I want to say thanks to Prof. Lee Sang-oak (Seoul National University), who reviewed my manuscript, and to John, who proofread the English part.
Kyubyong Park
GUIDE TO CONJUGATION
1. What Is Conjugation?
All Korean verbs end with – 다, such as 가다 (to go), 적다 (to write), and 살다 (to live). The part that precedes -다—in our examples, 가, 먹, and 살—is called the verb’s stem. The stem is constant in its shape, and various words can be attached to it to indicate different meanings, tenses and levels of formality. These attachments are called endings. Conjugation basically refers to the way a verb is formed using these different endings.
2. Regular Verbs and Irregular Verbs
Most verbs follow a regular conjugation pattern. However, there are a number of exceptions or irregular verbs which follow other distinct patterns. Even among the regular verbs, there is one special type you have to pay attention to ─ㄹ Verbs. These are verbs whose stem ends with a ㄹ, for example, 살다 (to live), 밀다 (to push), and 돌다 (to turn). They follow the basic conjugational rules, but they are sometimes different from other regular verbs.
3. Conjugation Patterns of Regular Verbs
#1. VS + ending
The endings -자, -고, -거나, -지만, -기, -지, and -겠 can be attached to the stems of all verbs (regardless of whether they are ㄹ verbs or not).
| Examples: | (-자) | 가 + 자 → 가자 (let’s go) |
| 적 + 자 → 적자 (let’s write) | ||
| 살 + 자 → 살자 (let’s live) | ||
| (-고) | 가 + 고 → 가고 (I go and) | |
| 적 + 고 → 적고 (I write and) | ||
| 살 + 고 → 살고 (I live and) |
#2. ① VS + ending
② VS ㄹ + ㄹ ending
The endings -니?, -는데, and -는 can also be attached to the stems of verbs. But here, it’s important to note that the stem of ㄹ verbs loses the final ㄹ.
| Examples: | (-니?) | ① 가 + 니? → 가니? (do you go?) |
| 적 + 니? → 적니? (do you write?) | ||
| ② 살 + ㄹ니? → 사니? (do you live?) | ||
| (-는데) | ① 가 + 는데 → 가는데 (I go but) | |
| 적 + 는데 → 적는데 (I write but) | ||
| ② 살 + ㄹ는데 → 사는데 (I live but) |
#3. ① VSv + ending1
② VS ㄹ + ending1
③ VSc + ending2 (-으-)
The verb conjugation for the endings -면/-으면, -려고/-으려고, -며/-으며, and -ㅁ/-음 basically depends on whether the stem of the verb ends with a vowel or a consonant. If the stem of the verb ends with a consonant, you should add -으- in front of the endings (for convenience of pronunciation). Also note that again, ㄹ verbs are the exception. They don’t need an extra -으- and they also don’t lose their final ㄹ.
| Examples: | (-면/-으면) | ① 가 + 면 → 가면 (if I go) |
| ② 살 + 면 → 살면 (if I live ) | ||
| ③ 적 + 으면 → 적으면 (if I write) | ||
| (-려고/-으려고) | ① 가 + 려고 → 가려고 (in order to go) | |
| ② 살 + 려고 → 살려고 (in order to live) | ||
| ③ 적 + 으려고 → 적으려고 (in order to write) |
#4. ① VSv + ending1
② VS ㄹ + ㄹ ending1
③ VSc + ending2 (-으-/-느-/-스-)
Type #4 is similar to type #3 in some ways. The verb conjugation for the endings of Type #4 also differs according to whether the final sound in the stem is a vowel or a consonant. If the stem of the verb ends with a consonant, you should add -으-, -느-, or -스- in front of the endings for convenience of pronunciation. And just to make things extra complex, in this case ㄹ verbs do lose their final ㄹ in the stem. The endings -세요/-으세요, -ㄴ다/-는다, -ㄴ/-은, -ㄹ/-을, -니까/-으니까, -ㅂ니 다/-습니다, -ㅂ니까?/-습니까?, and -ㅂ시다/-읍시다 belong to type #4. There is an easy way to tell the type #4 endings from the type #3 endings. The endings of type #4 begin with ㅅ, ㄴ, or ㅂ, while type #3 start with ㅁ or ㄹ.
| Examples: | (-세요/-으세요) | ① 가 + 세요 → 가세요 (please go) |
| ② 살 + ㄹ세요 → 사세요 (please live) | ||
| ③ 적 + 으세요 → 적으세요 (please write) | ||
| (-ㄴ다/-는다) | ① 가 + ㄴ다 → 간다 (I go) | |
| ② 살 + ㄹㄴ다 → 산다 (I live) | ||
| ③ 적 + 는다 → 적는다 (I write) | ||
| (-ㅂ니다/-습니다) |