Korean Lessons ᚛ Level 5 - Intermediate Korean #2 (Lessons 121 to 150) ᚛ Lesson 138 - Verification and confirmation [-(으)ㄴ/는 거다]
Verification and confirmation [-(으)ㄴ/는 거다]
Understanding the future tense in Korean
In the lesson on the future tense in Korean, we saw that the future tense is only a combination of the modifier -(으)ㄹ, of 것 and of the verb 이다. At that point in your learning, it may have been difficult to fully understand that section, but you now have all the elements in hand to unlock the secret of this form.
Indeed, the future tense does not really exist as such in Korean, since it is simply a composition:
- of the future adjectival form -(으)ㄹ
- of the word 것, which means "a thing", "a fact"
- of 이다, the verb to be of description
The future tense, in its full form -(으)ㄹ 것이다, but preferred in its shortened form -(으)ㄹ 거다, which gives the future endings you know well, namely -(으)ㄹ 거야, -(으)ㄹ 거예요 and -(으)ㄹ 겁니다, is therefore only a combination of elements that allow us to express a fact that will take place in the future, and does not represent a real tense in itself, unlike the present and the past.
For example, if we take the future form of the verb 하다 in the casual style, we get 할 거야, literally "it is the thing that will be done", with:
- 할, future adjectival form
- 거, the thing
- 야, the verb to be
If I insist on making this very clear, it is because, in this lesson, we are going to see that the use of 것 and 이다 is not exclusive to the future tense, and is commonly used with the present tense as well.
Classic case
The -(으)ㄴ/는 거다 structure is built in the following manner:
[Present adjectival form] 거다
It will logically give the following forms:
- in the casual style: [Present adjectival form] 거야
- in the polite style: [Present adjectival form] 거예요
- in the formal style: [Present adjectival form] 겁니다
The simplest use of the -(으)ㄴ/는 거다 structure is quite simply the literal translation of this structure, namely "it is the thing that …" or "it is the fact of …", as we were able to see in the lesson on nominalization with -는 것.
내 꿈은 한국어 선생님이 되는 거야.
→ My dream is to become a Korean teacher. (Lit: My dream is the fact of becoming a Korean teacher.)
이 잎도 먹을 수 있는 거예요?
→ Is this leaf also something you can eat?
담배는 건강에 해로운 겁니다.
→ Cigarettes are something harmful to your health.
- 이거 사용해 봐도 괜찮은가요?
- 아니요. 그건 파는 거예요. 이것 사용해 보세요.
→ - May I try using this?
- No. That one is something we sell. Try this one.
Using the past adjectival form -(으)ㄴ is, of course, also possible. In that case, we are talking about the thing or the fact that happened in the past.
이 책은 제가 10살 때 읽은 거예요.
→ This book is the one I read when I was 10.
이 그림은 제가 그린 거예요.
→ This drawing is the one I drew.
이 야채들 씻은 겁니까?
→ Are these vegetables the ones you washed?
Verifying and confirming information
Learn more
Summary table of structure
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Exercises
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Podcasts in Korean specially designed for beginners, to learn Korean by really listening to it from the very beginning.
You’re starting to learn Korean (or you already know the basics), but as soon as you listen to spoken Korean, everything suddenly feels too fast?
The words blend together, the pronunciation escapes you, and you feel like “real Korean” is very different from what you learned in textbooks.
That’s normal!
Listening comprehension is the most difficult part for all beginners.
