it becomes casual talk. Its infinitive form is -고 싶다 ( "to want to")

나: I (causal)  춤을 추다 : to dance   잘: well

나는 춤을 잘 추고 싶어. (casual)

-> I want to dance well

4-1)  - 고 파요 " - want to - " ( poetic)

Add verb stem to - 고 파요. Without '요' at the end, it becomes casual talk. Its infinitive form is -고 프다 ( "to want to")

이거 : this , 하다 : to do ,

이거 하고 파요. : I want to do this.

5. V/A 기 " noun"

Add verb/adjective stem to 기, then it turns into noun.

제: my  취미: hobby   노래하다 : to sing

제 취미는 노래하기예요.

My hobby is singing.

6. -는 N ( present tense of modification)

Add verb stem to 는 to modify a noun

좋아하다 : to like  친구 : friend  잘 : well

춤을 추다: to dance

Kpop을 좋아하는 친구 : A friend who likes Kpop

춤을 잘 추는 친구 : A friend who dances well

7. N 의 N    " N's N"

의 between noun and noun acts as 's.  But we often drop ' 의 ' when we speak.

내: my (casual)  친구: friend   오빠: older brother

내 친구의 오빠  : my friend's older brother

8. - 지 않을거야  " won't -"   (causal)

Add V/A stem to 지 않을거야. Also,  ' - 지 않을거예요'  is a formal way to say it. On the other hand, -(을) ㄹ 거예요 (formal) / -(을) ㄹ 거야 (causal) means 'will- '

그 : that 사람: person  다시: again, 아프게 하다: to hurt

그 사람을 다시 아프게 하지 않을거야. (casual)

그 사람을  다시 아프게 하지 않을거예요. (formal)

- (I) won't hurt that person again  (If pronouns like 'I' are obvious in the context, we don't say it.)

8-1) - (을)ㄹ거야  " will "   (causal)

When the V/A stem ends in a consonant, add 을거예요(formal) /을거야(casual) . When ending in a vowel or ㄹ, add ㄹ 거예요 (formal) / ㄹ거야(casual)

친구: friend  ~하고: with~  저녁: dinner 먹다: to eat  한국 : Korea 노래: song 연습하다: to practice

친구하고 저녁을 먹을거예요. (formal) / 친구하고 저녁을 먹을거야. (casual)

-> I  will eat dinner with a friend

한국노래를 연습할거예요.(formal) / 한국노래를 연습할거야. (casual)

-> I will practice a Korean song.

9. -아/어/해 봐  "  try V-ing  "

Conjugate the verb stem and add 봐 (casual) or 보세요 ( formal). Its infinitive form is -아/어/해 보다 ("to try to")

배우다 : to learn  배워요 : learn (conjugated present tense)

한국어를  배워 봐. (casual) / 한국어를 배워 보세요. (formal)

-> Try learning Korean.

10. -(을) ㄹ 테니(까)

This is  used to express a reason in the first clause to give a suggestion or advice in the second clause. When the V/A stem ends in a consonant, add 을테니 or 을테니까. When ending in a vowel or ㄹ, add ㄹ테니 or ㄹ테니까

나는 : I (casual) 피아노를 치다 : to play the piano   너는 : ( you&  topic marker, casual) 노래하다: to sing a song    

나는 피아노를 칠테니 너는 노래해.

->Because I will play the piano, you sing a song.

11.V/A -네(요) " mild surprise or wonder ending"

It is used to express mild  surprise or wonder when u learn something through direct experience or agree with someone else. It  is like 'wow' , 'certainly' , ' really' in English.  Without '요' , it becomes casual talk.

노래를 하다 : to sing a song  잘 : well

노래를 잘 하네. (casual)

( You really sing a song well -> you are really good at singing a song.)

12. N 때 , V/A-(을) ㄹ 때  

It expresses the time when an action or state occurs or its duration

방학: school vacation  저는 ( I& topic marker , formal) 한국: Korea  ~에 : to ~ 가요: go

방학 때  저는 한국에 가요.  (formal)

->  During school vacation, I go to  Korea.

When the V/A stem ends in a consonant, add 을 때.  When ending in a vowel or ㄹ, add ㄹ때

피곤하다 : to be tired    이N : this N  약 :medicine  먹어요 : eat

저는 피곤할 때 이 약을 먹어요. (formal)  

-> When I am tired, I take this medicine.

~에서 : in ~  살다 : to live  재미있었어요. was fun

저는 한국에서 살 때 재미있었어요.( formal)

-> When I lived in Korea, it was fun.

13. V/A-아/어/해야 돼요(해요)  " must , have to , should"

Conjugate the V/A stem and add 돼요  or 해요 . Please refer to K- Grammar basics #3 for conjugation rules. Its infinitive form is V/A-아/어/해야 되다 (하다)

한국어: Korean language 연습하다 : to practice  많이: a lot

한국어를 많이 연습해야 돼요.( 연습해야 해요.)  (formal)

FYI, depending on the context, the subject can be ' I ' or someone else when there is no subject written in the Korean sentence.

->(I) should practice Korean a lot.

->or  (You or He or...) should practice Korean a lot.

14. - (은) ㄴ N  (Adjective/ Verb past tense  of modification )

When A/V stem ends in a consonant, add 은 to modify a noun. When ending in a vowel, add ㄴ to modify a noun.

나쁘다 : to be bad  남자: guy  좋다 : to be good  노래: song

나쁜  남자 ( bad guy) / 좋은 노래 (good song

내가 : I  어제: yesterday 만나다 : to meet  친구: friend  읽다 : to read  책 : book  

내가 어제 만난 친구 ( the friend who I met yesterday

내가 어제 읽은 책 ( the book that I read yesterday)

Let's expand this example further.

내가 어제 읽은 책 재미있었어.(casual) : The book that I read yesterday was fun.

15. - 지 못하게 하다 " not to let ( make ) somebody -"   Add verb stem to 지 못하게 해요.

엄마: mom  나가다 : to go out  날: me

엄마가 (날) 나가지 못하게 해. (casual)

Mom doesn't let (me) go out.

When pronouns are obvious in the context, we don't have to say them.

15-1  - 게  하다 " to let (make) somebody -"   Add verb stem to 게 해요.

사랑: love  나를 : me ( casual)  다시: again 태어나다 : to be born

사랑이 다시 나를 태어나게 해. ( casual) -> Love makes me born again.

16. V -(으) 면서 or -(으) 며  "while , at the same time"

When Verb stem ends in a consonant , add (으) 면서 or (으)며. When ending in a vowel or ㄹ, add 면서 or 며. This is used always in the first clause.

가사 : lyrics  보다 : to look   한국어: Korean language 공부해요 : study

Kpop 가사를 보면서 (or  보며) 한국어를 공부해요. (formal)

-> While looking at Kpop lyrics, ( I ) study Korean.

17. V-(을) ㄹ 줄 알다 / 모르다  " to know  / not to know (how) to   "

When the verb stem ends in a consonant, add (을) 줄 알아요 / 몰라요. When ending in a vowel or ㄹ , add ㄹ 줄 알아요 / 몰라요.

나는: I (casual)   한국음식 : Korean food 요리하다 : to cook  알아요 : know  

나는 한국음식을 요리할 줄 알아 / 몰라. (casual)

->  I know / don't know how to cook Korean food.

그 N: that N  사람: person 한글 : Korean, Korean alphabet  읽다 : to read  

그 사람은 한글을 읽을 줄 알아? (casual)

->  Does that person know how to read Korean?  

17-1) V-(을) ㄹ 줄 알았어요 / 몰랐어요  "I know / didn't know that S would V "

결국: in the end  니: you (casual) 떠나다: to leave  알다: to know 모르다: not to know

결국 니가 떠날 줄 알았어. (casual) -> I knew you would leave me in the end.

18. V/A- 았/었/했어요  "past tense"

When the word stem ends in the vowel ㅏ or ㅗ , add -았어요.  When ending  in any other vowel , add -었어요. For verbs and adjectives ending in 하다, add - 했어요. FYI, Without 요 at the end, it becomes casual talk as always.

만나다 : to meet   지난 주말에 : last weekend  친구: friend  너: you (casual) 점심: lunch  먹다 : to eat  

지난 주말에 친구를 만났어요. (formal)

->( I ) met a friend last weekend.

너 점심 먹었어? (casual) ->  you lunch ate? - did you eat lunch ?

-하고 결혼하다  : to get married to   남자친구 : boyfriend  

남자친구하고 결혼했어. (casual) ->(I) got married to my boyfriend.

19. N (이) 나 N   " N or N "

When the noun ends in a consonant, add 이나. When ending in a vowel, just add 나.

차: tea  커피 : coffee   빵: bread  밥 : cooked rice

차나 커피 (tea or coffee) / 빵이나 밥 ( bread or cooked rice )

20. V/A-아/어/해도 " though, even if"

Conjugate the V/A and add 도. Please refer to K- Grammar basics #3 for conjugation rules.

운동하다 : to exercise  살 빠지다 : to lose weight  안 ~  : not ~   

운동해도 살이 안 빠져요.  (formal)

->Though (I) do exercise,  (I) don't lose weight.

21. V/A -지 않아요 (안 V/A - 아/어/해요 )  “not”

For present tense, add V/A stem to -지 않아요  or (안 V/A - 아/어/해요 ) . For past tense, add V/A stem to 지 않았어요 or (안 V/A -았/었/했어요) When using 안 , you should conjugate the V/A.  

Without '요' at the end, it becomes a casual talk.  Its infinitive form is V/A- 지 않다 (안 V/A- 다)

한국어: Korean language  쉽다: to be easy  어렵다: to be difficult   내일: tomorrow 어제: yesterday

한국어 쉽지 않아요.  = 한국어 안 쉬어요.(formal)  -> Korean language is not easy.

한국어 어렵지 않아. = 한국어 안 어려워. (casual) -> Korean language is not difficult.

* in case of N+ 하다 ( N+ to do) verbs like 공부하다 (to study), 노래하다( to sing), 일하다( to work),  place 안 right between N and 하다.

내일 일 안 해요. .(formal) -> Tomorrow (I) don’t do working = Tomorrow (I) don’t work.

For past tense:

어제 일 안 했어요. (formal) ->Yesterday (I) didn’t do working =Yesterday (I) didn’t work

22. V/A  - (으)면 /   N-(이)라면 “ If ”

1) When the V/A stem ends in a consonant, add 으면 . When ending in a vowel or ㄹ, add 면

심심하다 : to be bored  보다 : to watch

심심하면 한국 드라마를 봐요. (formal)

-> If bored, (I) watch Korean dramas.

2) When the noun ends in a consonant, add 이라면. When ending in a vowel, add 라면.

그 N: that N  사람: person  진짜: really 한국 사람: Korean person  한국어: Korean language  잘: well 하다 : to do, to speak a language)

Mina가 한국사람이라면 한국어를 잘 할거야.(casual) ->If that person is a Korean person, he will speak Korean language well.

23. V/A -니?  ( casually interrogative ending)

For  present tense, add stem to 니. For past tense , add -았/었/했 to 니. For future tense, add (을) ㄹ 거 to 니. When the stem ends in a consonant, add (을) 거. When ending in a vowel or ㄹ, add ㄹ 거.  ( For past tense conjugation rules, plz refer to #18)

바쁘다 : to be busy  잘: well 자다 : to sleep   뭐: what  먹다: to eat

바쁘니? ->( Are you )  busy?

잘 잤니? -> (Did  you) sleep well ?

뭐 먹을거니? What ( are you)  going to eat?

23-1) V/A-나(요) ? ( similar interrogative ending as a form of 니?)

바쁘나? (Casual)  ->( Are you ) busy?

잘 잤나? (Casual) -> (Did  you) sleep well ?

If you add 요, it sounds polite

잘 잤나요? -> (Did you) sleep well ?

24. N-(인) ㄴ 지 , V/A- 는지 /(은) ㄴ지

It is a connective ending used in the first clause and corresponds to (who/ what/ where/ when/ how/ whether + Clause in English.  So the next clause usually follows with 알다 (to know) , 모르다(not to know), 궁금하다( to be curious) and the like.

1) For nouns, when the noun end in a consonant, add 인지. When ending in a vowel, add ㄴ지. For adjectives , when the stem ends in a consonant, add 은지. When ending in a vowel orㄹ , add ㄴ지 .

좋은 거: good thing  아니다: not to be You and I we walk together on this path 모르겠다: not to know, not to be sure

좋은 거인지 아닌지 모르겠어(casual)

-> I'm not sure whether it is a good thing or not.

* '거인지'mostly  sounds like '건지' when we say fast.

이N: this N 빌딩: building  얼마나: how (much,long)  높다: to be high 알다: to know

이 빌딩이 얼마나 높은지 알아요? (formal)

-> Do you know how high this building is?

2) For present tense verbs , add 는지 to the stem .

여기: here  어떻게: how 가다: to go  어디에서: where  살다: to live

여기 어떻게 가는지 알아요? (formal)-> Do you know how to go (get) here?

Sunmi 가 어디에서 *사는지 알아?(casual) -> Do you know where Sunmi lives?

( * when ㄹ clashes with ㄴ,  ㄹ disappears to make our pronunciation easy)

3) For past tense adjectives and verbs , add 았/었/했는지.

파티: party  ~에: to~ 누가: who  오다: to   come 기억나다: to remember

파티에 누가 왔는지 기억나.(casual)

-> I remember  who came to the party.

4) For future tense verbs, when the stem ends in a consonant, add 을 지. When ending in a vowel or ㄹ, add ㄹ 지.

내년에: next year  한국: Korea  ~에서: in ~ 공부하다: to study 아직 : yet  모르다: not to know  저녁 : dinner 어디: where  먹다: to eat

내년에 한국에서 공부할지 아직 몰라.(casual)

->I don't know yet if I’m going to study in Korea next year.

저녁을 어디에서 먹을지 아직 몰라. (casual)

-> I don't know yet where to eat dinner

25. V-(으)려고 해요 " plan to, intend to, try to"

When the stem ends in a consonant, add 으려고해요. When ending in a vowel or ㄹ, add 려고해요. The infinitive form is (으)려고 하다. ("to plan to, to intend to") Without 요 at the end, it becomes casual talk.

방학: school vacation  N때: during (on) N  한국: Korea  ~에: to ~ 여행가다: to go on a trip  사진: photo 찍다 : to take (a photo)  많이: a lot (adverb)

방학때 한국에 여행가려고 해.(casual)

-> During school vacation, I plan to go on a trip to Korea.

사진을 많이 찍으려고 해요. (formal)

-> I plan to take a lot of pictures.

26. V -지 말라고 하다 " to tell somebody not to V

This is a negative form of indirectly imperative quotation. Add verb stem to 지 말라고 했어요.

선생님: teacher 늦게 : late 오다 : to come

선생님이 늦게 오지 말라고 했어요. (formal)

-> The teacher told me not to come late.  

26-1) Its positive form is V - (으) 라고 하다 " to tell somebody to V"  

When the verb stem ends in a consonant, add 으라고 했어요 . When ending in a vowel or ㄹ,  add 라고 했어요.

친구: friend 빨리: quickly  오다: to come

엄마: mom  이거 : this thing  먹다 : to eat  

친구가 빨리 오라고 했어. (casual)  

-> (My) friend told me to come quickly.

엄마가  이거 먹으라고 했어 (casual)

-> (My) mom told me to eat this.

27. V/A-(으)면 좋겠어요 / N-(이)면 좋겠어요   " I hope ~ "

When the V/A stem ends in a consonant, add 으면 좋겠어요.When ending in a vowel or ㄹ, add 면 좋겠어요. Its infinitive form is -(으) 면 좋겠다.

내일: tomorrow 비 오다 : to rain ( 비- rain, 오다: to come)  (N) 안~: not ~  

내일 비 안오면 좋겠어요. (formal)

-> I hope it is not raining tomorrow.

For nouns, when the noun ends in a consonant, add 이면 좋겠어요. When ending in a vowel, add 면 좋겠어요.

거짓말: a lie   N (이)다: to be N

거짓말이면 좋겠어. (casual)

-> I hope that was a lie.

27-1) Past tense V/A 으면 해요 / N 이었으면 (였으면) 해요  “ I hope ~ “

내일 비 안 왔으면 해요.   

-> I hope it is not raining tomorrow

For nouns, when the noun ends in a consonant, add 이었으면 해요. When ending in a vowel, add 였으면 해요.

거짓말이었으면 해요.

-> I hope that was a lie

28. V- 아/어/해 주세요 " please ~  for me"

Conjugate the verb stem and add 주세요 ( formal), 줘요(polite) or 줘(casual). Its infinitive form is V- 아/어/해 주다.  Plesse refer to 'K - grammar basics'  for conjugation rules.

태우다 : to give a ride   돕다 : to help 전화: phone 번호: number  알려주다 : to inform

태워 줘 (casual) -> Give me a ride.   

태워 줘요.( polite) -> Give me a ride, please.

도와 주세요 ( formal) -> Help me, please

전화번호 알려 줘 ( casual) -> Let me know (your) phone number.

29.V/A - 아서/어서/해서 / N - (이)라서  " and " / “ so, because” ,

Conjugate the verb/ adjective stem and add 서. For nouns , when it ends in a consonant,  add 이라서 . When ending in a vowel , add 라서.  This is a connective ending and has two meanings depending on the context.

1) Sequence ("and") : The first event is placed in the first clause and the second one in the second clause. Two events are closely related.

저기: (over) there 앉다 : to sit  얘기하다 : to talk  ~ 자 : let's (casual)  다음 주에: next week 만나다: to meet  놀다 : to play, to hang (out) with

저기 앉아서 얘기하자. (casual) ->Let's sit and talk over there.

다음주에 만나서 놀자.(casual) ->  Let's meet and play next week.

2) reason & result : the reason is placed in the first clause and the result in the second clause.  

늦다: to be late 죄송합니다:  I'm sorry, I apologize (formal) 좋아하다: to like 한국: Korea ~ 에 관심이 있다 : to be interested in~  많이: a lot

늦어서 죄송합니다.( formal) -> I'm sorry for being late

Kpop을 좋아해서 한국에 관심이 많이 있어. (casual) ->  (I) like Kpop, so (I'm) much interested in Korea. =  Because (I) like Kpop, (I’m) much interested in Korea.

한국 사람 : Korean person , 한국말 : Korean language , 잘 : well

미나는 한국 사람이라서 한국말을 잘 해요. -> Mina is a Korean person, so she is good at Korean language.

30. V/A -지만 " but, however"

Add stem to 지만. This is a connective ending.

한국어: Korean language 어렵다: to be difficult  배우다: to learn  ~ 고 싶다 : to want to

한국어는 어렵지만 배우고 싶어.(casual)

-> Korean is difficult but I want to learn.

by Eunha Seo